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JAPANDEMONIUM
Entry 8 of 24 | show all | print this entry |
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Konichiwa everyone,
We know it's been a while since we last updated so we're sorry, especially to our mums who have been worried sick that we were lying in a gutter somewhere, or that a bad man had lured us to his car with the promise of sweets or free beer...
Anyway, we're currently in Cairo, but we've been a whole other country since our last letter from Delhi.
Where do we begin?
After three weeks in India, our arrival in Tokyo on March 25 was like changing out of a pair of quaint, but ratty hand-me-down slippers into a shiny new pair of Christian Louboutin heels (or for the boys, upgrading form a Datsun to a Ferrari).
In short, Japan is efficient, super-efficient. Everything runs on time, works perfectly and delivers as promised. Kind of like Australia Post - if only Australia Post was on time and delivered as promised. In Japan everything is beautiful - the landscape, the food, the people. The Japanese are possibly the most fashionable people on the planet.
And polite. You only have to unfurl your city map and people come running in all directions to help you out - and no one expects a tip or tries to tell you that the nearest market/shrine/hostel is closed and they will take you instead to their uncle's shop where they will do you a very good deal on a handmade rug/scarf/bag.
And they bow. A lot. They bow when they enter a room and leave a room. They bow when they say please or thank you. They bow when they serve you at the supermarket or sell you a train ticket. Sometimes it takes Japanese people five minutes to say goodbye because they are bowing with such enthusiasm that they forget to actually leave. "Goodbye to you" (bow)." "No, goodbye to you" (bow). "No, please, goodbye to you" (bow).
But we digress, we arrived in Tokyo after a seven-hour flight from Delhi and had to restrain ourselves from flopping down on the terminal floor and rolling about in the lack of dust and cow pats and open sewerage. And we drunk water - straight from the fountain! No fear of malaria here.
In those first few tentative steps back into normal civilisation, it really was all about the simple things.
For our first three nights in Japan we were staying in Asakusa, an area dating back around 400 years when Tokyo was called Edo, just north-east of the centre of town. It was a quaint area, full of tiny backstreets lined with flowerpots and home to numerous public bathhouses where students soak in steamy tubs alongside the mafia.
It was an excellent base for exploring the local area, not least because it's home to the Asahi brewery, a rather odd building that, when viewed from a distance looks like a gigantic beer glass complete with froth. Alongside it is a gigantic flame-like object that locals have dubbed the "Golden Turd".
On our first full day in Tokyo, we took in the sights of Asakusa, stopping first at the Asakusajinja Shrine and the Sensoji Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo, built in 628. We strolled through the Nakamise markets, where you can pick up all sorts of unique souveniers, from ninja stars and swords to chocolate in the shape of various body parts.
We also checked out Kappabashi Dogugai Street, a strip famous for it's hospitality and kitchenware stores selling the lifelike plastic food that you often see in the windows of Japanese restaurants. While the wares - everything from plastic sushi to a plastic leg of lamb - are generally used by restaurant owners to entice hungry patrons into their establishments, they have also become quite the novelty purchase for tourists, leaving Chris contemplating whether he had room in his already bulging pack for a very realistic looking double cheeseburger.
Catching a train to nearby Ueno, we checked out the local markets before loading up on sushi and Sapporo and making our way to Onshi Park for Sakura Matsuri, the Cherry Blossom Festival and one of our main reasons for visiting Japan in the first place. There are only 10 days of the year when cherry blossoms are visible, from first bud to bloom, and it changes annually depending on the climate. It was a gamble when we locked in our dates for Japan as to whether on not we'd be lucky enough to see them.
But it paid off and we joined thousands of other locals in Ueno Park to join in the festivities - which basically involve sitting around on huge tarpaulins, drinking and eating and soaking up the colour.
Early evening, we visited Akihabra, the "Electric City", a geeks paradise with multi-level department stores selling everything from retro computer game consoles to lifesize manga statuettes.
That night we crossed town, heading west to Shinjuku where wandered through the relatively seedy-less red light district and took the elevator to the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and marvelled at the huge, twinkling city spread out below.
After two full days in Tokyo, sampling a variety of culinary delights from sushi and sashimi to tempura, kara-age chicken and steaming bowls of Ramen, we caught the Shinkansen, or "bullet train" to Osaka, stopping via Mishima on the way to try and catch a glimpse of Mt Fuji. Unfortunately, the famous peak was obscured by heavy cloud cover that day and we saw little more than a partial snow-covered slope.
The following day, we caught another Shinkansen to Hiroshima, the site of the first atomic bomb detonation on August 6, 1945. For a city that was completely flattened 60 years ago, it was surprising to see that today it is a thriving metropolis, with skyscrapers and bustling shopping districts. At the centre of it all, however, is a grim reminder of that fateful day - the A-bomb Dome.
The famous landmark, the eerie skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall, was 600m directly below where the bomb detonated and was the only structure within 2kms left standing after the rest of the city was instantly turned to ash and more than 300,000 people lost their lives. Nearby to the site is the Hiroshima Museum, an official memorial and a childrens' peach park where local schoolchildren hang wreaths of coloured paper cranes in memory of all the children who died in the blast.
That afternoon we caught a ferry to Miyajima Island (Itsukushima), a sanctuary for hundreds of deer who roam about freely trying to steal passports, train tickets and maps out of the back pockets of unsuspecting tourists.
Miyajima Island is also the site of the famous Itsukushima Shrine and it's familiar torii, or Japanese gate, which Daily Telegraph fellows may recognise from the cover of such special feature publications as "How Did That Happen - Great Civilisations - Japan".
On the way back to Osaka, we stopped off at Himeji to see the city's famous castle, nestled among a flourish of pink and white cherry blossoms. That night in Osaka, we took in the spectacle of Namcom World, a multi-storey gamers haven where you could, among hundreds of other interactive games, rent a pod to challenge other gamers in 3D. Even the building itself was spectacular, sliced in two by a gigantic ferris wheel.
The next day, it took 14 minutes by Shinkansen to travel to Kyoto, Japan's cultural hub and home to hundreds of shrines and temples. Under a cover of light drizzle, we checked out the famous Kinkakuji Temple ("Golden Pavilion"), the Gunkakuji Temple ("Silver Pavilion") and the Philosophers Walk.
We also got spiritual at the Ryoanji Temple with it's famous Zen Garden comprised of just white pebbles and 15 specifically placed rocks that can't all be seen from any angle.
As the grey sky opened up and the streets of Kyoto exploded in the colour of thousands of umbrellas (none of which belonged to us - ours we're tucked safely away in our bags back at the hostel), our commitment to a day of sightseeing waivered. Then a chance meeting with a New Zealand guy called Steven who we happened to be sharing a room with back at Osaka, changed the direction of our day completely.
He was with a couple of Japanese friends he had met on an earlier trip to Hiroshima and the five of us jumped on a bus bound for Kyoto's Gion area in search of a cosy bar. Now thoroughly drenched, we ambled through the markets at Maruyama Park, admiring the cherry blossoms, sipping warm sake and munching on Takoyaki (octopus balls) and Okonomiyaki (a type of thick pizza pancake) - both local delicacies.
Catching another train to nearby Kawaramachi, we met up with two friends of our Japanese companions and headed to a restaurant where we signed up for the all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink extravaganza. At 40,000 Yen ($40) each a piece it was almost our whole day's budget blown but it was worth it. Dish after dish of glorious Japanese cuisine was delivered to our table - seafood platters, piled high with sushi and sashimi, giant Okonomiyaki, tempura, pork, kara-age chicken and a plate of Octopus, so fresh it was still wriggling. It took a great deal of effort to scoop the writhing tentacles up with chopsticks and it was an odd sensation to feel the little suckers clinging desperately to our teeth and gums and they slithered down our throats. Fortunately, we had plenty of drinks to wash it down with, sampling every one of the Japanese cocktails, made from Shochu (similar to sake) on the menu.
Needless to say we greeted day 50 of our travels the next morning a little worse for wear, but fortunately had nothing scheduled except making the three hour journey from Osaka in the south back to Tokyo in the north and check into our final accommodation for Japan, Asakusa Ryokan Touraison - a great little hostel set up like traditional Japanese lodgings, complete with tatami mats.
We spent our final days in Tokyo exploring other parts of the city, including the Imperial Palace and surrounding gardens and Shibuya, with it's familiar Times Square-like intersection, which becomes a heaving sea of people every few minutes as traffic comes to a halt and consumers scurry off in all directions.
We had a brief window shop at 109, Shibuya's huge department store dedicated to funky women's fashion, but had to leave when it became too depressing for Caroline and her backpacker budget to bear. Our final night in Japan was appropriately marked with a spread of sushi and a few cold Asahi beers
Last Wednesday we had a 12-hour flight from Tokyo to London, followed by another four-hour flight to Cairo. Our stopover at Heathrow was only supposed to be three-hours, but we were stranded on the tarmac after our plane, which had earlier carried a "suspicious" bag from Beijing to London, was declared a "crime scene". In the end, we arrived into Cairo at 3am, more than 24 hours after we'd left Tokyo the day before. As such, we spent the first couple of days here recouperating and taking time out after two months on the road.
So, in summary, we adored Japan. It's been our favourite destination so far and one we'll definitely be returning to in the future. Despite what everyone says, it's not at all expensive - way cheaper than Sydney. Most meals will set you back between $3-$5 and as long as you organise your Japan Rail Pass before you arrive in the country, travel is cheap, fast and easy. We'd been led to believe it was ridiculously expensive, so only arranged to stay eight nights, but in hindsight, with so much to see and so, and for so little cost, we could have easily stayed a month.
The food is great, the people are great and, as we've mentioned, everything works with impossible efficiency. Yes, the fashion is insane and there are a ridiculous number of vending machines (16 million to be precise) selling everything from beer to shoe shines.
There's plenty of quirkiness to keep you entertained as well - the token machine restaurants where you need to decipher a vending machine menu to pre-pay for your meal and futuristic toilets, which have warm seats, and built in options for air fresheners and flushing sounds to cover any other unsavoury noises.
Oh, and it's true, the Japanese do eat whale. But only for scientific research.
Now we're back at the other end of the spectrum, already caught up in the madness and duststorms of Egypt. We start our official tour with Geckos today. Two weeks cruising through the desert, sailing down the Nile and checking out pyramids and then we're back in London, where Caroline will celebrate "the-birthday-which-shall-not-be-named".
We've lined up an awesome apartment just near Hyde Park for our nine nights there, which we're stoked about. Plus we've secured Chemical Brothers tickets for London when we return in August. Whoot!
Until next time,
Chris and Caroline xx
P.S.
Bel and Dunc: Not sure whether about internet access in the desert over the next few weeks, so Happy Birthday to you both in advance. Hope everything is going well at the farmhouse in Canberra.
Hank and Nat: Hope everything is progressing as planned.
Where I stayed:
Asakusa ryokan Touraison
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