Land of Crazy - Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo, Japan
Where I stayed
Khyosan Tokyo Ninja
I like it. It's Japanese. It's glorious, confusing and delicious.
Highlights
Pod style cabin bed, sushi, kittens in a pram, autumn leaves, hot toilet seats, Christmas decorations, kiddyland. snow.
Lowlights
Smelly mushrooms, sharing a dorm with elephants and monkeys, taking the subway in the wrong direction for the second and third times, sore feet and sightseeing mind melt.
Extended version
Day 1: Asakusa, Ueno Park, Shibuya
Checked out the old temples in Asakusa and some Ningyoyaki (hot bean paste fritters?) before heading off to Ueno park and finding ravens flying around and lots of closed museums. The Metropolitan Art Museum was open so I wandered around the free exhibits, which was Japanese characters in every size and format known to man. It was very much like being stuck in the Japanese Matrix. I have no idea if I took the blue or red pill as everything since has been surreal. First toilet with sound buttons to disguise my 'shame'.
Next stop was the famous Shibuya Crossing and a random mission around streets and lanes, getting lost, slightly panicked and excited before finding a big line of people waiting to eat at restaurant. Being a lemming, and a sucker for all things edible I joined the line and hoped for the best. 15 minutes later and I was in! Sushi! Looked good, tasted phenomenal...well for the most part. I tried everything, even the bit that looked suspiciously like cat vomit.
Day 2: Nikko - World Heritage Sight
Got up at 5:30am to catch a 6:10 train (or so I thought). Legged it to the station, dashed up stairs, round corners until I found where I was supposed to be...at 6:12. Sigh. Next train was at 7:30 so figured it was time for breakfast. Nothing open. Wandered the streets watching ravens and keen office workers do their early morning excursions. Wandered back to the station and found that I had the wrong platform and my train was at 6:20. It is now 6:30. ****.
Finally get on the train, and the seats have super heaters underneath them so I struggle the entire 2 hour journey to keep my eyes open. Must. Look. At. Scenery.
Nikko is a weird and cute wee town, and I am greeted with snow flakes and a further 80 minute bus ride up into the mountains. The views are amazing with autumn leaves, lakes, waterfalls and snow. At the top there are only two of us left on the bus and we jump off into an abandoned resort town which seems to offer only blustery winds and sideways snow. Despite the creepy vibe, I left the safety of the bus and wandered the deserted streets before finding free public footbaths fed from the hot springs. Heated my feet while the rest of me froze, then ran around the streets to make sure I wasn't missing anything (absolutely nothing) before diving onto the next bus to pull in.
Stopped at some amazing waterfalls on the way back down, and then a final stop at the World Heritage area. After taking ridiculous amounts of photos of temples, yellow leaves and other people taking photos I wandered back towards town to catch the train back to Tokyo. En route, what should I find. A lady pushing a pram containing three cats in harnesses. Favourite photo of the day.
Day 3: East Gardens - Imperial Palace, Omotesando Hills, Harajuku, Asakusabashi.
To keep up the trend, I got lost on the subway, walked for hours, laughed at ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) of racoon dogs attacking things with their huge penises. Walked through the madly beautiful East Garden at the Imperial Palace while drinking hot coffee from a can, originating from a vending machine (hello happiness).
Omotesando Hills is a big shopping district so wandered the streets wishing for spending money before finding another restaurant with a queue outside. This treat came in the form of pork ramen noodles. Mostly yum, except for the mushrooms which tasted like yuk (tasted like the smell of the ones I threw out in Hong Kong thinking they were off). Also got to wear my first noodle slurping bib. I had initially thought the lady beside me had put a bag around her neck and internally squealed in delight - then turned to the other side and saw a man and child also wearing the same bags around their necks. Dinner at my local haunt - Yakitori and big beer.
Day 4: Omotesdando Hills, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Rippongi Hills.
Accidentally found the Harajuku lanes and alleyways full of all the insane fashions the area is famous for while searching for an SD card for my camera (which was left back in my laptop). After far too much ealking I figured I would have to go to some kind of electronics district...and the figuring that out where that might be went in the bin.
Strolled through Yoyogi park and found the Meiji temple, then kept going up into Shinjuku to get 54th story views of the city from the top of the Tokyo Government Building. Insanely proud of my map reading skills by this point as only one large detour en route! Legs aching, and not a lot of planning lead me to the Rippongi district where I had visions of being a sightseeing cheat and going to the movies. Instead I found the Mori Art Museum on the 50-something floor so looked around that in a bit of a daze, sat at another observation deck and watched the sun set over the city. Not a bad way to finish the day!
Slightly exhausted. Three more days. I am hoping for more cats in parms, and definitely more eating.