Lost In Translation - Complete Day Tour in Tokyo

Sofia Coppola, the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola (director of The Godfather movies and more) spent part of her formative youth and young adulthood in Tokyo and Japan, in the worlds of entertainment style and fashion, and her dismorphic experiences with social life and alienation amidst love for the country and culture managed to make a lasting imprint on the formation of her character and emotional landscape. Japan being Japan, the delightful and dazzling lights among the despondent and drab crowds of the city in her memory, and the resulting disconnection and surreal solitude would one day lead her to create the exceptional screenplay and win the Oscar for her film about the country, Lost In Translation (2003.) To date many people's favorite film and a favorite of many expats living in Japan.

Tokyo is used as a cutting and cold yet bright and exciting "Third character" in the movie to the protagonists Bob and Charlotte, and their story would not really work without the city as the supportive role. This tour attempts to paint in real experience, and a few fun film aficionado adventures, the places and feelings that the film really was trying to convey and why Japan was a perfect setting for its feelings and resonance which tuned in with so many people around the world. It will be our pleasure to take you on a tour of the movie's haunts.

RIDE UNI-CUB AND MEET ROBOTS

In the morning you get picked up from your hotel and by 10 am arrive at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in the Tokyo Bay area.

The UNI-CUB tour: Travelers will embark on a guided tour with a personal mobility device that was developed on technology based on balance-control used for the ASIMO robot. From the hours 10:15-10:30 am or 10:45-11:00 am. 
This is a real treat and a fun experience.

The ASIMO demonstration: Introducing ASIMO created by Honda in the year 2000, a Futuristic Humanoid Robot. Try to imagine a future society in which we live alongside robots, I know most of us are a fan of the movie The Fifth Element. This takes place from 11:00 -11:10 am.

In the movie…

Do you know the deleted scene from Lost in Translation? Charlotte aimlessly wanders the streets when two robots approach her, quickly gazing toward her with dormant eyes. They "see" however don't perceive Charlotte in any significant way. She's just an object they sense before them, deserving of a fast examination however that's it. It's an ironic allegory for Lost in Translation itself, a swirl of titillating yet brief postcard picture and individuals who look at each other however never connect.

RAMEN WITHOUT A WORD

12:30 am
Lunch at Ichiran near Shimbashi Station.

Ichiran is a highly popular ramen shop where you can “concentrate” on your food with table dividers. The food is fantastic and a great treat of the local experience.

It is designed especially for solo customers.

The policy of the Ichiran ramen chain is to minimize the interaction with shop staff and customers as much as possible. This is a unique experience unlike any other. And really adds to the immersive of being “alone”.

In the movie…

Most of the time in Lost in Translation are people among people in complete isolation. Having a whiskey in a bar, not in the mood for any remote conversation with others; strolling through the roads of Tokyo alone, only observing events as they happen.  Every frame, when Charlotte is with her better half, he doesn't appear to notice her at all. The language barrier also creates a feeling of distance. The entire film is soaked with an air of lonesomeness and a sentiment of detachment.

TAKE A WALK IN KABUKICHO DISTRICT

Kabukicho is an entertainment district in Shinjuku with neon-burning lights, lasers and loud music that obliges basically any individual's taste and budget. Countless restaurants, bars, strip clubs, hostess clubs, nightclubs, pachinko parlors, love hotels and a wide variety of red light establishments, it’s all here! Yet it is the safest red-light district in Asia and, probably, in the world.

In the movie…

Bob’s intro scene in Lost in Translation starts with him passing this area by taxi. It is his first introduction to Tokyo.

EXPLORE SHINJUKU WEST DISTRICT

The west exit of Shinjuku is lined up with high-rise buildings such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (A symbol of Tokyo), hotels, companies, etc.

It is a huge business area, crowded with various restaurants.

West of the station is Shinjuku's skyscraper district, home to many of Tokyo's tallest buildings, including several premier hotels and the twin towers of the Metropolitan Government Office, whose observation decks are open to the public for free.

In the movie…

This is the place is at the end of the movie where Murray's Bob whispers an unheard message to Charlotte as they say goodbye. Movie fans are still curious to this very day about what was said. Who knows, possibly you will find a clue here? 

PARK HYATT, PEAK LOUNGE

Peak Lounge is open 11:00-22:00. 

Park Hyatt & Peak Lounge: Park Hyatt is Tokyo’s luxury hotel that occupies the top 14 floors of the 52-story tower. Here guests can take a rest from the busy neighbourhood below and enjoy 360-degree magnificent views of the hectic city and Mount Fuji. Occupying the top 14 floors of the 52-story tower, the hotel offers guests an unmatched level of solace and customized administration at the heart of the capital.

The Peak Lounge is a popular upscale cafe located inside of the hotel.

Even at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, where earth's stratosphere can feel almost at arm’s reach, there is no place like it and is subject to change its look over time as much as the Peak Lounge.

In the movie…

The location where Bob and Charlotte spent numerous restless nights persecuted by bouts of insomnia. Here, at the lounge bar, the only solace of the hotel, the two meet. Please remember to take a rest in the open space spread over Tokyo. And remember, "For a relaxing time, make it Suntory time..."

SEIGANJI TEMPLE

This place is located in a quiet residential area of Western Tokyo 20 min from Shinjuku. Buddhist sanctuaries are a massive part of the religious landscape of Southeast Asia. Each day a large number of people pass them by, yet very few stop and come inside. But if you want a moment to take a break from the noisy streets, sit in front of Buddha, close your eyes and keep the stress away.

In the movie…

Charlotte takes a walk in the city and ends up visiting some sanctuaries. She observes Buddhist monks chanting prayers. Charlotte states that didn’t feel anything at that moment. But try to find some inner peace yourself. Maybe you will have better luck than the main heroine of the movie.

SHIBUYA CROSSING

Another astonishing thing to see are the vivified dinosaurs walking across the glass fronts of skyscrapers highlight the famed intersection known as Shibuya Crossing. Three enormous TV screens mounted on the buildings light up the crossing point throughout the whole day. You will see the most remarkable feature of the area: the people. Here, where seven crossroads meet, every time the lights turn red, about 2,500 people come in three different directions and cross through the intersection at the same time. It has become emblematic of the order and chaos of modern Tokyo life: action in all directions.

In the movie…

Here Charlotte walks alone through the crowd as she goes on her way to explore the city. Thousands of people busily heading in different directions. They all meet in the middle of a frantic chaos, bumping, evading and swerving around one another as they try to cross. "Lost in Translation" catches that ambivalent sentiment of a lonely anonymity one can experience in the midst of a crowd.

SHABU-SEN RESTAURANT

The final part of the tour is a shabu-shabu dinner. It is a popular traditional Japanese hot pot dish where the sliced meat and assorted vegetables are cooked together in a large open pot and served with dipping sauces. The aroma is magnetic. Have a fun time creating your food at this unforgettable dinner.

In the movie…

Charlotte and Bob enjoyed dinner here.

This is the same place that makes Bill Murray’s character complain about a restaurant where he needs to cook his own food. Don’t think too much about what to order, just poke into something randomly on the menu like Bob did and don’t feel lost in translation!