Tag: Japan

Strangely Familiar

The Starbucks in Shinagawa in Tokyo in 2005

I was in Japan for the first time on a work trip in 2005 and a colleague who had been there before wanted to stop off at this Starbucks before we reached the office. I had only been out of the United States once before (to China), and am always a little befuddled by travel even in the US, so I was still rather out of sorts. But this Starbucks turned out to be strangely familiar. Not the store itself, I don’t drink coffee and to this day don’t know what all those coffee terms mean, but while waiting on my friend I heard someone call out my name. I turned and saw it was one of my colleagues from Tokyo, I didn’t know we were so close to the office, and suddenly I felt more at ease.

It was a fun trip and on my last day, about to head to the airport from Ueno Park, someone actually stopped me and asked for directions to the zoo. Directions I was able to give! I can’t even give proper directions to most places in Portland, my sense of geography is terrible, but I had passed the zoo on the way to the park from the train and was able to help this couple find their way.

Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi cars on display in the middle of a tall building in Tokyo in 2005

From my visit to Tokyo in the spring of 2005, taken on the way from the office to the hotel. I had never seen cars on display this many floors up before, you can probably tell I’ve spent very little time in big cities.

Exit Through the Cherry Blossoms

Commuters exit a subway line in Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, Japan

It’s hard for me to believe it’s been 10 years since my visit to Japan. The cherry trees were about to bloom while I was there on a business trip, kicking off the festivals, but I missed the main bloom by a tantalizing few days. I was afraid that these blossoms in Shinagawa Station would be the only blossoms I saw, but I did get a chance right before I left to see a few trees that had bloomed early.