Out of Office: Exploring Japan with Citizen Watch Company
By now, you’re probably well aware of the incredibly enriching experience I had with Citizen Watch Company at their manufacturing facilities getting a peek behind the curtain at the genius that is the brand’s proprietary Eco-Drive technology. However, as I teased on a podcast episode, the warmth and transparency of every member of Citizen’s team was not the only thing that made this press trip so unique and special. Flying us quite literally halfway around the world, Citizen created an incredibly generous itinerary that left space for cultural experiences and personal exploration.
The trip both kicked off and concluded in Tokyo, and here, there are three activities not to be missed. We were fortunate that Citizen planned the trip during one of the most beautiful and remarkable times of the year in Japan – cherry blossom season. It was essential to have a proper viewing experience of the breathtaking trees before the blooms fell for the season, which is only a short window. This is what makes the cherry blossoms so special – their impermanence and their beauty serve as a reminder to cherish the good moments while they last. With this relationship to time, it’s no wonder the color and delicate texture of the blossoms have long been a muse for Japanese watchmakers. I took in this experience at the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, which is just a short 30-minute train ride from Tokyo’s city center and mere steps from the platform of the Shinjuku Station. Let me pause here for a moment to briefly gush over Tokyo’s public transportation.
Whether you’re a New Yorker accustomed to a daily commute on the subway, a Chicagoan familiar with the L, a Londoner who frequents the tube, or a Parisian riding the metro, no other public transportation system will compare to your experience on the Tokyo system. Even if you hail from a rural town and have never used public transit before, Tokyo makes it easy with the cleanest stations and easiest directions down to the exact car you should enter and exit to make your trip the most efficient and seamless – plus, the trains actually run on time.
Okay, so back to the cherry blossoms – the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden is a massive, lush, urban oasis combining traditional Japanese landscaping styles with European influences of the English and French. The area spans nearly 150 acres and is home to over 900 cherry blossom trees – needless to say the viewing is optimal. The garden is equally perfect for lounging with a picnic or strolling until your heart’s content.
Another destination easily accessible to the heart of Tokyo by a quick trip on one of the city’s immaculate trains is the Meiji Shrine in Shibuya. This Shinto shrine is dedicated to the Emperor and Empress who modernized the nation at the end of the samurai era. There are several highlights to enjoy throughout the grounds, from the massive 12-meter-tall torii gates built from 1,500-year-old Japanese cypress wood to the stacks of brightly decorated sake casks that line the approach to the main hall. The Meiji Shrine is particularly ideal on a hot day thanks to the cover of over 100,000 trees.
Between the garden and the shrine, the reverence to nature even in the urban confines of Tokyo was very apparent and drove home that nature is an important part of Japanese culture, even to city dwellers. I’ve always wondered if the nature-inspiration we see infused into Japanese watchmaking is a gimmick for really compelling storytelling, but based on my experience in Japan, I believe the natural elements that make their way into watches are an authentic representation of Japanese values and aesthetics.
To close out the trip with Citizen, we took a picturesque cruise on Tokyo Bay with Mikawaya Yakatabune, a historic boat operator based in Shinagawa with a legacy of over 170 years. This long‑established funayado has preserved Edo‑period hospitality and cuisine all onboard a beautifully maintained traditional yakatabune. We enjoyed a stunning view of the city along with exceptional food, from fresh sashimi to freshly fried tempura made with a variety of seasonal ingredients.
Speaking of food, I have to emphasize my top food recommendation while exploring Japan. If you know, you know, the culinary stop you cannot miss is 7-Eleven. The Japanese take on the iconic convenience store is unparalleled, the stuff dreams are made of. Under the typical glow of fluorescent lights one expects to encounter at any run of the mill bodega, the 7-Elevens of Japan appear unremarkable and unassuming on nearly every street corner. Yet, enter and you will not find the shelves stocked with chemical-filled trash snacks that have fueled many American road trips but instead a gold mine of Japanese goodies for the taking. Need a quick and absolutely delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack? This is the place to go. Period. I grabbed a bite here every day during my stay in Japan. A few of my personal go-tos include the iconic egg salad sandwich on milk bread, the strawberry crueler, and the onigiri rice balls.
Thanks to Citizen, we also had the privilege to venture outside Tokyo to the rural countryside on one of the famous bullet trains. Here, there were a few other standout activities that allowed us to really immerse ourselves in authentic, historic, and spiritual Japanese experiences.
The first was a class on the art of Kintsugi, the traditional Japanese technique of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold to make it whole again. If you’ve been reading my stories for a while now, you know I’m a huge fan of any form of artistic craft, so this activity was right up my alley. You start by selecting a piece of ancient, chipped pottery – mine hailed from the Edo Period, somewhere between 1615 and 1868 with a design depicting a cherry blossom and arrows, “symbolizing both beauty and determination – whatever you aim for you, will achieve,” according to Yoshiko Kuge. Together, Yoshiko Kuge and her husband Yoshiichiro Kuge perpetuate this ancient art form through their studio space, Kuge Crafts, and on-site workshops like ours. After you’ve chosen your piece, you create a mixture of glue and clay, which is applied to the chipped area. Once this hardens after about ten minutes, you file the material until it becomes flush with the pottery. Next, brass powder is combined with lacquer to paint the chipped area as well as any other areas you want to enhance with the gold mixture. After this dries (about another ten minutes), a final step is a dusting of mineral powder to the painted areas. However, it takes another two weeks before the materials are fully set and the pottery can be washed and used.
We continued to dive deeper into the rich culture of Japan with a silent walk led by a Yamabushi monk. Before the short hike along Mount Kosuge’s pilgrimage trail – one of the three most sacred places in Nagano for shugendo (Japanese mountain asceticism-shamanism) established more than 1300 years ago – we convened in a temple. Here, we dressed in traditional white pilgrim garments and learned chants – the only sound to accompany our trek. Along the journey amid the century-old cedar trees, we passed stone statues marking the path, which culminated near the water in reverence to the life source element that provides plentiful crops in the nearby rice fields. The day of our walk, the weather was admittedly dreadful, cold, and rainy. Once we began embarking on this experience, the discomfort melted away, and this closing moment celebrating the element of water and the way it fuels our lives made me even more appreciative of the rain coming down on us.
The evening closed with a much livelier cultural experience that’s quintessentially Japanese: a sake tasting. Being made from fermented rice, sake holds deep spiritual and social significance for plentiful harvests and good fortune. The offerings at our tasting came from two Iiyama-based breweries, Tanakaya Brewing Company and Kadoguchi Sake Brewery. Coming full circle from the cultural experiences of the day, the sakes used the pure spring water originating from nearby Nozawa Onsen as well as local large-grained rice best suited for making superior sake. I’ll admit, I’ve tried sake literally dozens of times in the States hoping to like it – wanting to like it. I pride myself in being a girl who can and will eat or drink anything, but time and time again, I could never find a sake that clicked for me. Of course, when in Japan, I had to give it a try, and the sake at this tasting was truly special like nothing I’d ever tasted before – spoiler alert: I finally found sake I loved.
Beyond these incredible activities, I took advantage of free time to purchase all the must-have souvenirs, like tea from Saboe, a fan from Miyawaki Baisen-an, and chopsticks from Ginza Natsuno. I was also lucky enough to be in Tokyo on one of the rare Sundays in which the Odeo market took place – a literal treasure trove of local vintage and handmade goods. I couldn’t resist checking out Itoya, the iconic 12-story stationary story – a writer’s dream – and stopping by one of the local pharmacies for the TikTok-famed Nivea lip tint (in five different shades). Then I proceeded to splurge on some wares from one of Japan’s most distinctive fashion brands, Kapital. I also got a chance to meet up with one of the founders and another member of the Tokyo Watch Club and get an authentic night out in the city with locals full of watch nerd conversations that illuminated the unique aspects of the horological community there. Overall, the trip was one of the most enriching travel experiences I’ve ever had, for work or for pleasure. Yet, I somehow feel like I only brushed the surface of what Japan has to offer and am currently saving up my sky miles for a trip back, which could lead to a potential part-two of this story down the line.
The post Out of Office: Exploring Japan with Citizen Watch Company appeared first on Worn & Wound.
from Worn & Wound https://ift.tt/hlMycL1
Comments
Post a Comment