The Magnet 76: Return to Tokyo

A vacation in the heart of Japan's endless surprises

Collectible toys on display at Mandarake in the Nakano Broadway Mall

I went on a family vacation to Tokyo during the first two weeks of May. Initially scheduled for April 2021, our flight was canceled due to Covid. However, two years later, we could go and enjoy our trip. This was my ninth visit to Tokyo, and it only confirmed my belief that it is my favorite place in the world.

Every time I visit Tokyo, I’m always surprised by the endless number of things to discover despite how many times I’ve been there or how long I stay. One of those surprises is how the city seems to become less expensive with each visit. I believe this is due to a combination of factors such as the USD-YEN exchange rate, the difference in inflation rates between the U.S. and Japan, and the fact that I now earn more money than when I first visited in 1987 during my 20s. At that time, I had no job and very limited savings, and Japan was experiencing an economic bubble, making everything very expensive. Even a cup of coffee cost $5 then (equivalent to $13 in 2023). During my five-month stay with Carla, I lost 40 pounds simply because food was too expensive. However, during our most recent trip, we found it easy to have a satisfying lunch at a good restaurant for only 1,000 yen ($7.50), which already includes tax (with no tipping required in Japan).

During our trip to Tokyo, we had the chance to catch up with a friend who currently resides in Canada. He lived in Tokyo before relocating to Canada a few years ago. He mentioned that the cost of living in Canada is twice as high as in Tokyo.

Pure Invention, by Matt Alt

One of the highlights of the trip was finally meeting Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda, who live in Tokyo and run a media production company there called AltJapan. I had been corresponding with Matt for a couple of years after reading an advance copy of his fantastic book, Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World. Hiroko is a photographer and author and wrote an eye-opening article about the assassination of Shinzo Abe for The New Yorker last year. It explores the impact of Japan’s new religions on its political and social landscape and Shinzo Abe’s association with the Unification Church.

New Worlds, Volume 51 Number 174 (1967). Designed by Charles Platt

I also had a chance to meet up with my old friend Charles Platt, who I first met when I was an editor at Wired, and he was writing features for the magazine. Charles was on a trip to Japan with his wife, Erico, and we had dinner at a themed restaurant called the Vampire Cafe. Charles is one of the most interesting people I know. He wrote a number of science fiction novels, starting with The Garbage World in 1967 when he was 22. He was the art director of Michael Moorcock’s New Worlds magazine in the late 1960s. When I became editor-in-chief of MAKE, Charles wrote how-to articles for the magazine. Also, he wrote a very popular book called MAKE: Electronics, which is the best introduction to electronics out there. Recently Charles wrote a multi-volume autobiography called An Accidental Life (Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4), which is funny, wise, and self-deprecating. I can’t recommend it enough.

My room at the Apa Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Kabukicho Tower

We booked our trip during Golden Week, a week with several national holidays. It’s when everyone in Japan takes time off and does touristy things. People who live outside of Tokyo book hotels in the city well in advance, which meant our pickings were slim. We found rooms at the APA Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Kabukicho Tower, Tokyo’s red-light district. Our rooms were so tiny (118 square feet) that Carla and I got our own rooms. I didn’t mind having a small room, because it was designed for efficiency. I love the control panel on the bed’s headboard, where I could adjust the lights and temperature, and charge my phone. The room didn’t have a closet, but there was room under the bed for my suitcase. The restaurant downstairs was terrific. It was only $12 for breakfast and had a huge buffet, including miso, curry rice, delicious grilled fish and steak, omelets, potatoes, salads, vegetables, and desserts. The staff was incredibly friendly and we had interesting conversations with them. My daughter has been studying Japanese for a few years and was able to translate.

Here’s a short time-lapse video I shot from my window on the 13th floor on a rainy day:

In the next issue, I’ll talk about some of the places we went to and the things we saw in Tokyo. Stay tuned!

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