Smash and grab part 1
Trip Start
Oct 23, 2006
1
11
27
Trip End
Oct 25, 2007
Tokyo,
Japan
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
There are no rubbish bins in this city - ok, that's clearly not exactly true - but there ain't many of them. There are a heap of vending machines though. A silly amount. It seems like they flipped a coin - "ok, heads we out in 6 million rubbish bins, tails we put in 6 million vending machines....tails it is". But despite this lack of waste disposal units, this city is impressively clean. Perhaps this is because I didn't notice any locals walking whilst eating or drinking. To me, a vending machine is a convenient way to drink whilst I'm moving, but to Tokyo-ites it seems they are just quicker to use than corner stores, ie
asahi beer and brewery (background) 1
. buy it now to have later. You can get anything from vending machines by the way - including, I have been told by locals but have never seen myself, underwear. Perth could use beer vending machines.
During the day I can navigate reasonably well around this colossus of a city, admiteddly though I never chose to do orienteering for sport at school (who does orienteering if you can play indoor cricket?), but nightime is a whole new ball game. Perhaps the neon dis-orientates me or I'm just captivated by it (the latter I feel), but I suddenly forget right from left and even the easiest things like crossing the street become a mission. Coming from Seoul, I thought I'd be able to handle anything Tokyo could throw at me. I was wrong. Tokyo's making me look distinctly average.
Having said this, I'm loving every moment of the domination. Travelling in a new city, especially one the size of Tokyo, is about savouring the little victories, whilst loving the defeats (if that makes sense). For instance, I found a really cool bar in a Shibuya backstreet (yes, I was looking for a different bar at the time, but who cares), that had a cool atmosphere and cheap beer
asahi beer and brewery (background) 2
. I also managed to stumble across a brilliant sushi restaurant near my ryoken in Asakusa. Needless to say, I ate there on my than one occassion. It's also my love of the domination that allowed me to laugh when I somehow managed to go in the same circle 3 times, one evening in Shibuya.As I wander through the pulsating streets and alleys of Shinjuku, one thing I really dig is the noise. The movement of the people, the blaring horns from buses and cars, the clickety clack of the trains as they pass above me. But most of all, I love the music coming from the shops. Each one has it's own soundtrack, presumably to induce passerby to enter and spend cash. Hard rock, soft guitar, opera and pop all live harmoniously side by side. The quintessentially Japanese kind of harmony.
Asakusa, on the other hand, is wonderfully quiet. It's hard to fathom you are in the same city. At times you could here a chopstick hitting the floor. Glad I'm sleeping in this part of town. Meiji-jingu, an ancient shrine surrounded by forest also gives you this feeling. As soon as you step inside the shrine grounds, it's as if you are transported to another era, before all the modernisation. That's Tokyo though, it does nothing by halves, it's all about extremes.
There are 120 million people in Japan, and 6 million vending machines.
