Japanese Gardens

There are endless things to do in Tokyo. If it’s your first time visiting, you will probably have a compulsion to do as much as possible. The excitement of Tokyo is infectious. However, I’m writing this post to send you on a different path as a counterpoint to the lights and energy of the city. At some point, take a break from the frenzy and visit a Japanese garden. It’s an underrated experience and is not on most people’s radar when visiting Tokyo, but you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into another world.

When I was a child in Los Angeles, my mother would take me to local Japanese gardens when she needed a dose of tranquility, and I’ve felt the pull of them ever since. All types of gardens are beautiful in their own way, but the gardens in Japan are exceptional. The Japanese maples—so transfixing when their colors change, the koi ponds filled with beautiful colored fish (the way they swim over to you, like the dogs of the fish world), the small red bridges over the ponds, the pagodas with their stylized designs and distinct eaves standing out, yet blending perfectly with the surrounding nature. 

The gardens in Japan are simply spectacular. They evoke a sense of cultivated perfection. Every aspect lovingly tended to create the most elegant, harmonious environment.

I find myself envying the lives of the Japanese gardeners who serve as caretakers of these public gardens. They go about their work quietly with focus and intention. Trimming leaves, shaping hedges, and building supports for branches. The calm and stillness envelop me. 

Japanese gardens are places to linger, relax, and soak in the surroundings. There’s a stillness not usually found in Tokyo (or Los Angeles). The world slows down and I’m mesmerized by the harmony and beauty of this small piece of nature. The buildings, the traffic, and the people seem very far away. 

My mind relaxes, and my pace slows. I’m not trying to accomplish anything or compete with anyone. I exist: Observing, embracing, and appreciating.

I highly recommend you set aside an hour or two to visit one of these spectacular gardens.

Here are a few I like:

Rikugien Garden

Hamarikyu Garden

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Kyu-Furukawa Garden

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Ekiben (Train Bento)

Ekiben is train bento. Japanese people love to shorten and combine words so that’s how you get ekiben; eki (train stations) and ben (short for bento).

Ekiben is exactly what you think it is, bento boxes designed to be eaten on a train, Shinkansen trains specifically, because one doesn’t eat on regular trains. It’s considered rude. 

A Shinkansen ride is not really a Shinkansen ride without an ekiben and a few beers. Just ask any self-respecting salaryman or woman.

Ekiben are sold inside the train station and at shops just outside the station as well, and even on the train platforms themselves in case you didn’t have time or forgot to purchase one earlier.

There are so many options! From small and simple to elegant and elaborate. From seasonal offerings to regional specialties. They include everything from onigiri, fried pork cutlet sandwiches, yakitori skewers, and donburi to regional foods you can only get from that specific prefecture or station. These last ones are the most interesting, so keep your eyes open for local specialty bento as you travel around Japan.

The regional bento will feature whatever foods are famous there. In Hokkaido where seafood is legendary, you’ll find specialties like crab meat on rice or rice cooked in oyster broth. In Tokyo, Edo-style sushi will be available. Osaka has Takoyaki bento. Those are just a few examples. And they are fairly obvious. Every region has different foods they’re known for and that’s what will be featured.

Garaigo (Loan words)

You do not by any means need to speak Japanese to have an amazing vacation in Japan, however, you should know that a little Japanese goes a long way. 

Although English is taught in schools in Japan, most Japanese people don’t speak English well. It’s similar to how most Americans don’t speak Spanish (or French) well after having studied it in high school.

The good news is that Japanese people do not expect foreigners to speak Japanese. They know Japanese is a challenging language. This and Japanese people’s attitudes about languages and language learning all combine to create the perfect brew of a culture that appreciates people who speak even a modicum of Japanese.

It’s almost unreal how well you will be received if you can speak some Japanese. You don’t even need to be good at it. Any level of Japanese will unlock more of Japan and make connections with locals infinitely easier and stronger.

What you may not already know is that you already know a lot of Japanese, you just don’t know what you know or how to pronounce it. That’s where garaigo comes in.

Garaigo are loan words. Words from other languages that Japan has borrowed and uses with great frequency.

Speaking Japanese English may feel a bit strange at first, but you best get over yourself and get used to it if you want Japanese people to understand you. And, no, they won’t think you are making fun of them. They will be able to hear you properly.

During one of my earlier visits to Tokyo, I was showing my girlfriend Shinjuku. I didn’t speak a lot of Japanese, just enough to squeak by, but I knew enough to speak English with a Japanese accent to be understood.

We were near our hotel (The Hilton) in Shinjuku. We had gotten turned around and I knew we were only a few blocks from the hotel, but I didn’t know which direction to go (this was pre-GPS days!).

I asked a Japanese lady in a combo of Japanese and perfect English (Excuse, me where is the Hilton Hotel?) “Sumimasen, Hilton Hotel Doko desu ka?” She was completely flustered and apologetic and kept saying “Sorry, I don’t know” (in Japanese).

I then asked the same question a second time using the Japanese pronunciation for Hilton Hotel. “Sumimasen, Hee-ru-ton Ho-teh-ru doko desu ka?” She immediately got excited and said, “Right this way” (in Japanese of course).

The difference in this situation was that her ears were not used to hearing “Hilton Hotel” (that sounded foreign and weird to her), whereas “Hee-ru-ton Ho-teh-ru” was perfectly normal. It’s how she would say it in normal conversation.

Some Japanese people who have studied abroad in English-speaking countries and have a higher level of English-speaking ability will have no problem with standard American or standard British English pronunciation, but they will be the exception, not the norm.

It will feel strange at first to Japanisize your English, but it is a must if you want to be understood by most Japanese people.

Keep in mind, we have borrowed words from the Japanese language as well and we don’t pronounce them like Japanese people do either. Some examples are karaoke, sake, tsunami, karate, sushi, typhoon, origami, anime, manga, emoji, etc.

I like pronouncing Japanese words the American way and seeing if my Japanese friends can understand me. Carry-OH-key vs. ka-rah-oh-keh. Kuh-RA-tea vs. ka-rah-teh. They don’t always get it, but they find it amusing and often have some laughs. “The Kuh-RA-tea Kid” is most definitely not how you a Japanese person would pronounce it!

This website, Forvo, is great for hearing correct Japanese pronunciation. Just copy and paste the Japanese katakana for whichever word you want to hear and then you will get a native pronunciation. Here’s the pronunciation for beer (ビール). Forvo works for pronunciation in many languages and you can also input words in Kanji or hiragana as well.

There are tons of English loan words (garaigo) commonly used in the Japanese language (also French, German, and Portuguese loan words) so it is beneficial to get comfortable saying them with a Japanese accent.

Here’s a list of some common and useful loan words. Check it out, you’ll be amazed at how much you already know how to say in Japanese. They are traditionally written in katakana. I have also included romaji (the romanized English spelling). Enjoy.

Beer - bi-ru (ビール)

Hamburger - hanba-gu (ハンバーグ)

Cola - kora (コラ)

Coffee - kohi (コヒ)

Milk - miruku (ミルク)

Rice - raisu (ライス)

Whiskey - uisukiー (ウイスキー)

Gin - jin (ジン)

Highball - haibo-ru (ハイボール)

Salad - sarada (サラダ)

Sandwich - sandoichi (サンドイッチ)

Ice cream - aisu kuri-mu (アイス クリム)

Wine - wain (ワイン)

Alcohol - aruko-ru (アルコール)

Pizza - piza (ピザ)

Pasta - pasuta (パスタ)

Restaurant - resutoran (レストラン)

Menu - menyu (メニュー）

Toilet - toire (トイレ)

Taxi - takushi (タクシー)

Bus - basu (バス)

Cake - ke-ki (ケーキ)

Style - sutairu (スタイル)

Perfect - pafekuto (パフェクト)

Golf - gorufu (ゴルフ)

Baseball - beisuboru (ベイスボル)

Basketball - basuketoboru (バスケットボル)

Tennis - tenisu (テニス)

Building - biru (ビル)

Apartment - apa-to (アパート)

Advice - adobaisu (アドバイス)

Air conditioner/aircon - eakon (エアコン)

Hotel - hoteru (ホテル)

Ticket - chiketto (チケット)

Department store - depa-to (デパート)

Sexy - sekushi (セクシー)

Escalator - esukare-ta- (エスカレーター)

Elevator - erebe-ta- (エレベーター)

Fight - Faito (ファイト)

Fry - furai (フライ) (like ebi furai (fried shrimp) or furaido potato (French fries))

Handsome - hansomu (ハンソム)

Image - Ime-ji (イメージ)

Juice - ju-su (ジュース)

Camera - kamera (カメラ)

Club - kurabu (クラブ)

Mail/email - me-ru (メール)

Computer - konpyu-ta- (コンピューター)

Pants - pantsu (パンツ)

Love - rabu (ラブ)

Supermarket - su-pa- (スーパー)

Game - ge-mu (ゲーム)

Banana - banana (バナナ)

Melon - meron (メロン)

Lemon - remon (レモン)

Drama - dorama (ドラマ)

Here’s a list of 301 garaigo words someone put together in an Excel spreadsheet based on the garaigo words in the garaigo Wikipedia entry