There’s a phenomenon in Japan—and probably other countries—known as the “Gaijin Nod.” “Gaijin” is a more casual version of the Japanese word for “foreign person” and, while it’s sometimes used with a negative connotation by some Japanese people, it’s widely embraced by many foreigners.
It’s a simple maneuver to perform. When you see a fellow Gaijin, you may choose to tilt your head down slightly, hold briefly at the bottom, then return your head to its original position. Chances are the person at whom the nod is directed will respond in kind.
“The Nod” occurs most frequently outside of the major tourist areas. It’s not uncommon to see foreigners in Tokyo or Kyoto, but outside of these areas, we’re a sight to behold. As such, an automatic connection is formed between us, one that crosses the boundaries of race and nationality.
Today I took a trip to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo to prepare for our next adventure. Most of the embassies are grouped together in the Roppongi district, so there’s a high concentration of foreigners. Along the way, I passed embassies for Madagascar, Iran and Qatar. At each, when I made eye contact with the embassy employee manning the door, we engaged in “The Nod.”
The great thing about “The Nod” is that it also transcends language. Off the top of my head, I know I don’t speak Malagasy, Persian or Arabic, yet we still share a bond simply because we’re part of a larger community…
A tramp to Tokyo VegefoodFesta last weekend led to a completely random and awesome day in Japan’s capital city.
Dodging the rain outside the 2014 Tokyo VegefoodFesta at Yoyogi Park
The rain was just heavy enough to keep the crowds thin at Yoyogi Park, where two separate festivals were taking place simultaneously. VegefoodFesta is an annual beacon for Tokyo-area herbivores, offering a few dozen booths with 100% plant-based eats, fresh produce and responsibly-made goods.
Takoyaki, a fritter that usually contains a piece of octopus, was vegetarian-friendly at VegefoodFesta
I love these kinds of events because it’s an opportunity to get a taste of traditional Japanese foods without the fear of meat or fish sneaking into the dish. There were vegan versions of takoyaki (octopus fritter), tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) and Japanese curry (usually has chicken).
A vegan tonkatsu sandwich. The breaded pork cutlet is a popular food in Japan.
One booth made “hie of fish” sandwiches, using Japanese millet (hie/ヒエ) to create a fish-like patty. They also offered an “American Dog,” which was a corn dog that replaced the “dog” with a large chunk of burdock root (gobou/ごぼう).
Our friends from Loving Hut were on hand with three separate booths featuring their meatless version of yakitori (meat on a skewer). Mana Burger was right by the gate and I had one of their veggie burgers in hand within moments of entering. I was looking forward to visiting them on our trip to Fukuoka, but they’d closed up shop. In July, they reopened in Yokohama and made the short trip up to Tokyo for the festival.
The main stage at Fiesta de España featuring IAMDIVE
The other half of the festival grounds was hosting Fiesta de España. I’d pretty much eaten everything in sight at VegefoodFesta, but there was still room for some Spanish red wine and a churro. We watched a couple songs from Seville, Spain folk-dub-shoegaze duo IAMDIVE on the main stage before heading out.
The trees are turning in Yoyogi Park
We walked across the street and into the actual park area of Yoyogi Park. The leaves are in full autumn mode and the park grounds had transformed from summer green to fall yellows and reds. The park was crawling with photographers and models, taking advantage of the short-lived landscape.
The trees along the streets of Roppongi Hills light up blue…… then they change to red. We felt bad for the guy who had to hang all those lights!
After wandering around Harajuku for a bit, we hopped on the train for Roppongi. The trees along the streets near Roppongi Hills are wrapped tight with lights alternating from blue/white to red every few minutes.
The Roppongi Hills Christmas Market
Inside the Roppongi Hills complex, a small Christmas market featured small ornaments and German food and beer. Christmas in Japan is all about the secular and is very Western in terms of music and decor.
The heart in the pond at Roppongi Hills. Tokyo Skytree lights up the night sky in the background.
The Tokyo night was brightly lit between the trees and the shining Tokyo Skytree tower in the skyline. Everyone was in good cheer—maybe because “Whisky Hills 2014” was hosting 300 yen (about $2.50 USD) whiskey tastings.
A metal cone with changing lights set up in 66 Plaza at Roppongi Hills
All the walking around worked up an appetite. We (barely) found the nearby Chien Fu vegetarian Chinese restaurant. A nondescript sign led to an elevator to the shop. We entered the dining room with its ornate tables and decorations. Everyone was dressed up for a night on the town. I felt a bit like a drowned dog after tromping around in the rain all day, but they didn’t seem to mind. We split a sweet and sour “pork” dish, spring rolls and an eggplant dish.
As we left, the sweet old man who greeted us when we came in asked “Vegetarian?” We said yes and his face lit up…. “Very good!!! Vegetarian… very good!”
I’ll say the same for Tokyo on that day… “Vegetarian… very good!”
There are a lot of “can you believe we’re here” moments in Japan. We’ve seen some cool places and have had some amazing experiences. But yesterday’s trip to Tokyo’s Odaiba district was one part “can you believe it” mixed with two parts “what the heck?”
Odaiba is an artificial island built in the 1850s to protect Tokyo from the U.S. Navy and Commodore Matthew Perry’s Pacific fleet. In the 1990s, it was redeveloped as a “city of the future.” That plan never fully materialized before developers starting building shopping malls and hotels. As a result, there’s an interesting mix of architecture on the island, but mostly just a lot of commerce.
The commercial part of the island is easily walkable and we had a few sights in mind. Along the way, we found a lot of unexpected sights as well.
And this, in a nutshell, is Odaiba
Several tents were set up in the area between DiverCity shopping mall and the West Promenade park. Completely random things were everywhere, like this superhero cutout over a tent with a Viking toddler riding a large, white octopus. Or the man on stilts high-fiving everyone who walked by as he passed a tent selling Under Armour sports gear. I wonder if he can find workout pants that fit?
A man on stilts is a man who has a hard time buying pants
I actually found comfort in seeing some normal Japanese weirdness, such as the Funassyi shop. Everyone loves Funassyi! In case you’re wondering, Funassyi is a pear. Funassyi’s parents were pears and Funassyi is the fourth of 274 children. We must refer to Funassyi by name because Funassyi is neither male or female and, therefore, is immune to pronouns. And this is what I consider normal on this day in Odaiba.
Funassyi is a pear, in case you’re wondering.
We looped back around to our first planned destination. A 60-foot tall Gundam robot statue looms in front of the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza shopping center. Technically, this is a suit worn by Amuro Ray on the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam, one of the most popular anime series to make its way past the shores of Japan.
Don’t even THINK about shoplifting from DiverCity!
A short walk from DiverCity is Toyota’s MegaWeb complex. The first building is part of the Venus Fort mall, which is modeled after Venice, Italy and is a pretty blatant rip-off of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The museum itself featured several restored cars, both made in Japan as well as cars imported into Japan. The displays were broken into pre- and post-World War II sections, showing the foreign influence on the country in the years following 1945.
The Mazda Carol, one of several cars with Western-style names built in post-war Japan
The Western influence on post-war Japan showed in cars like the 1962 Mazda Carol and imports from automakers including Ford, Chevrolet and Fiat. Pre-war cars included a 1937 Datsun Model 16 sedan and an American-imported 1936 Cord 810. All of the vehicles have been painstakingly restored to original condition by Toyota’s restoration experts. It’s a nice tribute to Japan’s long automotive history while weaving in the story of the country’s evolution during the 20th century.
Toyota’s Hydrogen car, the FCV, is scheduled to be available for sale in 2015
Perhaps even more impressive was the MegaWeb’s Toyota City Showcase, which featured several of Toyota’s concept cars. As tree-hugging Cascadians, we left our Toyota Prius in good hands back in the states, but we were drooling over potential future purchases as we walked through the showroom. The revamped hybrids with futuristic dashboards and single-seat three-wheel cars were great, but we were super-impressed by the FCV hydrogen fuel cell car, scheduled for a 2015 release. It’s an attractive car powered by renewable energy and only emits water vapor as byproduct. Sign me up!
Playing the Hydrogen Trivia game at Toyota MegaWeb. The game wand is a replica hydrogen fuel pump.
So, we’ve seen the future of automobiles. What’s next? How about swinging by the Statue of Liberty. Yes, that’s right… Odaiba has one of those too.
The Statue of Liberty stands proudly in front of the Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay
Apparently, the French version of the Statue of Liberty was in Odaiba for “The French Year in Japan” back in the late 1990s. It was so popular, a permanent version was built in 2000. Hundreds of these things have been erected around the world, including three more in Japan. The statue in Miyagi Prefecture was damaged by the 2011 tsunami.
Since we’d clearly jumped the shark in Odaiba with the whole Statue of Liberty thing, we headed back to the mainland for dinner and our final stop of the day.
ゴジラ! A replica of Godzilla has been placed in the Tokyo Midtown Gardens in the Roppongi district
Despite decades of wreaking havoc on their beloved country, Japanese people still love the monster known as Gojira! In celebration/marketing of the newest Godzilla movie, which opened in Japan over the weekend, a replica of the monster has been built in the Tokyo Midtown Gardens park. A tame light and smoke show runs every evening while the exhibit is open. Kids screamed playfully, more interested in running under Godzilla’s wavy tail than away from his sharp teeth.
This, I believe, is the beauty of Japan. Tokyo is an amazing city and from one train station to the next, you can enter a completely different world than the last. This was a playful day and tomorrow might be a nature day or a traditional day. Tokyo offers all of that and more.
