Japan Japan
Wednesday 14th February 2007 (15th – 17th December 2006)
On the day after my birthday Janine and I didnt leave the hotel. Obviously we were feeling a little worse for wear but sitting by the pool in the sunshine is’nt that bad you know. I chucked out lots of my clothes so that when we went to Japan my rucksack would be a little lighter. On Saturday 16th December we checked out, left our bags with the porter and headed out to the weekend markets where we bought loads of stuff. Both being aware that we would be back for Christmas and with no money we thought we could buy a few things at the market. After collecting our bags and getting a taxi to the airport we arrived in Japan on Sunday 17th December at 7.00am.
From Narita (Tokyo) airport we took the subway to Minowa and walked the rest of the way to our hotel. The noticeable change from Thailand to Japan was the weather. It was cold cold cold. People have coats and jackets on. I am freezing to death in about six layers of clothing and all because I had my fleece, gloves and hat stolen in New Zealand. I didnt see the point of buying a new coat for only a week in Japan so I suffered in silence (i am sure Janne would object to that last statement as I probably did moan about the cold alot).
You have to take your shoes off before you enter your room at the hotel and we had to step up into the room. The hotel was so so small and rather strange. It was recommended in the guide book Janine had as it was a modern version of a tradidtional Japanese style place to stay. The room was literally just a room. Very small with a futon double bed. They gave us two duvets so we wouldnt be fighting over the covers in the evening and despite such a lack of room it had a TV and DVD player. We were extrememly tired from the flight so we both had a nap pretty much straight away.
When we awoke we went out to find some Harajuku girls and boys. It was great to see them all dressed up. I mean i’ve seen people dressed up in Camden town, I even used to dress a bit ‘funny’ (as my Dad would describe it) when i was younger but in Harajuku the kids dress up in clothes that are a type of mix between uniforms (like nurses etc) and goths. Very entertaining. They love just posing there and chatting in groups. We bought a crepe each which had the most amazing fillings. Ive never seen them in England but this crepe was delicious. We bought them off a stall on the side of the street and we had read in our guidebook that it is rude in Japan to eat walking along the street so we just watched the locals and did what they did. They seem to hide in a corner, face away from the main hub of people and eat. Very bizarre.
This is probably why Tokyo has what I believe must be the cleanest place EVER. Noone is seen eating, dropping litter or doing anything weird in public. It is even considered rude to blow your nose in public (cue me needing to blow my nose all the time of course). The subways and trains are spotless. Its almost too clinical. People walk around with masks over their faces, presumably because they dont want to pick up germs and things. A totally undescribably city where the people are full of surprises. Hardly anyone will talk to you and Janine and I felt like we were, at times, the only tourists in Tokyo. It is unbelievable that the road markings and map directions are impossible to follow and it is very difficult to withdrawl money from an ATM without hassels when I always thought Japan was a very modern and technologically advanced city.
Before dinner we went up one of the government buildings in Tokyo to catch a great view of the city. The view was a mass of black and twinkling lights. Very bizarre and wonderful to look at. Dinner that night was interesting. Everything is written in Japanese. Pointing at pictures seemed to be the best way to deal with things.
Tags: Bangkok, Harajuku, Japan, Thailand, Tokyo, Travel
georgiebees
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