A Different Memory: World War II Through the Eyes of Japan : First Day in Tokyo

Yesterday, I arrived in Japan and made my way to the Emblem Hostel on the outskirts of Tokyo where I will be spending my next four nights. When I arrived at the hostel, I was way too tired to do anything so I got something to eat at the hostel and went to bed. This morning, I woke up early and started my exploration of Japan. Honestly, I set off today with no real plan in mind. I used my Suica card (subway card) and took the metro to Akihabara. Akihabara is known as the electronic district within Tokyo and it is truly amazing. Connected to the train station is a fourteen-story megastore called Yodobashi.

Yodobashi is unlike any store that I have ever been to in the United States or any of the other countries that I have traveled to. Anything electronic that you can possibly imagine is somewhere within Yodobashi. Each floor is some new type of technology with hundreds of people going around and buying various things. There were so many things that I didn't even know what some of them were. I couldn't even read or find out what anything was because there was literally no English in the store (lol). Despite this, just seeing this electronic megastore was truly a sight to see. The rest of the morning and afternoon I continued to explore Akihabara. I ate in an Izakaya, explored the various arcades, and walked down Anime street and saw how obsessed some of the Japenese people are with the animated shows. After exploring Akihabara, I headed to the Chiyoda district of Tokyo in order to visit the Yasukuni Shrine and War Museum.

At Yasukuni Shrine, various Japanese people visited to honor their ancestors who had fought in any of the wars that have occurred in Japan. I was unable to read many of the statues and smaller memorials because they were only transcribed in Japanese. However, it was clear that the way in which the Japanese people remembered these wars were much more focused on the honor of the soldiers that have fought and sacrificed opposed to the actual events of the wars. The museum at the shrine displayed the narrative of World War II in a very matter of fact way. There was no mention of the crimes of any nation, instead, it focused on what caused the war and continued to honor who fought in the war. (There could have been more but only some were translated and there was no one there to help me.) From the shrine today, it seemed that the Japanese people focus less on the events of World War II and more on the sacrifice of the people who fought and died for their country.

My first day in Japan has been a real eye-opener. The Japanese culture is extremely different than the United States. There is a lot less English spoken so far than what I was told so I am going to brush up on some words I can use for the rest of my trip.