I'm back and this time its personal

Trip Start Apr 09, 2008

115

Trip End Apr 19, 2009

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Flag of Japan Tokyo, Kanto, Japan
Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I arrived at something past 5 in the morning, really tired, I hoisted my bag onto my back and staggered around the metro system back to the hostel. They had no space so I walked on to the Capsule hotel that was my faithful back up at all times. The next morning I had one mission and that was to visit the national museum. It was my third attempt and as they say, third time is the charm. The museum is actually excellent. It has the history of Japan but from an artistic creative point of view. Everything from early pots to 20th century painting and jewelry. Obvious high point was the samurai swords. After the museum I went to the graveyard that had been closed on my last visit. Back at the hotel I decided I should do my laundry. When I returned to my bed to wait for the washing to finish I realised that my debit card was not with the other things I had taken out of my pocket. I rushed back to the washing machine to rescue my card from the water but it was not in there either.

The next morning I cancelled the card. I sent some panicy emails home asking for help. I had enough money to last me a week or two and as I was leaving Japan the next day there was not much to do. China would be cheaper anyway. I had one other job for the day and that was to check my entry into china would be alright. I headed towards the Chinese embassy but by the time I got there it was already closed, they only open for a couple of hours every morning. I would just have to trust everything would be alright. I was not too worried I had spoken to a couple of people who told me visa could be purchased on arrival in China.

Armour

So I went back to the internet and worked out how I could get money from home.

Next day I headed to the airport. Long story short I was not allowed into china without a visa or pre arranged set up. China is being very strict with visas at the moment because of the olympic games. So I was stuck in Tokyo with little money and no plane ticket. I went immediately to the Chinese embassy to find it closed again and not open again for a few days for the weekend. Next stop was Japanese airlines, yes they could change the ticket but I would have to pay. I also asked what the cost would be to change the flight to another destination and interestingly it would be the same cost. A plan was forming.. After that I went to the British Embassy, you may remember I had passed it before so I remembered where it was. They gave me some advice about the best way to recieve money but they can actually offer no physical aid. After checking out a few other options I found that the only way to get money would be through western union. (But if you ever get stuck abroad with no money ask me there are several options) It would take a few days again because of the weekend and the time diference. I arranged JAL to change my flight to go direct to Hanoi rather than sit around waiting for a chinese visa I could use the vietnamese one I already had. And then all I could do was wait.

I spent the weekend in Asakusa spending little. I am now some thing of an expert on 100 yen instant noodles. Actually Japan is quite a comfortable place to be broke.

Swords

For example there is free water every where. I spent my time sitting and reading by the river. And I always had enough for the hotel. So tuesday came around (yes, tuesday, because the monday 9-5 banking hours in England would be18.00 to 03.00 the next day in Japan) and I could go collect the money my dad had sent. The ridicules thing was that I could actually pay him back before the money arrived because I still had all the money in the bank just couldnt access it. Interestingly the person who had taken my card had managed to get 20 pounds out of the account before I cancelled it. It could have been much worse.

That night I celebrated by eating sashimi (which isnt cheap) and drinking saki. The next day was my last in Japan I bought a present for the staff in the hotel who had not really helped me out but I had hung around the hotel a lot with no money so I was grateful. I went to the airport and actually made it out of Japan. I have to say I was quite relieved I hadn't been lucky in Japan. Besides, Japanese people are quite unforgiving if you dont have money. They are always polite and helpful but never really friendly. They always keep the barriers up. The people though are not the reason for going the culture is incredible, the food, the art and the history. I recomend anyone to go. Its not cheap but neither is it impossible to travel on a budget.The flight, by the way, was great, as usual I managed to fit in a few in-flight movies, the new hulk film and agent 86, both good.