As I mentioned in 10min Tokyo(part 2) cell phones are the hot consumer electronics item in Tokyo. It is so much the case that even mentioning that it is as widespread as it is, is very much akin to saying Americans like bottled water. They are everywhere, they are seemingly used more the family television & they make 90% of American cell phones look like they were made by Playskool. The last 10% is pretty much made up of the iPhone and Samsung.

They do more, hold more, light up more, are customizable more and run circles around their American counterparts. Case is point is their ability to interpret 2D Barcode (also know as QR codes).

2D Barcode, I can hear you now going who cares if they can interpret them and what does that even mean? The short answer is:

1. Interpreting 2D Barcodes means they can take their cell phone and take a picture of a 2D Barcode anywhere they might come across one ( and this is everywhere in Tokyo, posters, TV commercials, on the train, on the bus, in a magazine, business cards & yes even fresh produce ) and the Barcode holds the website address (or any data some even contain small video clips) for whatever someone is promoting so that once you take a photo of it the cell phone recognizes it, reads it & loads the website. Until you have seen this in action it can be hard to understand.

2. Even though I think the skill is borderline pointless in America where most everyone surfs on a tower or laptop and our URLs are tailor made to be as short as humanly possible it is very odd to see a technology we either don’t have or haven’t passed up and forgotten. Walking around and slowly realizing and having to figure out the odd reason there are all these 2D Barcodes everywhere is society used by everyone from the most advanced programmer to the simplest grandmother only to realize it is something you have never heard off is both very fun and slightly off putting.

With the ability as I mentioned above to encode data for small video files (or large ones if you overlay a second color image and double the storage, if anyone develops that Patent tomorrow this is prior art and I want some credit ) this might catch on in the States but doubtful since we still do not make use of texting & cellphones the way other nations do.

The much talked about activity of American celebrities going over to foreign countries to hock everything from watches, spirits, cars & cell phones is surprisingly and sadly not as widespread as you might think. It might just be out of vogue for the time being preparing to come back in force, but while I was there there was only reports of Brad Pitt who recently dropped a watch company and was graciously replaced by George Clooney (for a nominal fee of course ) and the Omnipresent big sister who is constantly watching you everywhere you go telling you to buy SoftBank brand cell phones. Thats right if you go to Tokyo very soon you can be virtually escorted around town by the countless two-story advertisements featuring Cameron Diaz. Watching everywhere you go and telling the world that she equals clunky looking cell phones.

Now as a primer let me say that cell phones in Tokyo are the equivilent:

Social and Economic impact of cell phones in Tokyo

Think of the way we in the States used to value in the 1990’s personal expression and status via nike,reebok, or BK hightop shoes. Everyone had to get the latest release and you were only socially as high as your shoes were new. Add to that the mini fad of the drawstring/shoelace color fobs that people had to have 5+ of and you might get the way Tokyo feels about their cell phones. They move through them like water, trading up every so 3-5 months and you express yourself both through the brand and via the dangling fob of a samurai warrior/hello kitty/cute pile of poo that is attached to the phone.

Cell phones are in your hand most every waking hour, you decorate them with decals, branded polarized films to keep prying eyes off you game/IM conversation/manga porn & while away the hours you spend shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers on the many trains or subways that connect the city.

Cameron was in every district large or small and after talking to some people about what they thought of her apparently she is one of our biggest stars even though I can’t name a role in the last 6 years she has been in that doesn’t include a big green ogre?

So when you are out and about and feel like the only English speaking person in Tokyo say hi to Cameron Diaz and hold much the same vibrant one sided conversation as you might with the real one if the many reports are to be believed.

Part 1-Fabric of Society

The societal fabric that seems to be prevalent in Tokyo these days from the point of view of an outsider is one of duality, of separate domain. Tokyo seems to run on a separation of male and female activities more then any city in America and many in Europe. The daytime locations in Tokyo and the surrounding districts is largely a female focused endeavor. With countless shops and brand named fashion outlets much of Tokyo seems to make it’s consumer sales from women with even some entire districts seemingly devoted to massive stretches of big ticket fashion clothing, accessories, cosmetics & heath care as is the case with Harajuku and parts of Shibuya.

The nighttime is as opposite as it can get by and large. Many shops close early in comparison (20:00-21:00) and the ones that stay open or even open only at night are focused largely on the Japanese male.

With the massive grouping of love hotels (glitzy and outlandish hotels that charge by the hour) and a smattering of soaplands, pink salons & fashion salons mixed in. Not to mention the many bars, nightclubs & for the sake of British gaijin and their American/Australian friends high cost pubs with football and rugby from Europe playing nonstop (except with Japaneses commentators instead of English). There is no lack of distractions once the sun goes down.

Aside from the majority of retail that is focused on one sex or the other the rest of Tokyo is focused locally and serviced by small privately owned stores. A style which gives it the dense overcrowded completely new store around every corner fun that you come to expect after only a few hours of walking but makes it highly susceptible to a focused brand name with a store in each district you would come to appreciate after searching for an hour or more to find someone that sells decongestant. Something which can been seen in action right now with the 2 hour line craze for the one and only Krispy Kreme donuts in all of Tokyo at the Train terrace in Shinjuku (something many people thought would be a flop but is very much not so). The duality of Tokyo may be deep rooted and may not change in the next decade or it may be seeing the end of the 800-1000 sq ft store in light of Brand name mass appeal gender neutral competition. Either way whatever the outcome Tokyo will most assuredly do it with a flair that is unique to the enjoyable controlled chaos that is the modern day Tokyo.

This is the beginning of a multi-part series on Tokyo with emphasis on it’s differences in comparison to both America and the rest of the world. Focusing on the society, people, food, districts & oddities. The plan is to offer up short 10 minute comments with on location photos. Please enjoy and comment with your thoughts and observations.

The photos are taken from a 16 day stay that I took in early July 2007.

Part 0-Flight

I flew over on a United 777 with a Economy Plus window seat. The flight took 12 hours and 15 minutes with a route that took it over Canada, Alaska, Russia and south into Japan. This is vastly different from the flight back to the US where it was done in 11 hours and was a near straight shot from Tokyo to Seattle and across to Chicago where I landed.

The choice was between either United or JAL (Japan Airlines) for ticket prices around $1,309 roundtrip. The deciding factor was that the JAL plane was a pre-1980 747 and the United was a 777. Curious as to if I made the correct choice right up to boarding the plane. That fear was quickly killed off since the flight on a whole was quite pleasant from takeoff to touchdown half a day later. The economy plus aspect I got bumped up to for free and was worth it for that price but not worth it for the $200 they want to charge. I also advise that unless you want to look out at clouds for 12 hours get a isle seat. Especially if you are 6′0″ tall or larger since the leg room is cramped even in the larger Economy Plus.

One of the benefits of flying a 777 I was told by people who have done this much more then me is that the temperature in the plane is easier kept at a more comfortable level and you do not require a blanket at all times to keep your feet from turning blue. Having not taken both a 777 & 747 across the Pacific I can easily see how that could be a problem and can comment on the fact that at times on the United 777 I came close to but never truly needed a blanket to keep my feet warm. I have had that annoyance during Southwest flights and couldn’t imagine having to put up with it for 12 hours.

The food on the flight was new since it was part of a co-branding with Chef Charlie Trotter and we were one of the3 first flights to enjoy the selection. I can say that it was the best food I have ever eaten on a flight to date but that I would not cross the street to eat the same food at a restaurant if I was in any major US city. Take that for whatever you will. The food was gratefully not so eclectic and exotic as to impress the imagination more then the taste buds but was also quite cold and gelatinously solid as to not really do much more then just fill a hole in your stomach better then pretzels. I still say though that it was the best food I have had yet to date on any flight. If I had any real complaint of substance it would be that the dessert was non existent almost and the much advertised fact that United at times had offered small amounts of Ben & Jerry’s which was sadly missing here and on a 12 hour flight is a welcome taste change. I am sure many Japanese on the flight would not have welcomed the ice cream since it and any ice cream like it is not sold in Tokyo (for the exception of the smallest amounts of Hagen Das which is enjoyed more for it’s rich chocolate then a broad vanila+accents as it is with Ben & Jerry’s).

The entertainment was broad and enjoyable on the way to Tokyo and inversely equal in annoying on the way back. This is due to the fact that you are at the mercy of the 6 films that are played at any given time and if you happen to travel with such films as 300, Meet the Robinsons (which was a surprisingly brilliant film), Blades of Glory (which was absolutely the worst film he has made yet but still better then the return flight choices) & Breach you enjoy the flight. Where if you travel with films like The Last Mimzy, Premonition, Two Weeks & Wild Hogs (which was unwatchable even at 34000 feet with no where to run) you are praising the name of J.K. Rowling for putting out a final Harry Potter book so you can have something to listen to for 12 hours.

The most enjoyable aspect of flying with United is that they do not require custom headphone jacks in their armrests and you can use the custom fitting noise reduction Sony/Boise/or whatever you have and can pass on the cheap metal recycled giftbag headphones you are offered when you board. If I had to use them solely due to the fact they want to limit my options I would be flying JAL on the way back. 12 hours and a ear/headache isn’t worth the trouble.

The flight attendants were cordial and did the job quite well. The pilot was quick and quiet and did not feel the need to test out his latest standup work on us as many have forced upon me. All in all it was quite enjoyable and advisable. I still say invest in some good headphones and the flight will pass on by that much more enjoyably for you.

As for Narita airport, your most likely point of arrival into Japan it is fast and low annoyance when it comes to Immigration and Customs checks. The only real complaint and I will get into this in more detail later is that the airport is as quiet as an American funeral home. There is no Musak, no intercom, no chatter, dead silent and very odd.. In Tokyo as a whole you truly experience the concept of the oppressive “sound of silence”.