Are remakes the new sequel?

I’ve just finished watching the first two episodes of the new Fullmetal Alchemist – Brotherhood anime.

Still produced by Studio Bones, it appears to be a retelling of the story, albeit from the manga’s perspective now.  The original series diverged greatly from its source material about halfway through and for me personally, became weaker for it.  I didn’t like the direction that they’d headed in with the whole World War II crap and alternate realities, which made the movie quite a chore to watch.

This new series is moving along at quite a pace, having caught up with episode 12 or so in series already, where Ed officially becomes a state alchemist.  It also seems to be filling in gaps that were missing from the first series which I’m happy to see, making it feel fresher.  Episode 3 looks like a waste of time sadly, focusing on the very beginning of series 1 where the Elrics go to Lior to take care of the fake priest.  The animation also seems slightly sloppier than series 1, though this may be purely because I’m now watching it on an HD screen.  Many of the voice actors did not return; Romi Paku and Rie Kugimiya have resumed their respective roles as Ed and Al, though only Armstrong’s and the Führer’s voice actors seem to have returned so far from the large extended cast.

Watching Brotherhood has made me feel all nostaligic…

Japan: A Story of Love and Hate

I can’t be arsed to come up with a cryptic title for this entry so you’ll have to take it as it comes.  BBC4 really outdid themselves last night with their Japan season, focusing on a little independent piece by Sean McAllister.

Japan: A Story of Love and Hate followed the trials and tribulations of Naoki and Yoshie, a couple riding the lows of Japan’s economic collapse during the early 90s.  Naoki, an outspoken ex-entrepreneur, works part-time in the local post office.  He used to run several businesses and paid for a new BMW in cold, hard cash.  His girlfriend, Yoshie, works three jobs, including one as a hostess, taking home around £11,000 a year in total.  They call themselves the “new poor”, living (or surviving) in a small one bedroom apartment.

Naoki displayed a brilliant and radical mind, and despite English not being his first language, he was incredibly articulate. It was depressing to see him reduced to his current state, and it’s now clear why so many take the suicide route when there’s nothing left.  Yoshie was clearly suffering from their arrangement, having to supplement Naoki’s incredibly low income with her own.  Suffering from clinical depression, every day for Naoki wasn’t a case of “what time will she come home?”, rather “will she come home?”. He needed Yoshie for without her, he would be homeless and whilst it would have been easier for Yoshie to leave him, having Naoki gave her something to live for.

The programme wasn’t all doom and gloom.  Naoki was finally able to meet Yoshie’s parents, with her father being the same age as Naoki…  By the end, it looked like things were slowly on the up for them.  It was touching and I really felt for the pair, like so many others living in the shadow of Japan’s glitz and glamour.  Watch it on iPlayer here.

Fish, glorious fish

Last night’s Japan season on BBC4 came off with a corker, focusing on Japan’s interests in fish.  From eating fish, to keeping them as pets, to singing about nothing but tuna, the programme displayed virtually every facet of Japan’s reliance on the chickens of the sea.  Our host, a fan of fish and a fisherman in Blighty was joined by a deadpan Japanese partner, who when asked if he liked whale meat, he replied rather dryly that he preferred “dolphin”.

Their first stop was a theme restaurant unlike any I’d seen before.  I’ve been to seafood restaurants where you can sometimes pick your own fish, but this particular eatery was modelled after a galleon ship and was sitting above several large fish tanks, where the aim of the game was to catch your dinner.  Thinking it doesn’t get much fresher than that, the fish they’d caught was sliced and prepared as sashimi with the body, de-fleshed but still flapping in the middle of the well presented platter!  The host clearly felt uncomfortable, having a morality trip, though he quickly gave up his inhibitions and tucked in.

Later on in the programme, they went to Ichigaya on the Chuou line.  This brought back fond memories since I would pass this station nearly every day as I headed to Shinjuku whilst in Tokyo.  At Ichigaya, they visited a fishing pool which seemed more like a game than anything.  They paid their money and were prompted to try and catch as many fish as possible in the time allowed; catching more than 7 netted you extra time.  This was almost like something out of the Legend of Zelda games, but it’s clear to see where the inspiration came from.

These two examples are just a small selection of what the programme had to offer, totalling around 90 minutes.  It was a joy to watch because it showed a side of Japan that few outsiders will ever get to see for themselves, and gave viewers a window outside of the normal neon signs, temples, and geishas that Japan is normally associated with.

Should be on iPlayer if you’re in the UK or have access to a proxy to get past the BBC’s barriers.

Could anybody who knows what “wabi sabi” is please stand up

In an earlier entry, I’d discovered that BBC4 are having a Japanese season with various programmes from and about the land of the rising sun.

Last night was the first installment, featuring a documentary following Marcel Theroux (Louis Theroux’s brother) and his quest to find out just what “wabi sabi” is (the appreciation of imperfection).  His journey took him to Tokyo and Kyoto, participating in tea ceremonies, staying with host families, and visiting shrines.

I don’t think he ever found what it was he was looking for, but as a viewer, it was a pleasant watch.  It was educational, yet light enough to not seem overly serious, no doubt helped by Marcel’s dry humour.  Worth a watch if you can access BBC’s iPlayer.

Turning Japanese

BBC 4 is due to start their Japanese season as of this coming Monday until the 6th of April.  Disappointed to see that there isn’t a new season of Jonathan Ross’ Japanorama, but then I was quite disappointed with his most recent season, which just seemed to be clutching at straws for a lot of the content.

Some very interesting stuff in the line-up, and they’ve even gone to the trouble of scheduling in Spirited Away in there too.  Wonder if they’ll play it with Japanese audio or not?

2008 – A retrospective

I started one of these a few years ago on New Year’s Eve when I was a boring sod and didn’t have anything planned that night.  I gave up since I didn’t really have anything to talk about (must have been a slow year).

2008 has been a crazy year for me with a few ups and downs (in no particular order):

Ups

• Weddings – I love weddings and I attended a fair few in 2008, namely Jim-bob and Keiko’s.  I’ve never been part of a wedding party before and to be the best man was a nerve wracking experience, though I think I coped well enough.
• Promotions – I received a number of promotions at work, and the stress that comes with them.
• Friends – I’ve tried to maintain the friendships I’ve forged throughout the course of time, and I think 2008 was the year that would make or break them.  Thankfully, most have survived intact.
• Japan – Finally got to visit the land of the rising sun.  Such a wonderous place and I shall hopefully return there in April.
• Kiyomi – Proof that if there’s something you want bad enough, then give it your best shot.

Downs

• The economy – It’s officially gone into meltdown, and I’ve seen more than my fair share of casualties along the way.
• Friends – Everybody’s fled the UK!

I don’t know what 2009 has instore for me, but we’ll have to wait and see!

Everything has a price

Saw a very interesting movie-documentary last night after seeing it recommended on a blog.  The documentary, “The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief”, focuses on a host club in Osaka, Japan and its founder, Issei.  Renowned as the number one host in Osaka, he has an endless list of clients willing to lavish their time, attention, and bank balances on him, raking in at least £15, 000 a month.  Fans of Japanorama will be familiar with the industry, where well groomed blokes tend to women’s needs and try to push them into buying overpriced drinks.

The documentary is shot in a low budget, amateur-ish manner but I found this gave it charm and a realism which is all too easily lost with higher budget productions.  Various members of the host club staff are also interviewed and it’s fascinating to go through such a range of emotions for them, from anger, to envy, to sympathy.  It doesn’t appear to be an easy life, and whilst it is sales, most of the best salesmen I know and work with couldn’t do it.  The customers are equally as interesting, exploring the reasons why they keep returning, and the depths they will go to to get their moments of instant gratification.

Definitely worth a watch, I found my torrent for it on Pirate Bay.

In other news, it seems Aber is finally getting a shopping centre!  Cue all the moaning people complaining that it’s gonna drive people out of business, blah blah.

How not to eat sushi

Not sure if this one’s made the rounds yet but I found it to be a good giggle.

Tokyo – Day 8 & closing thoughts

Well, the end of my whirlwind trip had arrived.  My bags were packed and the check out was almost immediate. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay with the Tokyo Green Ochanomizu Hotel; the service was efficient, friendly, very reasonably priced, and based in a great location.  Consider this place if you’re travelling to Tokyo.

Since I had a suitcase to lug to Shinjuku station, I decided to use Akihabara station since it’s a complete flat walk as opposed to the uphill climb to Ochanomizu station.  Akihabara’s streets were more or less dead as expected for 7:30 in the morning, a stark contrast to how it normally is.  The station was fairly busy though, with all sorts of people using the line; there doesn’t seem to be a day where Tokyo switches off and as such, it’s always full of life.  There weren’t many seats on the express train so I decided to stand since it was only a short hop away.  Getting to Shinjuku, I had to work out where the Narita Limousine Bus station was and took a chance on it being next to the other bus stops and thankfully it was.  After lugging the suitcase up a flight of stairs, I realised there was an elevator to my left…

A coach had just pulled up and had a lengthy queue of people waiting for the service.  I quickly made my way to the counter to buy a ticket, but the guy said that the next two coaches were already fully booked and I’d have to wait until 8:45am for the next available service.  My flight was due to leave at 11am so I considered my options of either waiting or catching a train.  I could always go and have some breakfast and come back since I’d have a space reserved, or risk the trains with a large heavy suitcase.  I decided to go with the coach and bought a ticket.  Somebody up above liked me because there were a few no-shows and they were able to squeeze me on board, so away we went to Narita airport.

It was absolute mayhem trying to leave Tokyo and with it being the weekend, I assume everybody else had the same idea on their minds.  We passed by Roppongi but I didn’t recognise any other locations.  There was a really adorable Indian little girl sat in the seat in front of me, who I was making faces with back and forth for most of the journey.  Sat next to me was a white guy, not really sure of his nationality but he was from somewhere in Europe after I had a brief chat with him regarding Narita security.  We’d just arrived and security personnel boarded the coach, asking to look at everybody’s passports – all very strict.  There are only two terminals at Narita though they’re quite a distance from each other so make sure you’re at the right one and thankfully, I was!  I decided to have a quick smoke before entering since I wasn’t sure whether I’d have another chance until arriving at London Heathrow in Blighty.  Jimbo reassured me that there would be a smoking room of some sort inside the airport, since “it’s Japan, and people would be killing each other if there wasn’t”.  Check-in was largely empty, with two white guys rearranging and dumping luggage to try and get it within the weight limits.  I passed them by and checked myself in (in English) and then came something which threw me completely off.  The lady asked me if I had any lighters packed in my suitcase, and obviously I did, not wanting a repeat of my trip to Vegas with yet another limited edition Zippo.  The lady asked me to remove them and carry them on my person or in my hand luggage instead!  Not wanting to be refused on the flight, I obliged and did as she requested.  I was told I would have a window seat towards the rear of the plane which was nice since I like being able to see the outside world.

Moving on to security, it was very strict with me having to remove my laptop from the bag before x-ray, something I’ve never had to do before.  I always cringe when I have to go through airport security, though I had nothing iffy on me this time so nothing to fear!

On the other side, there was very little in the way of duty free or even places to eat or relax, compared to Britain’s larger airports.  I’ve found this to be a similar situation at most large airports around the world, with Hong Kong’s new one being an exception.  I still had about 30 minutes before the boarding gate opened so I took the opportunity to stock up on some cigarettes for myself and some sake for some people back at home.  It was only 2000 Yen (£10 or so) for 200 Mild Seven 6s, so I now had 600 coming back to the UK with me.  I bought some duty free special sake for 2000 Yen a bottle as well, which sorted me out souvenirs wise for friends and family.  Getting rather peckish, there was a McDonalds in the terminal serving breakfast so I bought myself a bacon & egg McMuffin and do you know what, it’s the best McMuffin I’ve had in years!  The bacon is the old, gammon style that we used to have in Blighty which I find much nicer than the gristley real style bacon they serve now.  Wolfing it down, I quickly made my way to the boarding gate which happened to be one of the last in the terminal.  Boarding had already begun but there was a conveniently located smoking room to the left so I took the chance to have a quick one.  Smoking rooms in Japan are horrible places, with little to no ventilation and it really is like the smoking facilities you see in movies from the 70s.  All stocked up on nicotine, I joined the queue to board where a security guy asked me how long I’d spent in Japan.  It was an odd question to be asked by security I thought and I wasn’t sure if he was making conversation or asking me a deadly serious question.  I told him I’d been in the country for 8 days on holiday and then he ushered me on my way.

Boarding, I found I was located near the rear of the plane and there was somebody sat in my seat!  The Japanese girl spoke American English and apologised, moving to her actual seat in front of me.  In hindsight, I regret making her move because the flight departed with quite a few empty seats, with one right next to her (one guy had an entire row of 4 to himself, allowing him to lie down to sleep).  I was sat next to an older lady, who kept herself to herself.  I was thankful for this because as much as I enjoyed Ged’s company on the flight into Japan, it left me absolutely fucked because I couldn’t sleep or get any rest.  The flight left a little late and the quoted time in the air was close to the 12 hours, with an arrival time of 3pm at Heathrow.  The stewardesses on the flight were much prettier compared to the one going into Japan, with one in particular standing out amongst the rest (I think her name was Naoko or something similar).  I didn’t do much on the flight apart from sleep and pen a few blog entries, which actually helped the time pass by very quickly.  The food was decent, but I can only remember the one meal I had which was a meatball pasta.  They had the bento again but I thought I’d mix it up a little.  There was a baby on the flight who was seriously testing out her lungs and did not let up for most of the journey; I can’t really complain because I was apparently a bad traveller as a baby too.  Flying into London afforded some fantastic views of the city, with the landmarks being clearly visible.

We pretty much landed at Heathrow on time but it was absolute chaos getting through passport control and that was with a British one!  Once through, I was officially back and simply had to wait for my luggage and Kiyomi.

Tadaimasu – I am home now.

Closing thoughts

Damn, I miss Tokyo.  I seriously miss Tokyo.

As one of the world’s supercities, it gets so many things right and so few things wrong.  It truly has a romanticised feel to it (for me at least) and feels like a living, breathing city.  Each area has its own flavour and feel and is something that I feel a lot of cities are slowly losing about them; London for example just feels the same everywhere bar a few unique parts like Camden, or Canary Wharf.  It’s very much a place designed for people and doesn’t feel like a rat race where ever you go, with an efficient rail infrastructure connecting it all.  Trains are reliable, clean, and relatively comfortable given the time of day you travel.

The people have to be the stars of the show for me.  Everybody was so accommodating in all aspects, and it was a pleasure to interact with such a gentle society.  Kiyomi and her friend Natsumi both asked me how Tokyo-ites treated me whilst I was out there and I had nothing but praise for them.  They were both quite surprised by this because people of Tokyo are known to be cold and ruthless, much like their counterparts in London or New York.  I never saw any sign of this and people had as much respect for each other as they did for me.  Regarding the English language thing, learn some phrases and words before you go and they will serve you well.  Few people speak decent English and the further you get from tourist areas, the worse it gets but even with that, they were all more than helpful with trying to get me to where I needed to go.  Those that did speak decent English really enjoyed the opportunity and if you want to really make their day, compliment them.  Japan is steeped with tradition and there are loads of societal taboos which you should be concious of.  If you’re ever unsure of what to do in a particular situation, do what others around you do because observation really is key.  Culture shock does exist and I saw so many Western tourists who just couldn’t get their heads around certain customs.  It’s not for everybody and having seen it first hand, it is easier to empathise with Bill Murray in Lost in Translation.

The food in Tokyo was fantastic and quite rightly so for a city which now boasts more Michelin stars than Paris.  I tried as much variety of food as possible, but my two favourite meals were ramen and curry rice.  I’m very much a comfort food kind of guy and these two warm, hearty dishes were like heaven for me.  Portions can err on the small side at times, with few opportunities to increase the size, even at fastfood places.  Tokyo has London beat on eating out for price, quality, and variety.  Try everything because you may never get the opportunity again.  Hygiene in Tokyo is fantastic and never did I once question whether I’d get food poisoning or not, even with the chicken sashimi.  Drinking in Tokyo is a bit of a mixed bag but then I didn’t do much of it to be fair.  It can be expensive and like food, portions tend to be smaller, but if you drink where the locals go then you shouldn’t be stung too badly.

I found shopping to be better in Hong Kong for prices, but you can’t beat Tokyo for variety.  There was too much choice at times, especially for electronics.  Clothes are typically more expensive if you go after the typical Western brands and designers, but there are some great Japanese brands to be had at decent prices and great quality.  With a more powerful Yen, bargain hunting will be a difficult task for the next few months at least.

Since coming back to the UK, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about Japan and Tokyo.  As bizarre as it may sound, my trip there was almost a pilgrimage of sorts, being able to experience all the sights, sounds, and tastes that I’ve only ever received third party accounts for.  People have asked me if I would ever consider going out to Japan alone again and now, it’s the only way I would consider doing it, unless I went with friends who could appreciate it as much as I do.  Yes, I am being an elitist snob but that’s just the way I’ve become about the nation which receives so much fascination from me.  For others, it’s merely an unusual novelty.  Could I ever live and work out there?  Jimothy and Keiko seem to think so.  The way the UK is heading, it would be the saner choice.  I’m not getting any younger either and I have no ties to keep me down right now.  A colleague of mine has always wanted to live and work in France or Italy and he had the chance when he was a lot younger.  He now has a family to look after and regrets not taking the opportunity when it was there.  All I need is one push…

Thank you all for checking my accounts.  I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them, even if it’s taken nearly a month after returning to complete it all!

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.