Well here we are, back in Tokyo for one night only!
Caught an overnight bus from Hiroshima last night, we left there at about 8pm and got back to Shinjuku station in Tokyo at around 7am this morning. I think I managed to grab a few hours sleep, which was fortunate because when we finally found a hostel that had room this morning, we couldnt check in until 2pm, so we had to leave our bags and then drag our weary souls around the city for six hours until the room was ready!
In the mean time we went to Akihabara, which is famous here for being the land of anime, manga, every electronic gadget under the sun, and beloved of all girl and boy geeks. We checked out a couple of enormous dedicated manga stores which were seven stories of mags, books, dvds, characters, posters, costumes, drinks and every anime-inspired trinket under the sun you could ever possibly imagine.
After that we went to Don Quijote which is a department store in Akiba, but it's the Japanese version of a department store, which means tens of stories of the most crazy, bonkers, beserk shops and cafes you have ever seen in you life. Think complete sensory overload...tiny skinny escalators packed with girls and boys dressed up as Cosplay characters and floor after floor after floor of tiny corridors bursting with the most weird and wonderful items, from trinkets and toys to Hello Kitty vending machines, endless rows of cute pink cosmetics and beauty products, rainbow wigs and sweets, Harajuku girl fashions, and of course most of all, millions of things that we had absolutely no idea what they were. And at the same time everything is making a huge racket, the floor tiles light up/speak Japanese when you tread on them, music pounds through the store, electrical voices come from every shelf and every toy. On the fifth floor of the building is the famous At Home cafe, where all the waitresses dress up in Cosplay gear, call you mistress and sir, and you can even play games with them to win drinks and sweets. Its quite simply a bizarre and brilliant place, completely overwhelming and completely Japanese.
After Akiba I was feeling pretty burnt out from lack of sleep so we headed back to the hostel for an hours kip on the sofa as our room wasn't ready yet, and then we went out to the Ryogoku Koguigkan, which is the Grand Sumo wrestling tournament in Tokyo. It's a huge sport out here and televised all over the country, but only on for one week three times a year, so we were so lucky to see it. Of course we bought the cheapest seats and were sat way up in the back, but we enjoyed a few Kirins and watched and about three hours of bouts. It was fascinating to see some of the best fighters in the world, and all the pomp and ceremony - the stomach slapping, salt throwing and drumming, and the ceremonial robes. The competitors aren't all Japanese, some were Russian or Estonian, but they all had one thing in common - they were absolutely enormous!
I'm going to try and do one last blog to sum up all my thoughts about Japan and why I love it (excerpt - heated toilet seats and the fact that they play fake birdsong at train stations to make them more pleasant!) I'll also talk a bit more about Hiroshima as I didn't have time yesterday, but for now I'm off to enjoy my last sake and say goodbye to this fantastic city.
So, sayonara from Tokyo, and arigato goziamas for reading!
Monday 10 January 2011
Sunday 9 January 2011
Inspiring Hiroshima
Hello from Hiroshima!
After our seven hour bus ride we walked to K's House, not far from Hiroshima station, and settled into our traditional Japanese tatami room (tatami mat flooring with a low table and floor mats, and at nighttime you take futon matresses out of the sliding wardrobe to sleep on). We headed out for dinner and tried the nearest place we could find as even though we're further south now it's still freeeeezing, but fortunately we stumbled upon an okonomiyaki place. Hiroshima is famous for its oysters and okonomiyaki which is a savoury pancakes with noodles, egg, vegetables and meat cooked on a griddle in front of you, and I can confirm it was declicious. We were pretty tired after the long journey so we got a couple of beers out of the vending machine and retired to our room for some rounds of backpacker before bed.
This morning we headed out into Hiroshima to experience the Peace Memorial Park and surrounding museum/monuments, and it has been a very moving day. We started out walking along Peace Boulevard, which is the main street in the city, and had coffee at J Cafe, a really lovely little place on one of the corners.
Then we walked up to Peace Memorial Park and started by visiting the museum there. It starts with displays which explain the build up to the war (Japanese aggression against the US and China - it's very balanced), and then what happened at 8.15am on August 6th 1945, followed by the aftermath of the atomic bomb. It explains that there were four possible cities it could have been dropped on that day, but because Hiroshima had clear skies and better visibility, it was the chosen location.
At the start there are some particularly poignant objects, like an old watch from a victim of the bomb which stopped exactly at that moment. There are are also large 3D models of how the city looked on the 5th August, and how it looked after the dropping of the bomb, which are shocking. The bomb exploded almost exactly over the top of what is now known as the A-bomb dome, 600 metres in the sky, and apart from that building pretty much everything for 2km was completely levelled, and most people that were outside and in that vicinity from what the call the hypocentre, were all killed.
The third part of the exhibition has lots of sad reminders of the many children who were working outside that day, school uniforms ripped to shreds, charred lunch boxes, one sandal found by a parent after the bomb. There are also examples of just how powerful the bomb was - roof tiles and metal kilometres away from the epicentre which still bubbled under the heat, in fact fires raged through the city for the next two days after the explosion. The power of the bomb was such that when it exploded the nucleus was at a heat of over a million degrees, and an enormous fireball was created, spreading to a diameter of 290 metres in one second.
All of this, as you can imagine, is pretty overwhelming to see, but there is a positive message that the museum promotes, which is of peace. There are also lots of displays about the importance of nucleur disarmament, and about how despite whole families being wiped out, and even decades after the bombing persistent illnesses from the radiation still cause problems for people today, the brave people of Hiroshima have rebuilt there city, and made it a beautiful, prosperous place. And it really is, we've encountered some of the loveliest, friendliest people here. If you didn't know about the city's tragic past you'd have no idea such horror ever happened to Hiroshima.
After the museum we went to the cenotaph in the lovely Peace Memorial Park which is filled with fountains and water features in rememberance of those who died of thirst on that day (it seems the bomb did something that made them all desperate for a drink, so many drank the radiation poisoned 'black rain' which fell from the sky that day, or jumped into the river when they couldn't handle their injuries. The cenotaph contains the names of all the known victims of the bomb (they estimate around 150,000 but many people were never found, and have died from cancers etc since so there's no way of knowing the real figure), and also frames the flame of peace, which will only be extinguised when the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed. From there we visited the Children's Peace Monument which was inspired by leukaemia victim Sadako Saski. She developed the diesease at 11 years old, ten years after the bomb was dropped, and believed that if she folded 1000 paper cranes (which symbolise longevity and happiness in Japan) she would be cured. She died before she could reach 1000, but her classmates carried on for her, and now the Children's Monument is covered in thousands and thousands of paper cranes, folded from children all over the world in rememberance.
From there we went to the A-bomb dome, which served as an industral promotion hall until the bomb exploded almost directly above it. There was alot of debate as to whether the building should be left standing exactly as it was that day, but the government eventually decided to leave it. Set against the skyscrapers of 'new' Hiroshima, the dome is a truly stark reminder of what happened here.
Finally, we visited the Peace memorial hall for atomic bomb victims, which contains a large rememberance hall for quiet contemplation, and also pictures of the victims of the bomb, and testimonials from survivors. We sat for a long time reading them and taking in the solemn, but also inspiring atmosphere.
Argh! My computer is bleeping at me so I have about 3 seconds left, so I must go, getting on an overnight bus to Tokyo now. Sorry about alll the spelling mistakes etc - been rushing. More detail next time!
After our seven hour bus ride we walked to K's House, not far from Hiroshima station, and settled into our traditional Japanese tatami room (tatami mat flooring with a low table and floor mats, and at nighttime you take futon matresses out of the sliding wardrobe to sleep on). We headed out for dinner and tried the nearest place we could find as even though we're further south now it's still freeeeezing, but fortunately we stumbled upon an okonomiyaki place. Hiroshima is famous for its oysters and okonomiyaki which is a savoury pancakes with noodles, egg, vegetables and meat cooked on a griddle in front of you, and I can confirm it was declicious. We were pretty tired after the long journey so we got a couple of beers out of the vending machine and retired to our room for some rounds of backpacker before bed.
This morning we headed out into Hiroshima to experience the Peace Memorial Park and surrounding museum/monuments, and it has been a very moving day. We started out walking along Peace Boulevard, which is the main street in the city, and had coffee at J Cafe, a really lovely little place on one of the corners.
Then we walked up to Peace Memorial Park and started by visiting the museum there. It starts with displays which explain the build up to the war (Japanese aggression against the US and China - it's very balanced), and then what happened at 8.15am on August 6th 1945, followed by the aftermath of the atomic bomb. It explains that there were four possible cities it could have been dropped on that day, but because Hiroshima had clear skies and better visibility, it was the chosen location.
At the start there are some particularly poignant objects, like an old watch from a victim of the bomb which stopped exactly at that moment. There are are also large 3D models of how the city looked on the 5th August, and how it looked after the dropping of the bomb, which are shocking. The bomb exploded almost exactly over the top of what is now known as the A-bomb dome, 600 metres in the sky, and apart from that building pretty much everything for 2km was completely levelled, and most people that were outside and in that vicinity from what the call the hypocentre, were all killed.
The third part of the exhibition has lots of sad reminders of the many children who were working outside that day, school uniforms ripped to shreds, charred lunch boxes, one sandal found by a parent after the bomb. There are also examples of just how powerful the bomb was - roof tiles and metal kilometres away from the epicentre which still bubbled under the heat, in fact fires raged through the city for the next two days after the explosion. The power of the bomb was such that when it exploded the nucleus was at a heat of over a million degrees, and an enormous fireball was created, spreading to a diameter of 290 metres in one second.
All of this, as you can imagine, is pretty overwhelming to see, but there is a positive message that the museum promotes, which is of peace. There are also lots of displays about the importance of nucleur disarmament, and about how despite whole families being wiped out, and even decades after the bombing persistent illnesses from the radiation still cause problems for people today, the brave people of Hiroshima have rebuilt there city, and made it a beautiful, prosperous place. And it really is, we've encountered some of the loveliest, friendliest people here. If you didn't know about the city's tragic past you'd have no idea such horror ever happened to Hiroshima.
After the museum we went to the cenotaph in the lovely Peace Memorial Park which is filled with fountains and water features in rememberance of those who died of thirst on that day (it seems the bomb did something that made them all desperate for a drink, so many drank the radiation poisoned 'black rain' which fell from the sky that day, or jumped into the river when they couldn't handle their injuries. The cenotaph contains the names of all the known victims of the bomb (they estimate around 150,000 but many people were never found, and have died from cancers etc since so there's no way of knowing the real figure), and also frames the flame of peace, which will only be extinguised when the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed. From there we visited the Children's Peace Monument which was inspired by leukaemia victim Sadako Saski. She developed the diesease at 11 years old, ten years after the bomb was dropped, and believed that if she folded 1000 paper cranes (which symbolise longevity and happiness in Japan) she would be cured. She died before she could reach 1000, but her classmates carried on for her, and now the Children's Monument is covered in thousands and thousands of paper cranes, folded from children all over the world in rememberance.
From there we went to the A-bomb dome, which served as an industral promotion hall until the bomb exploded almost directly above it. There was alot of debate as to whether the building should be left standing exactly as it was that day, but the government eventually decided to leave it. Set against the skyscrapers of 'new' Hiroshima, the dome is a truly stark reminder of what happened here.
Finally, we visited the Peace memorial hall for atomic bomb victims, which contains a large rememberance hall for quiet contemplation, and also pictures of the victims of the bomb, and testimonials from survivors. We sat for a long time reading them and taking in the solemn, but also inspiring atmosphere.
Argh! My computer is bleeping at me so I have about 3 seconds left, so I must go, getting on an overnight bus to Tokyo now. Sorry about alll the spelling mistakes etc - been rushing. More detail next time!
Friday 7 January 2011
Kyoto and her Geisha
Konichiwa from Kyoto!
So, since I left you last we had another day of skiing, great fun apart from falling over 18,000 more times, particularly the bit where I crashed into a tree branch sticking out the side of the mountain and ended up with my skis in the air and my head stuck upside down in the snow. Danny of course found this hilarious. It snowed so much on the second day we were literally four feet deep in snow, I've never seen anything like it, it was a real winter wonderland.
The next morning we checked out of Penke Panke (our hostel) and the Australian owner, Justin, dropped us off at the train station. From there it was a few hours by train to Matsumoto, then a few hours of waiting at the bus station there (mum, we made good use of backpacker again - it's getting verrrry competitive), before hopping on a four and a half hour bus to Kyoto. It didn't stop quite in Kyoto central so we had to walk for about twenty minutes to another train station and catch a train into Kyoto central station. Anyway, twelve hours later we made it, and checked into a lovely hostel called K's House not far from the station, before heading out for a dinner of Shochu and sashimi nearby, taking a shower and then crashing into bed.
This morning we booked a bus to Hiroshima for tomorow and then made the most of the all you can eat breakfast at Zen Cafe in the hostel, before heading out into Kyoto. Kyoto is the real cultural heart of Japan, and how you imagine 'old Japan' to look in your head, with its 17 Unesco World Heritage sites.
We started off by catching the bus up to Ginkaku-Ji, also known as the Silver Pagoda, that was built in 1482 by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. It's incredible that the building is still standing, but the gardens are something else. Absolutely stunning, perfectly manicured Japanese gardens, with perfect raked sand sculptures, moss covered ground, tall pines, carp-filled ponds and (as if mother nature was trying to make it her most perfect for us) a gorgeous dusting of snow that was gently dripping from the trees in the bright sunshine against the blue sky. After that we headed to Kinkaku-Ji aka the Golden Pavillion, which was built by Shogun Ashikaga's grandfather in 1397. It's the most amazing golden building, that reflects in the lake around it, and again is surrounded by perfectly manicured Japanese gardens. Utterly relaxing and made all that travelling yesterday feel totally worthwhile.
After the temples we had a lunch of traditional katsu curry (you grind your own seasame seeds with a pestle and mortar and get endless salad and green tea)in Higashiyama, before heading to the nearby Nishiki Market to check out all the weird and wonderful foods on offer there. Then we wandered around the Teramachi shopping arcade taking in the manga shops, and the incredible toy shops with tiny, cute, weird little toys lining the walls as far as the eye can see. Literally, being a child in Japan must be the most fun thing, EVER.
Next, we took a walk to the Gion area of the city, which is most famous for being the home of the Geisha. Apparently there are only 1000ish real Geisha's left in Japan, and The Lonely Planet guide said if you hang around here long enough you might be lucky enough to catch a glance of a Geisha disappearing into a doorway or what have you, and we did! We took a walk down Shimbashi dori which has been called the most beautiful street in Asia, (think proper, proper traditional Japanese buildings and tea houses), and then Hanami dori, before taking a walk up Ponto Cho which is a narrow alleyway of traditional wooden buildings adorned with hundreds of coloured lanterns... And as we were just coming to the end we heard some American's say 'there they are!' and turned around just in time to see two going into one of the buildings and sliding the bamboo door shut behind them.
We're back at the hostel now and off to have a beer downstairs and relax, and we're off by bus (six hours) to Hiroshima at 12 noon tomorrow, which I think may be quite a emotional experience. Until then...x
So, since I left you last we had another day of skiing, great fun apart from falling over 18,000 more times, particularly the bit where I crashed into a tree branch sticking out the side of the mountain and ended up with my skis in the air and my head stuck upside down in the snow. Danny of course found this hilarious. It snowed so much on the second day we were literally four feet deep in snow, I've never seen anything like it, it was a real winter wonderland.
The next morning we checked out of Penke Panke (our hostel) and the Australian owner, Justin, dropped us off at the train station. From there it was a few hours by train to Matsumoto, then a few hours of waiting at the bus station there (mum, we made good use of backpacker again - it's getting verrrry competitive), before hopping on a four and a half hour bus to Kyoto. It didn't stop quite in Kyoto central so we had to walk for about twenty minutes to another train station and catch a train into Kyoto central station. Anyway, twelve hours later we made it, and checked into a lovely hostel called K's House not far from the station, before heading out for a dinner of Shochu and sashimi nearby, taking a shower and then crashing into bed.
This morning we booked a bus to Hiroshima for tomorow and then made the most of the all you can eat breakfast at Zen Cafe in the hostel, before heading out into Kyoto. Kyoto is the real cultural heart of Japan, and how you imagine 'old Japan' to look in your head, with its 17 Unesco World Heritage sites.
We started off by catching the bus up to Ginkaku-Ji, also known as the Silver Pagoda, that was built in 1482 by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. It's incredible that the building is still standing, but the gardens are something else. Absolutely stunning, perfectly manicured Japanese gardens, with perfect raked sand sculptures, moss covered ground, tall pines, carp-filled ponds and (as if mother nature was trying to make it her most perfect for us) a gorgeous dusting of snow that was gently dripping from the trees in the bright sunshine against the blue sky. After that we headed to Kinkaku-Ji aka the Golden Pavillion, which was built by Shogun Ashikaga's grandfather in 1397. It's the most amazing golden building, that reflects in the lake around it, and again is surrounded by perfectly manicured Japanese gardens. Utterly relaxing and made all that travelling yesterday feel totally worthwhile.
After the temples we had a lunch of traditional katsu curry (you grind your own seasame seeds with a pestle and mortar and get endless salad and green tea)in Higashiyama, before heading to the nearby Nishiki Market to check out all the weird and wonderful foods on offer there. Then we wandered around the Teramachi shopping arcade taking in the manga shops, and the incredible toy shops with tiny, cute, weird little toys lining the walls as far as the eye can see. Literally, being a child in Japan must be the most fun thing, EVER.
Next, we took a walk to the Gion area of the city, which is most famous for being the home of the Geisha. Apparently there are only 1000ish real Geisha's left in Japan, and The Lonely Planet guide said if you hang around here long enough you might be lucky enough to catch a glance of a Geisha disappearing into a doorway or what have you, and we did! We took a walk down Shimbashi dori which has been called the most beautiful street in Asia, (think proper, proper traditional Japanese buildings and tea houses), and then Hanami dori, before taking a walk up Ponto Cho which is a narrow alleyway of traditional wooden buildings adorned with hundreds of coloured lanterns... And as we were just coming to the end we heard some American's say 'there they are!' and turned around just in time to see two going into one of the buildings and sliding the bamboo door shut behind them.
We're back at the hostel now and off to have a beer downstairs and relax, and we're off by bus (six hours) to Hiroshima at 12 noon tomorrow, which I think may be quite a emotional experience. Until then...x
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Japan: From Tokyo to the Alps
Well! It's been eight or nine months since we returned from the big round the world trip, and I've already got itchy feet again, so here I am wishing you a happy new year from Japan!
We're only on a holiday this time, for a few weeks, but still treating it backpacker style - we booked nothing but our flights and a bed in Tokyo for new years eve and set off for a whistlestop tour around the country.
After a very long (and delayed) twelve hour flight from London to Tokyo, we arrived in the city ridiculously jetlagged at 6am our time (3pm Tokyo time) and spent a fair bit of our first day sleeping. We stayed in Asakusa which of all the areas in the city is seen as more of an 'Old Japan' style place. Handily for us it was also the site of the Asahi beer halls and brewery, and lots of fantastic sushi restaurants. Asakusa is also the site of Senso-ji one of the biggest Shinto shrines in Tokyo (probably second only to Meiji Jingu in Harajuku), which was great for us as the shrines pretty much act as a Trafalgar Square for Tokyoites, in that on New Years Eve they all flock there. So on the big night we joined the thousands and thousands and thoooousands of others who visited the temple, taking in the atmosphere and wondering what on earth was going on most of the time! It was so busy that a picture of the hoardes at the temple even made it onto the front page of the Japan Times. A brilliantly unique way to spend New Years Eve.
My first impressions of Tokyo are that it is like a well oiled chip - everything is ridiculously efficient, from the Sky Train we took from Narita airport to the metro trains that run like clockwork, and people everywhere to guide and help confused looking tourists like us! Even though my Japanese extends to a big smile and an enthusiastic 'arigato gozzzzziamaaaaaaas' and most people don't speak English here, we've managed to get by without too much trouble at all. There are also plenty of fascinating eccentricities, like Manga porn (!), traditional Kimono clad ladies alongside Harajuku girls in the world's shortest skirts, backcombed hair and knee high socks, and vending machines absolutely everywhere, selling everything from hot lemonade to cold tea (!?) and 'orange and rare cheese' flavour juice. Yes really!
On one of our first days in the city we visited Shibuya crossing, which is an iconic image of Japan, a huuuuuuuge quadruple crossing in the heart of Tokyo, which is just buzzing with millions of young Japanese stylistas. We visited Harajuku and the nearby upmarket shopping district of Omotesando, and even found a shop dedicated entirely to all different types of condoms (it's called Condomania, obviously), which (this being tokyo) contained everything form condom lollipops to Hello Kitty versions!
We also visited a sushi place in Asakusa called Tsujiki Sushi Sen, which does PROPER sushi (bought fresh from Tokyo's famous Tsujiki fish market) - you sit round and watching the chefs crafting little works of art from sashimi and nigiri, blowtorching tuna and pureeing sea urchin (which when you get over the texture tastes pretty amazing).
On our third night in the city we visited Roppongi, near Tokyo Midtown, which is the real party place in the city, and gorgeous to boot. All twinkly fairy light-embellished tree lined avenues and perfect glass buildings. We had coffee and ice cream in a little place there where everything was so pink it looked like an impossibly kitsch doll's house (which I of course loved, and thought Danny looked very cute with his little pink princess cup!) That night we headed up the Tokyo Sky Tower, 57 stories above the city (the lift whisks you up there in approximately four seconds) and walked round the building where there are enormous floor to ceiling windows offering the most fantastic panoramic view of the city, and looking down on the skyscrapers below. I'd recommend it as an absolute must for anyone visiting the city.
The next day we rose early to catch a local bus the two hours or so to Kawaguchigo, where there are five picturesque lakes, and it is also the setting of the stunning Mount Fuji. Once there we took a cable car to the highest point near the lake and sat and watched as the sun set over the snow capped mountain. It definitely rivalled watching the sunrise over the Himalayas in Darjeeling! When we got back to the city we took a wander around Shinjuku, which is pretty much the heart of Tokyo, and got to see a far less wholesome part of town...Kabukicho is Tokyo's red light district, and we spotted plenty of Yakuza (young Japanese mafia), a fair few working girls and even the odd transvestite!
Then, the next morning, we headed back to Shinjuku and jumped on a bus to Hakuba, in the Japanese Alps, where we are now. Hakuba is a stunning destination, one of the best places to ski in the country (probably second only to the resorts like Niseko in Hokkaido), and it's also the place that the 1998 winter olympic skiing events took place. The journey was about five hours (an absolute breeze compared to the thirty or so hours we're used to!) and beautifully picturesque as it got snowier and snowier as we got further in to the mountains. After we checked in to the hostel we went to get fitted for our skis, poles and boots at a ski shop in town (the hostel picked us up from the bus station and even ferried us there and back to the ski shop) and then went for dinner at Cedar House, a lovely local place run by a very friendly Japanese guy who spends his winters here and summers in Tokyo, where he is a fund manager with an offshore account on the Isle of Man! We had lots of interesting chats with him, he taught us a little bit of Japanese and even gave us some complimentary plum sake that his father had made. Certainly warmed the cockles!
We then popped into the bar at the hostel for a quick Sapporo, before heading down to the nearest Onsen at about 10pm. Japan has the most hot springs in the world, and we couldnt wait to see what they were like. Seeing as they are outside, you're obliged to go naked and it was nighttime and snowing, I was thinking it might be a bit of a painful experience. But it was BLISS. The steamy thermal pool was so so hot and as they're not mixed I had it to myself most of the time. Snow drops fell off the surrounding trees and on to my face and it was absolutely silent. Sooo relaxing, slept so well after that.
This morning we were up early to hit the slopes! I've never skiied before and oh my goodness it is harder than it looks! We started off on the nursery slopes where it was just teeny weeny Japanese kids being taught to ski by Ozzy, Canadian and British ski instructors. Unfortunately for me the kids made me look really bad, as I spent most of the first few hours on my bum/getting in a huff. Eventually Danny decided I was good enough to try a beginners run, so we caught the chair lift up to the top of the mountain and verrrrry verrrrrry slowly made our way down (personally I don't think beginners runs should have sheer drops on one side, but I don't make the rules). By lunchtime my knees were killing me from all the snow ploughing, so we had lunch and drank tea in one of the restaurants on the slopes that you can just ski up to, and then played cards (my new Backpacker game - thankyou mum! I beat Danny by the way) until we were warmed up and ready for round two. This time we took a wider but slightly steeper run, and after several demoralising falls and alot of snow in my face/up my sleeves/in my trousers, I eventually mastered turning!
We've got one more day of skiing tommorow and then we'll make our way to Kyoto, where I'm hoping to spot a real Geisha! Until then... Sayonara!
We're only on a holiday this time, for a few weeks, but still treating it backpacker style - we booked nothing but our flights and a bed in Tokyo for new years eve and set off for a whistlestop tour around the country.
After a very long (and delayed) twelve hour flight from London to Tokyo, we arrived in the city ridiculously jetlagged at 6am our time (3pm Tokyo time) and spent a fair bit of our first day sleeping. We stayed in Asakusa which of all the areas in the city is seen as more of an 'Old Japan' style place. Handily for us it was also the site of the Asahi beer halls and brewery, and lots of fantastic sushi restaurants. Asakusa is also the site of Senso-ji one of the biggest Shinto shrines in Tokyo (probably second only to Meiji Jingu in Harajuku), which was great for us as the shrines pretty much act as a Trafalgar Square for Tokyoites, in that on New Years Eve they all flock there. So on the big night we joined the thousands and thousands and thoooousands of others who visited the temple, taking in the atmosphere and wondering what on earth was going on most of the time! It was so busy that a picture of the hoardes at the temple even made it onto the front page of the Japan Times. A brilliantly unique way to spend New Years Eve.
My first impressions of Tokyo are that it is like a well oiled chip - everything is ridiculously efficient, from the Sky Train we took from Narita airport to the metro trains that run like clockwork, and people everywhere to guide and help confused looking tourists like us! Even though my Japanese extends to a big smile and an enthusiastic 'arigato gozzzzziamaaaaaaas' and most people don't speak English here, we've managed to get by without too much trouble at all. There are also plenty of fascinating eccentricities, like Manga porn (!), traditional Kimono clad ladies alongside Harajuku girls in the world's shortest skirts, backcombed hair and knee high socks, and vending machines absolutely everywhere, selling everything from hot lemonade to cold tea (!?) and 'orange and rare cheese' flavour juice. Yes really!
On one of our first days in the city we visited Shibuya crossing, which is an iconic image of Japan, a huuuuuuuge quadruple crossing in the heart of Tokyo, which is just buzzing with millions of young Japanese stylistas. We visited Harajuku and the nearby upmarket shopping district of Omotesando, and even found a shop dedicated entirely to all different types of condoms (it's called Condomania, obviously), which (this being tokyo) contained everything form condom lollipops to Hello Kitty versions!
We also visited a sushi place in Asakusa called Tsujiki Sushi Sen, which does PROPER sushi (bought fresh from Tokyo's famous Tsujiki fish market) - you sit round and watching the chefs crafting little works of art from sashimi and nigiri, blowtorching tuna and pureeing sea urchin (which when you get over the texture tastes pretty amazing).
On our third night in the city we visited Roppongi, near Tokyo Midtown, which is the real party place in the city, and gorgeous to boot. All twinkly fairy light-embellished tree lined avenues and perfect glass buildings. We had coffee and ice cream in a little place there where everything was so pink it looked like an impossibly kitsch doll's house (which I of course loved, and thought Danny looked very cute with his little pink princess cup!) That night we headed up the Tokyo Sky Tower, 57 stories above the city (the lift whisks you up there in approximately four seconds) and walked round the building where there are enormous floor to ceiling windows offering the most fantastic panoramic view of the city, and looking down on the skyscrapers below. I'd recommend it as an absolute must for anyone visiting the city.
The next day we rose early to catch a local bus the two hours or so to Kawaguchigo, where there are five picturesque lakes, and it is also the setting of the stunning Mount Fuji. Once there we took a cable car to the highest point near the lake and sat and watched as the sun set over the snow capped mountain. It definitely rivalled watching the sunrise over the Himalayas in Darjeeling! When we got back to the city we took a wander around Shinjuku, which is pretty much the heart of Tokyo, and got to see a far less wholesome part of town...Kabukicho is Tokyo's red light district, and we spotted plenty of Yakuza (young Japanese mafia), a fair few working girls and even the odd transvestite!
Then, the next morning, we headed back to Shinjuku and jumped on a bus to Hakuba, in the Japanese Alps, where we are now. Hakuba is a stunning destination, one of the best places to ski in the country (probably second only to the resorts like Niseko in Hokkaido), and it's also the place that the 1998 winter olympic skiing events took place. The journey was about five hours (an absolute breeze compared to the thirty or so hours we're used to!) and beautifully picturesque as it got snowier and snowier as we got further in to the mountains. After we checked in to the hostel we went to get fitted for our skis, poles and boots at a ski shop in town (the hostel picked us up from the bus station and even ferried us there and back to the ski shop) and then went for dinner at Cedar House, a lovely local place run by a very friendly Japanese guy who spends his winters here and summers in Tokyo, where he is a fund manager with an offshore account on the Isle of Man! We had lots of interesting chats with him, he taught us a little bit of Japanese and even gave us some complimentary plum sake that his father had made. Certainly warmed the cockles!
We then popped into the bar at the hostel for a quick Sapporo, before heading down to the nearest Onsen at about 10pm. Japan has the most hot springs in the world, and we couldnt wait to see what they were like. Seeing as they are outside, you're obliged to go naked and it was nighttime and snowing, I was thinking it might be a bit of a painful experience. But it was BLISS. The steamy thermal pool was so so hot and as they're not mixed I had it to myself most of the time. Snow drops fell off the surrounding trees and on to my face and it was absolutely silent. Sooo relaxing, slept so well after that.
This morning we were up early to hit the slopes! I've never skiied before and oh my goodness it is harder than it looks! We started off on the nursery slopes where it was just teeny weeny Japanese kids being taught to ski by Ozzy, Canadian and British ski instructors. Unfortunately for me the kids made me look really bad, as I spent most of the first few hours on my bum/getting in a huff. Eventually Danny decided I was good enough to try a beginners run, so we caught the chair lift up to the top of the mountain and verrrrry verrrrrry slowly made our way down (personally I don't think beginners runs should have sheer drops on one side, but I don't make the rules). By lunchtime my knees were killing me from all the snow ploughing, so we had lunch and drank tea in one of the restaurants on the slopes that you can just ski up to, and then played cards (my new Backpacker game - thankyou mum! I beat Danny by the way) until we were warmed up and ready for round two. This time we took a wider but slightly steeper run, and after several demoralising falls and alot of snow in my face/up my sleeves/in my trousers, I eventually mastered turning!
We've got one more day of skiing tommorow and then we'll make our way to Kyoto, where I'm hoping to spot a real Geisha! Until then... Sayonara!
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