excerpt from my journal on visit to
the land of rising sun
(very long)
by
Wayne Lee
WARNING: This article is not strictly on watches, but overall review of my first visit to Japan. I apologize if it is not up to your expectation. This article contains a lot of scans, so it may take a few minutes to load all the pictures. Thank you for your patience.
Best viewed on 1024 x 768 true color (32-bit). All photographs were taken using my new Nikon Coolpix 995 and reduced in size using Irfan-View 32-bit.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN (15 September morning)
I arrived to Taipei's CKS International Airport at about 9.30 am. Today, I will be leaving for Tokyo, Japan. After the 5 days of conference in Taiwan, I told myself, I must put the 'termites', 'ants' and 'cockroaches' behind me and think only about watches for the next two days in Tokyo. It was an awful time to travel, especially after the tragedies at WTC and Pentagon. I can vividly remember the night of 11 September when that incident happened (NY and Taiwan are 12-hour time difference). My Taiwanese American friend called my room at the hotel, asking me to turn on the TV to watch CNN. I could hardly believe what I have seen - I thought this type of scene can only occur in Tom Clancy's novel based movies. I quickly called my wife, Ivy in Malaysia, just to tell her that I am OK and not to worry.
The whole airport was loaded with people, especially American tourists and businessmen who were eager to get back to USA. I remembered my American friends at the meeting told me that they were stuck till the following Monday (17 September) because all their flights to L.A. had been cancelled. Sad for them, especially when one of them had a close relative who worked at the WTC and was still missing up to today.
The security at the airport was extremely tight too. I was asked to open my check-in luggage to be checked by the airport officer because two of my pewter gifts (tea caddy) looked 'suspicious and hostile' on his screen after the X-ray scan. Well, I think he should be commended for doing an extra careful job.
Tokyo, Japan (15 September - 17 September 2001)
I arrived to Tokyo at 3.30 pm. After clearing the immigration, I took a taxi with a Japanese friend (we boarded the same plane from Taipei) to the Tokyo station. I checked into the Yaesu Fujiya Hotel, about 3 minutes walk to the Tokyo station at about 5.30 pm. The room is small (but considered normal for Japan standard), but very comfortable. I must thank Mr Seiya Kobayashi for helping me with the booking of this hotel.
At 6.15 pm, I met Seiya and his wife, Mami for the first time. Both are very nice and friendly people, and they speaks good English. We then walked to the Antique Mall in Ginza. This is a huge mall with 11 floors. Here on the 1st floor, we checked vintage watches. As I am only interested in Japanese watches, we proceeded straight to the showcase. Here I saw many vintage Seiko, Citizen, Takano and Ricoh watches. One watch caught my eyes in the showcase and it is the Seiko 5 Actus with 25 jewels. It is in NOS condition. The sword-like hands with the deep blue dial immediately pounded my heart when I saw it. It has a Cal 6106 movement. I also inspected a Grand Seiko Cal 4520 that comes with a black dial. Most of the watches here are in fairly good condition. I hestitated a while whether to plunge my money to the owner's pocket to purchase the Seiko 5 Actus, but after a quick thought, I told myself to hold on first (*after coming back to Malaysia, Seiya helped me to purchase this watch from the antique store and it is in my possession now).
Seiko 5 Actus Automatic 25 Jewels (Cal 6106)
We then proceeded to a huge electronic shop called 'Big Camera' (http://www.bicbic.com) in Yurakucho. This is the first time I have ever seen such a big store selling so many electronic items. The shop is 6-floor with 2 basement levels. On the 6th floor, they carry wristwatches. Here, for the very first time, I see so many Grand Seikos being displayed on the counter. I asked whether I can take a photograph of the display, but was told that 'it is not a good idea'. I saw many GSs, including the latest model, the GS Manual Wind (not limited edition). After a big feast for my eyes, we went for dinner. Since my favorite food is Japanese, I told Seiya and Mami that I would like to have nothing, but Japanese food. The dinner was great and the cold Sake was fine too. I enjoyed the food very much, especially the sashimi. Seiya and Ron-san were very kind - they gave me a welcome present, i.e. a GS stainless steel buckle. Seiya also showed me his GS and KS collection which really made me WOW!. He was kind enough to offer to sell to me one of his GS, i.e. the 45GS that beats at 36,000 bph (a watch that I have been longing to own for a long time).
Wako in Ginza district Photograph taken in Ginza
Mr & Mrs Seiya Kobayashi (Kseiya) Wayne (with 9SGS) & Kseiya (Seiko Military 7S26)
It was Sunday the next morning (16 September). I met up with Seiya at 10.00 am. As I will be leaving for Nagoya the next day, I told him that I would like to get a train ticket first. We then walked to the Tokyo station to purchase a Shinkansen train ticket and Seiya showed me how to get into the Shinkansen train. Frankly, it is not easy to move around in Tokyo if language is a barrier because English is not widely spoken.
From there, we took a train to Okachimachi. We visited many watch stores which include Kikuyashoji (http://www.kikuyashoji.co.jp), Satin Doll, Mizutani and Takeya. Among the watches I saw including the Seiko 5 Sports Diver re-edition (cal 7S36) which Jeetan posted in TZ Sales Corner, many KS and GS (but they were mostly pricey), Citizen Exceed Complication (with moonphase, stopwatch, date, day, leap year, etc). I collected many watch catalogs. Among those including the GS and Credor catalogs. In Okachimachi, one watch caught my interest, i.e. the 1930s replica Navy Pilot watch (quartz). I could not resist the size and price, so I ended up buying it. The watch is almost 48 mm in diameter. The movement is made in China.
At Tokyo station Okachimachi
Takeya in Okachimachi
1930 Navy Pilot Military Replica Watch (Quartz)
After Okachimachi, we moved on to Shinjuku. This is the district which I had wanted to visit for a long time. According to many of my colleagues who had visited Japan, the trip to Tokyo would not be "official", unless we stop by at Shinjuku. I can understand now why my colleagues felt that.
We visited several watch stores including Best, Sekine, Sakuraya Watchikan, and a pawn store. Seiya told me that sometimes, he is able to find goodies at these stores. At Best watch, I saw a used Grand Seiko Quartz. I remember Ryan's post in Seiko/Citizen Forum regarding how wonderful is the GS quartz hand movement. Well guys, I can confirm that now - YES, HE IS RIGHT! Every tick is really a beautiful stroke. I felt in love with that watch. I really love the watch, but my mind kept telling me it is a quartz. After returning back from Japan, I kept thinking about it (must have neglected my duty as a husband and father) and my wife finally found out. After much thought, she finally decided to give me this watch as my birthday present due in the next few days. I believe the watch is now in my house, but I could not find where my wife has kept it. I will keep everyone posted when I receive it !
Shinjuku
As Seiya had to work that afternoon, we parted at about 1.30 pm. Mami then took over the task to show me around. She brought me to Tokyu Hands (http://www.tokyu-hands.co.jp) which is famous for novelities and adventure gears. Tokyu Hands in Shinjuku is 7-floor in total. I saw a beer dispensing machine which can consistently dispense beer with a layer of foam of an inch in thickness. There was also a sushi-making machine which I thought was a very innovative and creative patent. I bought two talking alarm clocks at Tokyu Hands, as well as a 16X Nikon loupe. Here, I felt high admiration for the Japanese. They took pride in their work. Besides being highly polite to customers, they also adopt the 'whatever it takes' attitude to make sure they could close a sale.
We also visited one of the Isetan Departmental Stores at Shinjuku. I was shocked to find that most of these departmental stores have more than 10 levels. After seeing so many floors of clothing departments, I was relieved not be have brought my wife along this time. What interest me most at Isetan is the new AIBO dog (recently introduced in Japan) with a more docile look, compared to the robotic-looking on the previous one.
We then took the train back to Ginza, and I said goodbye to Mami. As it was still early, I continued to window shopping. I went into the Big Camera store. Gradually, I surveyed every inch of that store. I was very impressed to find so many new models of notebook computers and digital cameras that were carried by the shop. Of great interest to me was the Nikon SLR Digital Camera (D1H) which was priced at a staggering 400,000 Yen. I managed to find and purchase an original leather pouch for my Nikon Coolpix 995. Due to my impulse buying behavior, I had also bought an Orient Royal Star Manual Wind.
Orient Royal Star Manual Wind
That night, Seiya and I went for a dinner at an Italian restaurant and I finally pull the trigger and bought the 45GS from him. It is a gorgeous watch with an original GS bracelet. I love the watch very much. We parted after the dinner. I must thank Seiya for making my trip to Tokyo a memorable one. Never in my life that my mind had been so saturated with Grand Seikos. Thanks Seiya & Mami!
Grand Seiko 45GS Manual Wind (Hi Beat 36000 bph)
NAGOYA (17 SEPTEMBER 2001)
I woke up very early, had my breakfast and checked out of the hotel. I then walked with my luggage to the Tokyo Station to catch the 8.15 am Shinkansen train to Nagoya. Everything goes smoothly as it was supposed to be. For the first time, I had a shock in my life to see so many people in a train station. I can understand that though, as it was Monday. I am no longer on watch-hunting trip, I told myself. Today, I will have to change my tourist hat, to a university researcher's hat. Upon arriving to Nagoya, my friend Aki-san is already waiting for me at the train station. We then went to have tea, while waiting for another train to travel to another town called Kira-cho (about 55 minutes from Nagoya) where a seminar is going to be held that afternoon.
We reached Kira-cho and then checked into a resort hotel by noon. That afternoon, I delivered a presentation on 'Termite pests and their control in Malaysia' to Japanese termite control operators. It was a very interesting experience, because for the very first time, I presented a talk in English and was translated directly by Aki-san into Japanese, so that the audience can understand what I was talking about. It took twice longer than normal for me to present this talk (60 minutes, instead of the usual 30 minutes). That evening, we had a wonderful Japanese dinner and I enjoyed every bit of it.
KYOTO (18 - 19 SEPTEMBER 2001)
I left Kira-cho train station with my friend, Tanaka-san about 8.30 am. We reached Nagoya after 55 minutes, and I proceeded directly to catch a train to Kyoto. I reached Kyoto train station shortly after 11.00 am and my friend, Dr Yoshimura was already waiting for me at the train station. He then brought me to check into a hotel (now, I forgot the name!!!) near the Kyoto station. We then proceeded to the Wood Research Institute (WRI) in Uji where Dr Yoshimura is an associate professor there. After having a nice lunch, I presented two talks to the faculty members and students at the WRI. I met lots of people and visited numerous research laboratories. WRI has excellent facilities for research. That evening, I had a fine Japanese dinner with WRI's Director and Dr Yoshimura in Gion. I managed to spot a few Geishas. According to my hosts, a fine dinner with a geisha performing in Gion can amount to several million yens. Wow!
Wayne at the entrance of Wood Research Institute, Kyoto University (left); The Clock Tower, Kyoto University (right)
Dampwood termites, Zootermopsis at WRI, Kyoto
I was on a full-time tourist status on 19 September. With Yoshimura-san, I visited several interesting attractions in Kyoto, including the Rokuon-Ji Temple (also known as Kinkaku-Ji), the famous Ryoanji Temple (with the Rock Garden). Kinkaku is really gorgeous. The first floor (Shinden-zukuri) is of palace style, while the 2nd (Buke-zukuri = samurai house) and 3rd floor (Kukkyo-cho = Zen temple style) are covered with gold leaves on Japanese lacquer. The Rock Garden impressed me because it is a simple, yet remarkable garden that measures only 30 m horizontally, and 10 m vertically. It is basically a rectangular Zen garden with no trees; only 15 rocks and white gravel are seen in the garden. It is surrounded by low earthen walls that was thought as a quintessence of Zen art.
Kinkaku-Ji (Golden Pavillion) The Rock Garden
One of the things I would like to buy, other than watches is the wood-print painting as shown below. I have longed to own this painting for a long time. This trip I failed to find one. I saw an immitation in the Rokuon-Ji Temple souvenier shop, but did not manage to find a real one. According to my friend, an original one costs a minimum of 10,000 Yen.
I left Tokyo for Malaysia on 20 September. I had enjoyed every fragment of this trip. It had been a wonderful trip and all my hosts are great people. I will be back to Japan next year to attend an international conference. Yokohama - wait for me!
21 October 2001.