Tokyo
Trip Start
May 01, 2008
1
15
43
Trip End
Jun 24, 2009
Where I stayed
Tokyo,
Kanto,
Japan
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I'll take back that bit about Tokyo being quiet! I guess it is impossible to have 20 million people in a city and be quiet. However it is certainly a lot quieter and cleaner than other Asian cities we have visited. The noise is concentrated in certain areas. The first lot we found was in a quiet small back street. We had been wandering around looking for somewhere to eat and saw a building a in pink called "Slots" and we were curious as to what it was so went in. As we opened the doors our ears were bombarded with a gigantic cacophony of sound
Tokyo garden
. It is a kind of fun parlour mixed with casino where row upon row of neatly dressed people (mostly, but not all male) were perched on stools in front of things that looked like poker machines, with boxes of silver balls at their feet. Apparently it is a kind of gambling game, and based on the old fashioned slot ball machines we knew in the 60s. This is how the businessmen wind down after a hard day's work! We also discovered later that the people rarely talk on their mobiles aloud, but are constantly texting as they walk along the street, sit on the trains or even while riding bicycles along the street!We had stayed that first night at the Tokyo Prince which had a wonderful view of the Tokyo tower from our room, so we could meet up with Tracy's parents from Canberra on their way home, but it was more expensive than we wanted to pay for the next 4 nights, and a bit far out from all the action, so we moved to Shinjuku, to the Sunroute Plaza Hotel which was wonderfully situated right next to the metro station in the heart of Shinjuku, and on the route or the airport bus. As we stayed here 4 nights we got a great rate, half of the other one! and it was much newer with a really well equipped guest room where we could take guests and offer them a coffee, hot chocolate or tea (for free) while watching a huge TV reading a book, or getting on the internet on the two computers there(again free)
Tokyo garden
. We were stoked, and would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone wanting somewhere to stay in Tokyo. The bathrooms in both hotels gave out the usual shampoo and conditioner, but also hair brushes, tooth brushes, special face washing soap, slippers and dressing gowns (not free) . We felt spoilt after Europe where you rarely even have a kettle in the room! That leads to the toilet seats! If you haven't been to Japan you would probably be intrigued by the toilet seats as we were. Not only were they heated, and flushed automatically when you get off, but they have 4 buttons for you to choose your own special toilet experience, bidet, shower, stop and one which makes a flushing noise. The last button I can only surmise you must press if you want to disguise any of the noises you are making in there. But I got quite a shock when I pressed one by mistake and an even bigger shock when I pressed the bidet one to try it out!This has been the most different place we have ever visited. It doesn't really feel like Asia, but then again it is not like Europe either. Each part of Tokyo we went to was completely different.
Shinjuku is a buzzing shopping area with a gigantic electronics store selling every imaginable type of gear, enormous department stores and many cheap eating places, like the stand up sushi bar and the curry shop where you pay about $5 for a plate with rice, curry sauce, and a piece of whatever meat you choose, sitting at a bar (like Sushi train) and paying by taking a ticket at a machine at the entry
Pachinko & Slots
. No-one talks, it is not a social occasion but like a petrol filling station for humans. And that reminds me about the capsule hotels where you sleep in a drawer which slides out and you hop in and slide back in. Some don't allow females at all and if they do, are segregated and strictly for one only. They are very cheap, about $30 a night in a city where it is hard to find anything under $100!Ginza you will probably have heard of as the upmarket part of Tokyo, sort of like an enormous Rodeo Drive (L.A.) or Double Bay (Sydney) I have never see so many beautifully, expensively dressed ladies, shopping, lunching and just being seen. The day was quite warm, so the cute lacy sun umbrellas were out in force, matching each carefully chosen outfit. The prices in the shops were outrageous so there are some seriously rich people here.
Then, as soon as we stepped from the train station at Akihabara it looked different. Suddenly, the ladies had disappeared and been replaced by mostly men in dark suits. This is the electronic part of town where there is store after store selling cameras, TV's DVDs computers and mostly electronic games. Most of the stores were pretty garish with loud noise belting from loudspeakers aimed at the shoppers along the street and hundreds of copies of the latest x box or nintendo wii game displayed in the windows and salesmen shouting from megaphones while sitting on ladders. Here are also theme cafes where serving staff are all dressed as nurses or butlers or something else weird. We couldn't wait to get out of there!
Ueno turned out to have market streets like we have seen all over Asia, and I thought I had found a good shopping spot until I checked the prices, but not too many bargains are to be had in Tokyo
Tokyo tower
. Melbourne's Queen Victoria market was much better. However the people shopping here were more a homogenous mix than we had yet seen, although still not too many old people or babies. I wonder where they hide out? My favourite area though is Harajuku, especially on a Sunday I hear(we went on Thursday and back on Sunday) Here is where all the young fashion conscious kids come to shop and be seen, dressed in their weirdest gear. Gothic Lolita is all the go with lots of black lace, chains, piercing and tatts and I think it's called Kitty Kat with pretty pretty dolly bird outfits with lots of frills and hair in pigtails and lot of ribbons. There are lots of other groups that I found out are called Ganguro, Gyaru, and Kogal. Anyone over the age of 25 definitely would feel out of place here! One girl we saw even had contact lenses which made the whites of her eye bright red!!!
One of the Japanese students who had stayed with us in Kenmore took us under his wing on the weekend and showed us the Japanese side of Tokyo. We had lots of firsts, especially with food. One evening we had Shabu-shabu, which was served by a kimono clad lady in a private room with tatami mats on the floor and a low table so that we sat on the floor on cushions. You are supposed to squat on your knees but neither of us can do that for any length of time, so we squirmed around trying to get our ungainly bodies comfortable. Makes you really aware how much bigger we are than the Japanese (Although we did see a lot of tall younger ones - a couple of girls over 6 foot even). The meal is rather like a Chinese steamboat. They bring a big pot on a gas heater and add soup stock, and we add the Wagyu beef (special tender beef cut into paper thin slices) and a variety of veges, then drink the soup
view from Tokyo tower
. It was delicious! Saturday morning we went to the enormous Tsukijushijo Tokyo fish market and queued for half an hour to get into a tiny restaurant selling a variety of sushi with mostly different kinds of raw fish. I tried the sea anemone, and found it to be surprisingly sweet, but as H had eaten a starfish in Beijing; he swapped Itsuki for a prawn. Sushi is not just the type we get in Australia but mostly without the seaweed wrapping, and a domino sized bit of rice with the raw fish on top. You have to eat it with chopsticks and we were rather awkward at this until shown how to hold it length ways.
That evening we had Okonomiyake, which is one meal we think would go really well in Australia. You sit at a table with a big barbecue plate in front of you, and after you have chosen the particular mixture you want, are given a bowl with all the ingredients in and an egg on top. You then proceed to mix it all up and shape it into a flat pancake on the hotplate, and cover it with a special lid shaped to fit. You turn an egg-timer upside down and after the obligatory 4 minutes, flip it over for another 4. Sort of like a frittata without potato!
The other really new experience was the Japanese hot spring bath. I was really looking forward to it after all the walking we have been doing, but H was somewhat apprehensive. You see it is a completely naked affair! You choose a yukata (like a kimono), then change into it, leaving all your clothes in a locker. Oh yes I forgot to say that males and females are separated. (Thank goodness) Then you go into another room and take off the yukata, leaving it in another locker. You are left with a thin towel the size of two washers. You then wander into the bath area trying to hide your nakedness with this paltry piece of cloth, where there are a number of different sized pools all with steaming hot water (40 degrees according to the thermometer)
Park near Tokyo tower
. One of ours was a spa with strong jets of invigoratingly hot water. You get in, surrounded by chattering Japanese ladies of all shapes, sizes and ages and try to pretend that you do this every other day. There is also an outdoor pool, a sauna, and in another area, a mixed footbath which you enter when you are wearing the yukata. We were supposed to meet up here, but H got the message wrong and had already dressed and exited the place, so we never got any photos of us together in yukata.When I finally got out, my face was the colour of an overripe tomato. In the mixed area there is a surprising array of shops selling souvenirs and drinks, and you pay for it with a wristband which is tallied up when you leave. You can also have body or foot massages, but we didn't have time. All in all a very liberating experience!
We also met up with Fumiko, a delightful 84 year old lady who has a house at Karana Downs. She did come here regularly but her husband died over a year ago and she hasn't been since. What a wonderful tiny ball of energy she is for her age!
