By Roland Oehme
April 24, 2012
TOKYO — Tokyo may be known as a
worldwide culture and technology capital, but it has also been quietly
making strides to embrace green and sustainable living. If you are
visiting Tokyo, Sierra Club Green Home has some suggestions for how to have a green vacation in this fast-paced megalopolis of 35 million.
Let’s say you have just arrived at
Narita Airport, and want to be whisked away to a beautiful green hotel.
One of the greenest hotels is Hotel Grand Fresa Akasaka. This three-star hotel holds a Green Globe Certification,
and offers modern amenities, a restaurant, and a full service spa. It
is centrally located in the Akasaka neighborhood near Tokyo Tower,
within walking distance of many sites. The hotel even rents out bicycles
to guests.
For other green hotels in Tokyo, try a Web site like Travelocity, and select the “Green/EcoFriendly” option under “Accommodation Type.” The first hotel on the list, Hotel New Otani Tokyo,
underwent a major renovation in 2004 to bring up its modern safety and
comfort standards. The owners also added many green features like a roof
garden, a water recycling plant, a composting plant, and local organic
produce.
For the nature enthusiast, take a trip far away from the hustle and bustle of central Tokyo and stay instead at the Farm City Hotel.
This green spa hotel is located on a hilltop overlooking Chichibu, a
small city about a two hour train ride northwest of Tokyo. This hotel
serves its own organic produce grown on its nearby farm, while the
hotel’s restaurants also serve locally-grown produce. The main dining
room serves a tantalizing blend of Japanese and Western cuisines
buffet-style. Leftover produce is composted. The highlight of this hotel
is its natural hot springs spa, or Onsen, where you can go to relax in
the warm waters. Traditional Japanese style rooms with tatami (rice
fiber) mats and Western-style rooms are available. There are many
nature-oriented activities in the area, including visiting massive
flower gardens in bloom, picking your own strawberries or peaches, or
hiking in the hills. You can also take the train to Nagatoro, where you
can take a cable car up the mountain to visit the Wintersweet and Ume
Plum Trees and hike down to the village, or rent a bike, or go white
water rafting.
Back in central Tokyo, there are plenty
of places to do some green shopping. The interest in organic products
has skyrocketed since the nuclear accident a year ago that spurred the
Japanese public’s awareness about the toxins in what they consume. This
means that organic options, especially baby products, clothing, and
foods, are growing quickly in Japan, making it easy to be an
environmentally friendly traveler.
First up is the Yoyogi Village, a new
environmentally-focused shopping mall with restaurants, shops, clubs,
and more, all located around a central garden courtyard. There is a
clothing shop, One Mile Wear, which sells organic cotton from India.
Also, there is the affordable Code Kurkku, an organic Italian
restaurant.
People Tree manufactures fair trade,
organic clothing in Bangladesh and organic chocolate which is available
in various stores in Tokyo, such as the Mosaic Ginza Hankyu Department
Store located in the central Ginza area.
There are three Bio Marche stores in the
greater Tokyo area: two in the Tokyo suburbs of Saitama and Omiya, and
one in Chiba, east of Tokyo. They sell primarily organic foods, but also
some organic clothing, cosmetics, toiletries, and baby supplies.
By now you must have worked up an
appetite. Luckily, there are many choices for healthy dining in Tokyo.
One of my favorite cafes is the Brown Rice Café,
a well-designed, serene, Zen-like restaurant with delicious organic,
vegan, and macrobiotic Japanese foods. Located near the Harajuku train
station, this café is hidden in a sunken level with indoor and outdoor
seating and also sells organic groceries. ...
To read the entire article on SCGH's website, click here:
Nice article as it has wonderfully describe the beauty of Tokyo.
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