Back to the mayhem...

  Tokyo, Japan
Sunday, June 3, 2007

Believe it or not, I was on my way to Tokyo, just via a particularly scenic route! This was literally the case when I cut inland to Takayama, as the surrounding mountains made it an impressive train journey...

The small town of Takayama only warranted a stay of one night, but I`m glad I visited as it was interesting to walk around the Sanmachi district with its preserved old streets and pleasant backdrop. I did a nice walk around the Higashiyama district as well, visiting many temples where more often than not, I was the only person there. Naturally, I stayed in yet another homely ryokan, and I took advantage of the home comforts knowing that the following night`s accommodation would be slightly different...

p6. Row of capsules

It only took a few hours to get back to the familiar city of Nagoya the next morning, a place that I`d enjoyed visiting earlier on in my trip. This was to be a brief stay to break up the journey to Tokyo, but it provided an ideal opportunity to try out a capsule hotel for the first time - a `must do` on a trip to Japan.

I found the procedure to be slightly confusing to begin with, but I`d spoken to an English guy in Kyoto who`d given me the lowdown on his experience, so that definitely helped. It was a case of putting your shoes in a locker, buying a ticket from the pointless vending machine, handing the ticket and locker key to reception, who in turn would give you a different locker key, then you had to change into a t-shirt and shorts, leaving your belongings in a separate locker, before finally you were able to take the lift to the appropriate floor!

p7. My capsule

The hotel itself was exceptional though, a real snazzy affair with the basement floors being home to a sauna, massage area, and a huge communal bath. I had a long soak before returning to one of the relaxation areas, along with the many salarymen all dressed in identical beige t-shirt and shorts combination (listened to Brianstorm a few too many times).

As the name suggests, the capsules were fairly compact, being about the size of a single bed. Anyone taller than me would probably struggle, unless of course they like sleeping in the embryonic position! I quite liked it though as I had my own TV, and my earplugs drowned out the sounds of snoring from nearby capsules. So all in all, it had been a good experience and well worth 3800 yen (fifteen quid).

I was faced with a long journey to Tokyo the next day, about seven hours with five changes, but it passed quickly as I tend to switch to autopilot when commuting, as I know that missing connections isn`t an issue - trains just run on time in Japan, end of story.

Again I was staying in Asakusa, but I`d opted for K`s House this time after being more than satisfied with their sister-hostel in Kyoto. It turned out that I`d arrived exactly one year since it had opened, so plenty of beer was consumed that evening to celebrate its birthday. My previous visit to Tokyo coincided with the spring vacation, so it was full of groups of English teachers, whereas this time there were more independant travellers, creating a less cliquey atmosphere, and it was around 3am when I finally called it a night...

z14. Shibuya crossing

I love just walking the crowded streets of Tokyo as there`s so much noise and excitement, particularly in the trendy suburb of Shibuya on a Saturday afternoon! I took a good little video clip of the main pedestrian crossing there which highlights the chaos much better than in a photograph. In fact I used my camera solely for video clips this time, mostly for my own benefit, but they are definitely worth a look...

I wasn`t planning on a big night out as I still felt a bit rough, but that all went out of the window when I got talking to an American guy from my dorm, and two girls from Sydney who were actually on their way to London on working holiday visas. They were only in Japan for a week and were eager to see the mayhem that is Tokyo by night, so at 11pm the four of us headed into Shibuya - unsurprisingly, it was pandemonium!

As the metro stops running at midnight, we had to take a taxi to Roppongi, which was easier said than done due to some taxi drivers blatantly ignoring us in favour of the Japanese people waiting further on! I can`t say that I`m a big fan of Roppongi normally as it`s something of a meat market and full of people on the street trying to cajole you into their bars, but it was definitely an interesting night and certainly an eyeopener...........

z11. Elvis part 2 (cartwheel)

Because we didn`t get home until 6am, I didn`t wake up until midday, but surprisingly I felt pretty fresh. So after a quick shower and a cup noodle, I got the metro down to Shibuya and boarded a train to Harajuku - I wanted to see the eccentrics one last time!

The stars of the show on this occasion were undoubtedly the Japanese Elvis Impersonators, dancing around to the rock n roll music that was blaring out of the speakers. I was pissing myself at some of the moves on show, with a few cartwheels thrown in for good measure, but I was also smiling because it was great to see people enjoying themselves with such free abandon. The fact that I was standing next to a Japanese guy dressed up as a schoolgirl only added to the bizarre nature of the situation....

z08. Crazy singer

Harajuku is probably my favourite place in Japan for just hanging around in, and further on from the Elvis guys was a narrow street with lots of bands playing, sometimes at deafening volume. One punk band`s singer was going absolutely mental as if performing in front of a 10,000 strong crowd...but in between songs he was as polite as they come, throwing a "hello" in my direction! This is the place to see Japan at its most quirky, and whisper it quietly, but I think that I`ll be back to see it all again in a few months time...