Ten hours after taking off, flight VS009 touched down in Tokyo Narita airport; early for once but many disheveled passengers disembarked into the modern terminal building. I walked though the terminal with a sense of relief having landed feeling so alert and refreshed. My strategy of not sleeping the night before and then knocking out on the plane seemed to have paid off.
Within the immigration hall, a toddler throwing a tantrum spoiled the silent queue approaching the immigation booths. A friendly sign next to the cordons told us that the queue would take 15 minutes from that point, enough time for me to start studying my WhichCamera guide once more to brush up before venturing into town to buy my digital camera.
Japan now demands all foreigners are fingerprinted and photographed. The booth was like a photo booth that beamed 'Welcome to Japan' as it counted down 3-2-1 and snapped a picture. From there it was onto the ritual of collecting my baggage and heading into Tokyo.
Travelling around Tokyo, I made many mistakes. My first was to opt for the Narita Express that costs Y2940 single (£9.50) and delivers passengers to Tokyo airport; I could have opted for the cheaper stopping service which would have dropped me near to the hotel. Second, I forgot to buy the Tokyo metro pass... only available at the airport! D'oh! This would have save me 30% off my travel as it's a tourist pass for the metro.
I went to the hotel... a small, budget Ryokan hotel which was immaculately done up and hosted by very friendly, although absent-minded staff. However, they spoke really good English which is a plus for a city like this.
Akihabara
Anyway, heading out to Akihabara, the electronics centre of Tokyo,... it was manic, my first taste of Japanese commerce left me really bewildered. People stand on the corner of every street and outside most of the stores, just shouting out deals going on inside in the store. Some project their voices, others use a loud speaker. The big phone and electronics companies have people with fully-fledged sound systems just drowning out all the other callers. Money talks... literally.
The electronics stores are like Dixons on drugs, Yodobashi is probably the largest store with 8, possibly 9 floors of electronics! Mobile phones, PCs, cameras, games, and anything else that needs a voltage. The prices here are comparably cheaper than in the UK but not by much, but the experience was fun trying out all the gadgets.
Eventually I found the camera set I needed... the Canon EOS400D and a Sigma 12-24 f/4.5-5.6. Basically it means no more film developing and a wide angled lens to capture everything outside of the normal frame of shot. The guy serving me spoke almost no English apart from the terms of the camera like... best price, warranty, lens, battery, and everything he said ended in -doh. Warranty-doh, lens-doh. Around him, his colleagues shouted our random Japanese phrases as they walked around the store. No English quietness here!
Shinjuku
This area is pretty tame by day but turns into a neon wilderness at night. Lights everywhere advertise all sorts of clubs, restaurants, shops and adverts. I wish I could have walked around here more but the Tokyo subway closes around 12am and I didn't want to get caught out.
Tokyo Metro System
This is strange but you need to really think about which line and ticket to buy. The average tourist will buy a one day ticket but this comes in two varieties... the Y740 or the Y1100 version. I asked a train guard to tell me about the differences between the two, so when I pointed to the Y740 one on the ticket machine, he pointed to the whole metro map. Fair enough, when pointed to the Y1100 version, he pointed to the whole metro map again..! So, I trusted my instincts and bought the Y740 version. Big mistake! Later on near Shinjuku, my ticket didn't work. Turns out that the lines here are split into two groups. Identical trains, and almost identical coverage but split into two groups... like totally random.
And now?
Admittedly, I'm writing this on the morning of the 3rd, I've just looked outside and it's snowing heavily... photo time!
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Tokyo Hotels
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