Day 14: Just chillin'

13th July 2007

Ah the luxuries of sleeping in. It can't be valued, although it seems somewhat counter intuitive to be sleeping in whilst being overseas. Either way (whether I deserved it or not) I really needed a good nights rest. One idiosyncrasy on our short stay is that unless you have sightseeing installed for the day there really is nothing open. Such is the nature of Japan that shops would rather stay open later and consequently also open later at 10:30. I'd much rather shop later in the evening that earlier in the morning. With that being said, we had officially checked off all there was to see and do in Tokyo and Japan (Although Fukouka still eluded us). That left us today to explore and soak in the culture of Tokyo.

First stop was Harajuku. We were told that the area of Harajuku is where would we see the trendiest and most bizarre locals. Again the rain had deterred most of the locals away. What was supposed to fill the rest of my camera memory stick was not to be. No sightings of Japanese goths or lolitas. Arriving at Harajuku the shops were still closed so we grabbed some breakfast. Mmmm French toast! Did plenty of shopping, mostly shoes and a couple of t-shirts soon we were both holding shopping bags and we had only been out of the hotel for less than 2 hours. We idled through the streets of Harajuku and managed to buy some souvenirs for family and friends. Chopstick holders, mugs, key rings the usual holiday trinkets. It was around this time we had lunch in a small winding street in a fairly westernised restaurant. Continuing on our way down the street we soon realised we had exited Harajuku and once again were lost. A local pointed us in the right direction and we were soon heading back down the very same road we came.

From Harajuku we walked to Shibuya. Our goal for the rest of the day was to find sweets, biscuits and cakes to bring back home. We entered almost every single Department store in Shibuya but to no avail. What had been an abundant supply around Kyoto was no where to be seen in Tokyo. Again irrational thoughts crept into our heads. "We could catch a Shinkansen to Kyoto, buy the sweets and be back in Tokyo just after dinner". We had had enough and soon made the trek back to Shinjuku. It was still early so we explored the other sides of Shijuku (the non dicey side) which to our amazement was quite enjoyable. A much better place to stay. It was on this side that Takashimaya had the basement level full of sweet stores, we stocked up and our shopping was complete.

For dinner we headed back to the place we had Shabu Shabu, it was time to try Sukiyaki. Same ingredients but different prep, not quite fried more simmered in a shallow pool of broth. The twist was dipping the hot food into a broken egg. This was to cool the food down for consumption. Ingenius!

7:30 pm: Shibuya, after sunset. Up until now we had been a little disappointed with Tokyo, sure Ginza was nice, Harajuku was interesting but we were still lacking the huge culture shock that would be found in Japan. Shibuya at night was that. It wasn't a flooring experience but definitely one that leaves a nice lingering flavour even after you leave. The kind of place that makes you say "Japan ain't that bad, I could live here for a while.". Exiting the station the major intersection was filled with people, hundreds, thousands of locals and tourists going about their own business. Large billboards, neon signs and large screen displays advertised, sung, captivated the people as the bright glow reflected upon people's faces.

The lights flashed green and soon the road was engulfed with an ocean of pedestrians. It had a festive feel similiar to that on New Years Eve with out the rowdy revellers. Majority of the people here were under the age of 30 with nothing better to do than hang around. People hanging out on street corners chatting, smoking, talking on the phone, waiting for people, waiting for the lights, waiting for time to pass. We walked into the usual shops, HMV, Starbucks and Kinokuniya. I didn't want to leave this place, it was amazing! Did some last minute shopping at a denim store called Right On. Got back to the hotel with a nice lingering feel. Packed our bags, last night in Japan. Gah! Cockroach in the room! Luckily for me Japanese cockroaches hadnt developed flight yet (well at least this one hadnt). Whacking it with a rolled up magazine, the cockroach came crashing to the floor, I also came crashing down on my ass. Cockroach lay stunned, I on my ass, wonder if anybody heard that ruckus I just made?

Day 11: Final Destination

10th July 2007

I don't think I have ever been more eager to leave a holiday destination. We arose early, grabbed some breakfast pastries and left B&B Pansion. The walk, that we had become so used to would be walked once more in my lifetime. After a couple of interconnecting trains we were soon at Hakone-Yumuto and eventually back at Odawara. We arrived in Tokyo shortly before lunchtime. Up until this point in time we had made one crucial assumption. That being, when you book something online you're pretty much guaranteed that booking. We haven't had Internet connection in just over 2 days and all we had was the name of our final hotel. The Kent Hotel, Shinjuku.

Immediately arriving at Shinjuku station the number of people that sustains a population of 12 million people (in Tokyo) was informally introduced to us. We were caught up in people moving in every direction, running for trains, moving like ants with a place to be. We were not up to par, stuck clueless we walked about dodging people and maneuvering our luggage through the station of Shinjuku. We decided to seek help from a place called Across Travellers Bureau. We emerged from the underground station and it couldn't have been more blatantly obvious that we were lost tourists in one of the largest cities in the world. Lugging luggage around with one hand, map in the other, camera around our necks. Could we have advertised being LOST anymore?

Due to our skillful acting and the confused looks a local ran to our aid. He took our Lonely Planet and proceeded to direct us to the Travellers Bureau. We spoke and tested his broken English. Turns out he was/is studying English and wanted to get some practise (uh huh! Motive!). After some walking through the busy streets he brought us to a major intersection. Looked up. Looked back at the map. Looked around. Looked back at the map. "Mmmm, it should be here". Clearly disappointed that he was unable to help us he directed us towards a Tourist Office on the other side of town. His instructions were surprisingly good and we found the place and spoke briefly with the information desk workers.

Kabuki Cho, is definitely a happening place. Plenty of large billboards, shops, people and restaurants. We struggled to find the Kent but after some searching we found it. It was tucked away in the cinema district. To our shock when we arrived to check in the concierge told us there was no booking under the name we had provided. We had just assumed we had received the reservation confirmation. We hopped into the first Internet cafe we could find. The guy at the desk was exuding confidence at the highest level. Unfortunately due to our circumstances it definitely wasn't the time and place for over exuberance.

Checking my email confirmed our fears. Bookings were full and we had missed out on the reservation. We prepared a new line of attack. First and foremost we would head back to the Kent and see if they had any rooms available. If not, then we had a thorough list of backup hotels and locations to approach for lodging. Fortunately we got back and to our luck booked two separate rooms.

We unpacked and grabbed some Ramen for lunch. What a terrible start to Tokyo. The rest of the day we spent exploring Shibuya. This was supposedly the trendy part of town, the place to be. It must have been the weather but we were quite disappointed. It was spent doing some light shopping, dodging umbrellas and avoiding the rain. One highlight of Shibuya was building 109. A building dedicated to fashion, in particular women's clothing and accessories. It was a senses overload, chicks screaming out shop sales, gorgeous Japanese women. My mind was at the point of shutdown. Wow! Grabbed some pasta for afternoon tea. There are some seriously hot chicks in Shibuya.



That evening we explored Shinjuku, the place is huge, we were constantly referring to our map and took numerous wrong turns. It's too easy to get lost here. What a bright city! Large signs advertising different products, even larger projectors displaying the latest J-pop single, Neon signs of every colour imagineable, reds, yellows, pinks, electric blue, the list is endless. Thankfully our hotel The Kent is situated close to the station. What we didn't realise it that Kabuki Cho is on the Red Light District side of town. We were approached by plenty of people. "Do you want to see Japanese girls?". For some reason only I was approached by these seedy pimps.

Used the net that night, the usual emailing, browsing. Found out that Yube is also known as Yuskin. Well i'll be...