Japan has been a destination for me since I was really young. My first ever connection with Japan was through video games. Besides a watch and guitar collector, I love video games, especially Nintendo, and at Christmas 1992 or 1993, my dad bought me a Super Nintendo, with Super Mario World. And that was the first step into an obsession.
After that, it was anime. Gundam, Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, Ghibli, Akira, the Japanese style animation just blew my mind, and it is until this day, some of my favourite movies and TV shows of all time. Then it was music, guitars, history, design, aesthetic, and watches…yes, I do like Japan. And finally, this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Japan for the first time.
A lot of planning, organising, almost cancelling the whole thing because of the Coronavirus (in its infancy at the start of February, when I actually went), and expectation came to its climax on February 9th, 2020.
Tired, sleepy, and eager to begin our journey to the the land that I have travelled so many times in my dreams and through my hobbies.
My plan for this trip, my first, was to be a taster, a trial of the waters, to understand the place, more of the culture, the environment, and to try and find the spaces I have planned to visit. My goal was to visit the two places that makes me love Japan: Akihabara, for video game, anime, and music, and Ginza, for watches, Seiko and Grand Seiko.
I have established a budget, looked up models, checked out stores and boutiques where to I could find interesting pieces. Have plotted paths, assembled maps, and put too much effort on minutia so I could see, touch, and feel everything I wanted. And then, travel happens.
But not in a bad way, not at all. Even though those were my goals and objectives for this trip, a watch hunt, anime and games galore, the reason for going to Japan was to spend time and to have an incredible adventure with my fiancee. And for that reason, plans and minutia give space to fun, discovering, and an amazing journey for both of us.
I couldn’t see a tenth of what I planned, but I can assure I had so much more fun and enjoyed so much more discovering Tokyo and Kyoto with the person I love. Of course we managed to find really cool things. Watches for me, textiles for her, and art and resources for both of us. But doing the unplanned is definitely more fascinating.
Nevertheless, I managed to find very special watches to add to my collection, some quite interesting places to look (and buy if you can) high quality timepieces, and unusual and unlikely vintage and second hand stores with random watches just lying around there.
Throughout the whole 2 weeks we spent in Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto), I have bought 3 watches, all 3 new, no vintage ones this time (even though I almost got an Omega Speedmaster for less than a thousand, and missed because of not acting fast enough). Each one of those watches were bought in completely different places. One in an official boutique, one in a department store with an authorised watch dealer at the ground floor, and the last in a shopping mall, in an authorised store. Every one of those experiences were completely distinct from the other, and each one of them taught me at least something new and useful for my watch collecting journey, that I will carry trough my whole life.
The first watch I bought was an unexpected buy. I never knew I wanted an Orient, and have just found out when I saw one new in person. The watch itself is not anything special on itself. However – and I will go through that in a separate post – I have met and talked with the staff and spent a lot of time discussing watches, creating connections, and making new friends. The store had a quite small collection of watches, and went from Rotarys and Citizens, to Frederique Constant, Omega, all the way to Cuervo y Sobrinos (the first time I tried and touched a Cuervo in person), and Orient. Orient, for those who don’t know, are a subsidiary of Seiko Epson, and looks and feels like its bigger brother. However, and I don’t know exactly why, it has its own identity and personality, and I found that to be the perfect watch to be had as a fun and nice memory from a late afternoon in Tokyo looking for watches. A Japanese, unusual and low profile brand, just like the store I was in. The second was the beautiful Seiko Presage Star Bar Limited Edition for 2020, the Honeycomb. That was a watch I have planned to buy as soon as it was announced. It was the one piece I would definitely need to have when in Japan, and buying that after visiting the Seiko Dream Square, in Ginza, was a dream come true – pun intended. And the last was a Seiko 5 Sports SRPC53K1. That was more last moment purchase, and I wanted another watch, but not a dress watch. It was quite cheap, and having a cool looking, chunky diver’s watch has crossed another item on my checklist.
I have also found some very interesting and fascinating magazines and books on horology, collections, and watchmakers. I brought two amazing books, but came back regretting not buying more, which I didn’t because we have ran out of space on our luggage. One of those magazines is a really detailed and amazingly illustrated history of diver’s, military, and pilot watches, depicting the evolution of pocket watches, and the move to wristwatches, from the ladies’ timepieces, to the strapping of pocket watches in leather wristbands for easier legibility and use. The other is a interview/recollection of influential people in Japan, talking about one of their favourite watches of their collections. Both quite unusual and interesting, which will be definitely add to the library.
Overall, this trip was quite full, and it was a taster for Japan. There is so much to see, do, and discover, and in 2 weeks, there is just no way to try and do everything. I was so happy to be able to visit such an amazing country, and to bring 3 very special in their own ways Japanese made watches, Japanese books, and a lot of knowledge and experience for the next time (and I bought a Gundam too).
The Column Wheel 