Being a Unique Ginbura
Expect the Unexpected
Both of my expectations for Japan’s capital city were bang on. Tokyo was incomprehensively massive, with its urban sprawl stretching far beyond the line of vision. And, my hotel room, despite being in an upscale hotel, was smaller than tiny, it was minuscule.
Formerly known as Edo until 1868, Tokyo has been recognized as a center of commerce since the 17th century. The current population of the greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area is 37,194,000 and it spans a total landmass of 5,240 square miles on Honshu Island, the largest of the four main islands of Japan.
The Central Metropolis of Tokyo has a population density that exceeds 6,800 people per square mile. There are a LOT of high-rise apartment buildings.
The Tokyo Metropolis is divided into 23 wards and each ward is subdivided into several districts. On a grand scale,Tokyo is comprised of 26 cities, 5 towns, and 8 villages. The city is remarkably clean and safe.
Despite its heavy population density, Tokyo has been identified by the Global Peace Index as the 2023 SAFEST CITY IN THE WORLD.
Cultural taboos within the Japanese culture are likely significant factors influencing the safety of Tokyo. First, the outward expression of anger is considered highly disgraceful. Second, respect is highly valued. Regardless, Tokyo is not free of “petty crime.” It is quite common for bicycles and umbrellas to be “borrowed” if they are not under lock and key.
What are the odds I would land right in the middle of the Ginza District, Tokyo’s premier destination noted for world-class shopping, music, art, cuisine, architecture, and Japanese culture? Of all the gazillion options to choose from I managed to sort through the Tokyo maze and find the one district where I could amuse myself for days.
My hotel room, however, was another matter. Here is the picture presented to me when I reserved the room online.
The room below is a bit BIGGER than the one I actually got when I checked in.
Notice any difference between the two rooms? Of course, the hotel did not have any other rooms available. Why would I want another room?
Because I did a very unusual thing. I brought a suitcase with me.
No matter how I tried to finagle it, there was NO SPACE to open my suitcase other than on the bed. But when I opened it, there was NO ROOM FOR ME.
This gave a whole new meaning to small hotel rooms. My suitcase and I were embroiled in an ongoing wrestling match for the entire duration of my stay.
I expected small, but this was one time when I would rather the hotel had NOT exceeded my expectations.
In the Ginza District of Tokyo, the Japanese people enjoy my pastime of gawking, walking, and talking so much, that they’ve assigned a special term to it - “Ginbura.” Wow! I had never even heard of Ginza before, but there I was with my very own tribe of like-minded people.
There are two theories about how the term “Ginbura” came into existence.
The most popular is that in the 1920s it was assigned to students who enjoyed going to the Ginza District to sit and drink Brazilian coffee (bura). That’s their story and they’re going to stick to it.
The term correctly is derived from "Ginza o burabura suru" - literally “to stroll around the Ginza District.” Ginbura.
Ginza has been recognized as Tokyo’s most prestigious shopping area for centuries. Even the name “Ginza” which means “silver guild” attests to its prosperity. The pedestrian promenades are lined with some of the world’s most avant-garde merchants, unique shops, restaurants, and other glamorous shopping fairs.
Prada, Hermes, Cartier, Dior on your right. Designer-Grown Melons on your left.
Oh for sure. Let me just whip out my wallet. How many hundreds of smackeroos do you want me to peel off for one of those Designer-Grown Melons? Three hundred? Four hundred? Four thousand? A Sembikiya Fuji grade - one in a thousand, you say? Flawless? That is impressive.
Designer-Grown Sembikiya Fuji grade? What exactly makes them different from the everyday garden variety? Aside from several thousand George Washingtons? Are the melons gold-injected?
Shelling out hundreds, even thousands of dollars for a single piece of fruit, regardless of how perfect or delicious it may be, seems quite eccentric and lavish to most Westerners. However, in Japan, there is a cultural demand and a growing market for exquisite, flawless fruit.
Each piece of luxury fruit is given constant care and attention – literally handled with WHITE GLOVES – during every stage of growth. While still on the vine it is given its own MELON SUNHAT, a delicate paper covering and it is hand-polished daily by the farmer. Melon farmers can go through several pairs of white gloves in the process of producing the perfect fuji melon.
The king of all designer-grown melons is the Yūbari King. In 2018 an auction of a royal pair of these melon patriarchs sold for $29,000. Yes. $29,000!
Japanese consumers are willing to pay the price for the fruit because it is traditionally given as a HIGHLY CHERISHED GIFT to express heartfelt HONOR and RESPECT.
BRAINFLASH!!
My husband, Farmer B, has a green thumb. He is the King of Cucumbers.
Next season he can be all set up to grow Farmer B’s Designer-Grown Cucumbers.
He can pitch a tent and camp out in Farmer B’s Designer-Grown Cucumber patch for as long as needed. Following suit with the tried and tested Japanese tradition he will wear soft snow-white gloves for handling his precious little commodities. Then Farmer B will Texanize his production by adding a signature white Texas ten-gallon COWBOY HAT to top off his designer-gardener attire.
Every one of Farmer B’s designer-grown baby cukes will proudly bear witness to its Texas heritage. Each little cuke will be gently wrapped in its own delicate white paper Texas-style 10-gallon CUCUMBER COWBOY HAT to protect it from the scorching sun.
Every day, clad in his white gloves Farmer B will inspect the tender little cukes on the vines, searching for flaws or imperfections. He will softly polish and buff them until they shine. At night while the world sleeps, he will stand vigil over the vines, guarding them against things that go thump and chomp in the dark hours. Dangerous things like killer bunny rabbits.
At precisely the right time, Farmer B’s Designer-Grown Cucumbers will be ready to harvest and be personally hand-delivered by Farmer B, wearing his signature white Texas ten-gallon cowboy hat, to select markets packed in custom-made boxes lined with layers of white silk padding.
Farmer B’s Designer-Grown Cucumbers should be worth one hefty chunk of change.
Don’t believe me? Think again. Did you ever think people would LINE UP to pay $8.00 for a cup of coffee?
I continued my journey as a gawking, talking, walking Ginbura.
Prada, Hermes, Cartier, Dior on your right. Itoya Stationery on your left.
Stationery? What is so interesting about that? Hands down, Itoya is the MOTHER of ALL Stationery Stores! Itoya offered 18 unsurpassed floors of tastefully displayed Japanese stationery products and accessories of every sort. Yup, 18 floors!
Whatever your fancy, it was there – greeting cards, office supplies, travel accessories, pens, fine stationery, concierge special orders, origami materials, crafting supplies, and much more. Before you THINK you have it figured out, look at what Itoya has on the 11th floor.
The daily harvest from the “Farm” goes to the 12th floor where it is used to make scrumptious, nutrition-packed fresh salads for Itoya’s own Café Stylo.
Many a weary stationery Ginbura, such as myself could be found there chowing through the lettuce like there was no tomorrow.
By the time I returned to my microscopic-sized hotel room tucked away in the far reaches of the swanky super-sized hotel, I was mega-charged with lettuce vitamins, and I had developed a foreign appetite for … Japanese stationery.
My quest to find Washi, traditional hand-made Japanese paper, took me straight to Ozu Washi, in the district of Nihonbashi. Ozu Washi has been recognized for over 370 years as Tokyo's premier Washi merchant and cultural center for preserving the artful craft of Japanese papermaking. Despite having been devastated by earthquakes, fires, and natural disasters, Ozu Washi has withstood the test of time
Ah, but before we mosey on over to Ozu Washi for a look at the stuff I’m making such a big hoopla about, let me tell you about the skeleton in Washi’s closet.
The word washi comes from Japanese words for “Japanese” and “paper.” Wa (Japan) shi (paper).
But… Washi does NOT originate in Japan. Nope. It actually made its way to Japan via a Korean Buddhist priest named Doncho.
Oh no! It’s 2023 and it’s a strange world these days. Can Washi still be Washi? Or will it have to become Doncho Washi now? Or Chinese Korean Washi?
Surely it counts big time that the Japanese tweaked and fine-tuned the way Washi was made by adding mulberry pulp and gampi fibers?
No! “Gampi fibers” are NOT whisker snippets from Japanese grandpas. Gampi is a type of Japanese shrub.
Ginburas, Designer-Grown Melons, a Hydroponic Farm in the Stationery Store, and a Unique Art Form. Oh, and of course, don’t forget the Minature Hotel Room. I do hope you have enjoyed looking at Tokyo from a different perspective.
Another fine Japanese invention is square watermelons (those are produced by constraining them in transparent plastic during growth). Perhaps it can be appropriated to produce, for example, gun-shaped cucumbers?