Tokyo – Day 7

My, my, my how time flies when you’re having fun.  I really was not looking forward to this day, because it meant I would have to leave the land of the rising sun so very soon.  To top things off, it was also my birthday so I was officially in mid-20s territory.

The original intent was to get up super early to check out Tsukiji fish market, but that plan went out the window due to aclimatising to the local time zone (damn body clock).  Anywho, I still left the hotel at a reasonable time of 9am for my final day of sight-seeing.  I went for a stroll towards Akihabara to get some earphones as gifts for Leo and my brother.  The place was dead that early in the day, which made for a relaxing shopping experience.  On my way back to Akiba station, I noticed a Kotobukiya store.  Intrigued, I decided to pop inside since Kotobukiya make some of the most gorgeous anime figures out there, most of which are based on existing garage kits or are commissioned pieces by some of the industry’s best sculptors.  Looking around, I was somewhat disappointed because it wasn’t an official Kotobukiya store as such, merely one which shared the same name as the company.  It was a generic anime and manga merchandise store, though they did carry some rather rare goods.  I had a look at their Evangelion section which was brim with such lovelies like a Sachiel tie (very cool) and some of the super rare Zippo lighters, like the Seele one, and the Nerv one in chrome.  I thought it’d be rude not to indulge in the Nerv Zippo, even if it came to 10, 000 Yen (£50 or so).  I handed over the cash and wanting to use it immediately, I asked the sales assistant if there was anywhere near by to get some lighter fluid.  He said, “Just a moment please”, and went round to the back and filled it up for me with some official Zippo fuel!  Absolutely fantastic service and I’m so glad I popped in, even if my wallet wasn’t.

Heading back to Akiba station, I made my way towards Asakusa.  Sawa and Jimothy had both recommended I swing by for a visit since it’s really the only part of Tokyo which resembles the traditional Edo period.

It immediately hits you that this part of Tokyo is a little different from the rest.  There’s nothing particularly big or flashy, and you even exit via a side street before you hit the main road.  The main road I stepped on to had loads of little shops, selling mostly fruits, vegetables, and groceries.  I wasn’t too sure what to make of Asakusa until I ventured down the road a bit more and saw the Kaminarimon (thunder gate) to the Senso-ji, a Bhuddist temple.  Things were livening up, with everybody and their dog flocking towards this temple entrance.

It was still early in the day but everybody was out to visit the Senso-ji from high school kids, to tourists, to locals who do it every week.  There are several long rows of shops selling all manner of goods, some selling traditional Japanese handy crafts, Japanese and exotic swords, and Gundam models of all things!  It was clearly a tourist trap, but a good one at that.

It wasn’t until I got closer to the Senso-ji that a sense of familiarity hit me, and I soon realised that I was at the temple from the giant statue arc in Gantz!  It was an impressive sight, though Gantz definitely got the scale slightly wrong since the statues were roughly 12ft in height, whereas they were portrayed to be absolutely ginormous in the anime.  I took plenty of snaps of the surrounding architecture, as did everybody else.

Had my mum have been with me, I probably would have joined her in the ritual.  People were inhaling the incense smoke, and then would head over to a fountain to cleanse themselves.  Having only one of each, there was a considerable queue and crowd to tackle before getting to the front of the line.

There’s not a lot to say about the place in all honesty, so I’ll let my photos do all the talking.

After finishing my tour of the place, I decided to revisit Shibuya on a nice day.  The sun was really out in full force with blue skies aplenty.  I had another coffee at the scramble crossing Starbucks so that I could take some photos without all the umbrellas springing up.

I decided to get another t-shirt from Design Graphiph and ended up with one saying “Drink water”.  Whilst there, I noticed a particular shirt with a print of an SLR camera on the front with the straps going around the neck as if it was real.  I picked this one up for Khang because it just seemed so appropriate.  I continued to walk around for a while and stumbled across some Google event involving hundreds of balloons, all in Google colours.  I hung around for a bit on the opposite side of the street hoping something would happen but it never did, so I walked over to ask them what was going on.  They roughly explained that the balloons were to lift people into the air, for a fee; not sure where the money would have gone to but that was the rationale behind it all.

Having had enough of Shibuya, I wandered back to the station and made my way towards Harajuku.  I wanted to visit Meiji-jingu again on a quiet day, and also Omottesando in daylight.  Getting off at Meiji station and after a rather lengthy walk underground, I came to realise that Harajuku station is actually closer to Meiji-jingu (the entrance that I entered through at least).  Deciding to leave the shrine until last, I went for a walk through Harajuku.  The place was the same as when Jimbo and I had visited on Sunday and seemed just as busy, with just as many tourists.  Working my way to Omottesando, it looked completely different in the day and to me seemed trendier than Shibuya, with stores like Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, and other brand names.  There was even a bizarre Audi showroom where somebody obviously didn’t have a spirit level.

What did amuse me was that Sir Alan Green had obviously seen the success of the H&M group in Ginza and thought he’d do the same with his Topshop and Topman brands.  Like Jimbo, I can’t see the fascination behind these British high street brands unless they’re offering a product which is cheaper than the competition.  But then I suppose it could be exactly the same as the whole Krispy Kreme situation in Shinjuku, with everybody wanting what is hard to come by.  Should another Krispy Kreme open up somewhere else in Tokyo, I’m fairly certain that the overall popularity of the brand would wane.

Having had enough of Tokyo’s trendsetters, I wandered back over to Meiji-jingu for some spiritual calm and tranquility.  The place was very quiet with very few people around, the majority of which being tourists like myself.  Once again, I went through the motions of washing my left hand, then my right, and I chose to sip a bit of the water this time (tasted a bit earthy).  I thought I’d pay the shrine a visit since it was my birthday, so I thought I’d take a moment to be thankful for everything I had.  The gravity of the day became a bit much at one point causing me to well up slightly; I really didn’t want to go back home and I wouldn’t be able to see my friends again until April 2009 at the earliest.  Passing on it the first time, I decided to write a message on an ema board for 500 Yen.  Because it was my birthday, I thought I’d give it a shot since it had more likelihood of coming true (I’ve seen shit like Home Alone and other similar movies, I know how it works).  Not gonna say what I jotted down, but it was for all the significant people in my life.  I sat down towards the side of the shrine and ended up spacing out for maybe 20 minutes.

I thought I’d head back to Ochanomizu to get a little bit of packing done since I had to be up at 6ish the following morning to begin the journey back to Blighty.  I had maybe 90 minutes before I was due to meet Keiko at Shinjuku’s South gate, so I took my time.  Ended up receiving a call from a mystery Japanese number which turned out to be Kiyomi, who was staying with her friend in Narita.  I was due to pick her up from Heathrow the following day since our flights would be landing within an hour of each other.  Anywho, time flew by and it was time to head out to Shinjuku.

It was a warm evening, one of the warmest since I’d been in Japan that week.  I wound up being early since I’d caught the express train so I took a stroll over to Takashimaya department store and Tokyu Hands.  I wanted to pick up a pad of writing paper and some rollerball pens for the plane journey home where I wanted to jot a few things down towards this here trip report.  Even at night, Tokyu Hands was still full of people so I had a peruse over their pens which were all amazingly priced; the same rollerball pen would have cost me at least £1.50 here in the UK whereas in Tokyo, it was a mere 120 Yen (60p).  I mozied on over to the South gate where a jazz funk band had started busking, and they weren’t bad either.  A drunken middle age guy (think of the guy who started harassing Hérmes in Densha) started screaming at them, presumably telling them to pipe down.  Keiko was a little bit late, so I did some more people watching to pass the time.  Keiko eventually turned up and we chatted for a while whilst waiting for Jimothy, who wasn’t far behind.  He soon turned up and so began our evening and “the last supper”.

Finding an izakaya on a Friday night in Shinjuku is no easy task and the first place we went was absolutely chock-a-block.  A guy outside, poaching for a rival izakaya approached us and we agreed to go for it.  Taking us inside, we had a 20-30 minutes wait before our booth became free and desperate for a smoke, I ventured outside.  It seems finding a place to smoke on Shinjuku’s streets is actually harder than finding said quiet izakaya.  I eventually ended up just having a crafty cigarette down a quiet alleyway where another nicotine starved man joined me.  Once I’d finished, I realised I had absolutely no idea where I was in relation to the izakaya anymore!  I circled the block twice and whilst I recognised a number of stores and restaurants, I couldn’t remember which street to go down to reach the building the izakaya was located in.  Since I’d been gone for so long, Keiko thought I had gotten lost but Jimothy reassured her that I was OK, only to receive a phone call from me begging for help haha…  Upon my return, our booth had freed up so we were lead inside.  The decor was quite nice, resembling an outdoor Japanese style garden.  They were offering all you can drink for 90 minutes at only 1500 Yen (£7.50) so we all made sure to have at least 3 drinks each to cover the charge.  We ordered typical izakaya style food, with sashimi, yakisoba, dumplings, and so on.  As always, the topic of discussion was varied and ranged from me possibly teaching English in Japan, to Jimothy and Keiko naming their potential male offspring, Enzo (like Enzo Ferrari).  Keiko was also dying for a cigarette and whilst I offered her one, her steely resolve stopped her from partaking and after her recent (possibly still current?) illness, I’m glad she resisted.  The price was very reasonable for the three of us, totting up to 12, 000 Yen (£60 or so) and I think we all had our fill of drinks and eats.

Sadly, the time had come to say farewell to Jim-bob and Keiko.  Leading up to my trip, each day brought me closer to being able to see my friends but at the same time, brought me closer to this moment.  I’m not good with goodbyes and after a few hugs and exchanges, we went our separate ways.  Whilst on the platform waiting for my train, a guy had thrown up and had fallen asleep in a pool of his own vomit, leaving a memorable end to the emotional evening.

Photos of the day can be found here, here, and here.

Tomorrow, I would bid farewell to Tokyo and Japan, and thus will be the final part of my trip report as well as some closing thoughts.

Tokyo – Day 2

Being jet lagged to fuck, I had an awesome night’s sleep at Keiko and James’ place.  I also finally got to have a melon pan, which despite what Yakitate Japan has taught me, it doesn’t actually contain any or taste of melon in the slightest!  The name simply comes from the shape, which resembles a melon (clutching at melons if you ask me, or is that a different game?).

We had a busy day ahead of us and Jim-bob was quickly becoming quite ill with his sore throat.  Keiko was also worried about me (bless her) since I looked like an express train had hit me the night before, so we played it by ear.  I actually outlasted Jim-bob but that’s besides the point.

We headed out towards the station where I noticed that McDonalds serve some breakfast burgers on sesame seed buns, talk about bizarre!  We got on a train line, which I sadly can’t remember.  Anywhere that I went to with either James or Keiko, I can’t for the life of me remember names or directions to.  Our first destination was Yoyogi Park.  Jim-bob likened it to Hyde Park and it was your average central city park.  Visually, it looked a bit downtrodden and gloomy.  I also got to see one of these infamous Japanese crows which are truly huge, no doubt an inspiration for the abundance of zombie crows found in the Resident Evil games.  It was a Sunday morning and there were plenty of people up and about, mostly in yoga sessions and power walking.  There was also a large gathering of dog owners participating in what I can only call dog play groups.  I couldn’t stop laughing at this one massive dog which was constantly trying to hump every other dog in sight; some sort of dominance thing, or so Jim-bob tells me…  The variety of dogs was impressive, and you would struggle to find a wider selection of canines short of going to Crufts or some other dog specialist convention.

Jim-bob and I headed towards Meiji jingu for a moment of spirituality (and plenty of photos).  The day was overcast but warm, and pretty much held out until the early evening; pretty much ideal for a day’s worth of sightseeing.  There were tourists aplenty since it was a Sunday, and I’m not just talking gaijin here; Jim-bob explained that ever since the economy went bust in the early 90s for Japan, in-land tourism has increased significantly which makes sense.  I saw plenty of adverts and posters for such places like Hakone and Hokkaido, and living in a small town but visiting Tokyo would be no different to me visiting London for the weekend.

We did the motions before entering the shrine: washed our left hands first, then right, and take a sip of the water (optional).  It was an impressive sight to behold, and was immaculately well maintained.  What was interesting was that there were plenty of modern refurbishments to the shrine, such as new storm drains and flood lights.  I wonder if Japan has the same sort of protected historic building mantra as the UK does, or whether they sensibly make changes where they’re needed?  I saw a tree where you could write a wish or a prayer on a plaque for 500 Yen; I didn’t bother with it this time but on a repeat visit, I decided it would be worthwhile.  I settled on just a simple prayer and went through the ritual which involved throwing in a coin with a hole (not so sure about this since the free guide says “a few coins”), bowing twice, clapping twice, and making your prayer before you let your hands go from the second clap.  Did I feel any more spiritual or at ease with myself afterwards?  Not really since it was so busy, hence the repeat visit at the end of my trip.

Our next stop was to Shinjuku to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building.  At the base of the tower was some sort of girl scouts meet.  There were plenty of stalls and girl scouts about, and even Ampan man made an appearance!

There are two towers at the TMG building and I believe we opted for the North tower. Admission is free, though bags are prone to search before you’re allowed to enter.  Going up to the observation deck, there is a cafe of some sort and a souvenir store which seems to sell everything remotely Japanese. The view from the deck is incredible; all you can see is urban sprawl right into the horizon.  On a clear day, it is apparently possible to see Mount Fuji.

I think we had lunch at this point.  We went to a chain ramen place in Shinjuku near the station and Yodobashi Camera.  Like most chain eateries, you go to the ticket vending machine near the entrance and insert your pennies, and make a selection from the menu.  It’s an efficient way to run a restaurant, and removes some of the problems with taking orders.  We both settled on a basic cha-siu ramen, which were indeed very good, which I found surprising for a chain.  Chikara later explained to me that ramen restaurants are a dime a dozen, and that they have to at least be decent to remain competitive and stay open, so there you go.

We decided to head back to Harajuku bridge to see some goths and rock-a-billies.  It was a bit crazy and there were tourists aplenty.  I enjoyed it but it’s the sort of thing that I’ll only ever need to experience once, Harajuku on a Sunday that is; any other day and it’s your normal shopping district.  Harajuku is one of the many youth fashion camps in Tokyo.  There are plenty of shops and stalls selling the sort of stuff most students rock most of the time.  I actually ended up buying a pair of jeans in Harajuku since my trusty pair of Ralph Lauren’s had given up on me.  The flies had broken and there were several large holes in the crotch area; I semi-flashed Keiko the night before haha…

We headed back to Yoyogi Park to see us some rock-a-billies.  There were only two gangs there, and both wouldn’t have looked a miss in a Grease musical.

Once we were done with Harajuku, we headed over to Akihabara.  I wanted to get a particular lens for my camera and this was the place to get it.  The one I wanted is simply a high-end version of the stock 18-55mm lens I was given, but with a bit more zoom and a bit wider (17-85mm).  We found a Laox discount store, which also offered duty free shopping (why it was discounted, I don’t know), and all in all, along with a protective filter, came to about 68,000 Yen (about £350).  The other bonus is that it’s definitely made in Japan, since there are rumours of some Canon lenses being made in Malaysia depending on the batch you end up with.  The customer service was also exemplary; the sales guy gave me the lens to test out on my camera and he tried his best to communicate with a few English words and phrases.  I’m also certain that he said that my lens was ideal for “gravure” photography…

According to Jimbo, Akihabara is no longer the place it used to be.  Despite only ever having seen Akihabara in pictures, film, and third person accounts, I did get the vibe that Jimbo described was lacking.  The place had become full of tourists and there were very few authentic otaku about; most had moved to the back streets or other locales.  It is still a great place to shop for electronics and other anime related goods, but don’t go expecting it to be as crazy as it once was.  There are still plenty of maids about though near the train station, though I did not visit a maid cafe sadIy.

Next up, we hit a few arcades on the main street.  I finally got to try my hands on Street Fighter 4 which isn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be.  The visuals are a lot nicer once they’re in motion and the jarring Westernised look isn’t quite so obnoxious.  The joystick was something I could not get along with though; it had an odd square gate as opposed to a regular circular one so it was very difficult to do smooth motions.  We also played Taiko no Tatsujin where we both got down with the Evangelion theme.  I got to play Initial D too so I was a happy bunny.  All of the arcades allowed smoking which was like heaven for me.  What is a bit odd is that it’s easier to find somewhere to smoke indoors in Tokyo than it is outdoors, due to various restrictions in place.

At this point, Jimbo’s throat got significantly worse so we headed to a very pretentious cafe at the station.  After a drink, he decided to head on home and we parted ways until the following Wednesday.  Leaving me alone in Akihabara is a dangerous thing to do…

I continued to do some solo exploration and ventured further up the main street.  I popped into a cool electronics department store called Sofmap because I needed a new camera bag since my old one no longer fit with the new lens.  Cutting a long story short, I bought the wrong one and needed to buy another one .

I checked out a few anime stores and found one in particular that was very good, they had their merchandise sorted by anime so it made it very easy to look for stuff.  Sadly, most of the merchandise was for the most recent of shows, leaving me out in the cold.

I was getting quite hungry at this point so I decided to hunt down the Mos Burger which Kiyomi had recommended.  I opted for the seafood rice burger which wasn’t bad, but it was very bland.  I had to douse the thing with so much salt just to give it a kick, which I found myself doing quite often whilst in Japan.  The food is good, but generally very flavour neutral so if you like your spices, I’d pack a travel bottle of Tobasco.  I ended up talking to a random German guy who was in Tokyo on business, who shared my thoughts on the food.

Conveniently, there was a smoking shelter next door to Mos Burger.  I don’t know about the rest of Japan, but in Tokyo, you can be fined for smoking on restricted streets (majority of Shinjuku falls into this category).  As I mentioned earlier, it is actually easier to pop inside somewhere for a smoke than it is to traipse around looking for a smoking shelter or an ashtray outside.  As a result of this, the streets of Tokyo are generally very clean.  I wear jeans which tend to drag on the floor a bit and after a day of walking around London, they would be ready for the wash, but in Tokyo, there was plenty of wear left in them.  One other perculiarity I noticed about smokers in Japan is that few ever smoked the cigarette to even remotely near the butt.  Most would get to about halfway or 2/3 and would then put the cigarette out.  They simply are that cheap out in Japan that it’s possible to do this, hence why I’ve come back to the UK with a fair few more cigarettes than I should have hehe…

At this point, the heavens began to open up so I decided to walk home.  On my way there, I passed a store which had a meaty looking queue outside so there must have been some sort of DVD, or game release at midnight on the Monday.  I’d had a hardcore, but thoroughly enjoyable day and felt enlightened.

Photos of the day can be found here and here.

Tomorrow, I will visit the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Shibuya for some fashion and music goodness, and Omotesando, where I would end up getting lost for the first of many occasions in Tokyo.

Holiday… Celebrate!

I’m planning and researching for what is a second trip of a lifetime.  I’m planning to go to Japan at the end of September for a week which will also be a birthday treat to myself.  I’ve been on Expedia most nights for the last two weeks or so and have seen the price go up and down and tonight, it’s at an all-time low of £908.  This price includes a return flight from Heathrow with Virgin and a two star hotel near Akihabara (Tokyo Green Hotel Ochanomizu) which looks decent enough and has received some very positive reviews from various sources (NTSC-UK being one).  The room includes a double bed, an HDTV, my own bathroom, and free broadband net access – what more could a guy need?

And what exactly do I want to do out there?  Well, there’s the Studio Ghibli Museum to have my photo taken with the Laputa robot.  As you all already know, I love Laputa to pieces and it would be a dream come true to be able to do this.  Visiting Akihabara is an obvious must-see for some geek goodness.  I absolutely must go to Disney Sea being a Disney themepark freak.  I would also like to visit Kyoto for a day or two to see a different side of Japan.  Ooh and Mos Burger and sweet, sweet ramen!  I feel like a kid in a sweet shop right now!