Blogs from Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, Asia - page 4

22 septembre 2012, Tokyo Konichiwa! Mon arrivée à Tokyo a été facile. Phil m’attendait à l’aéroport et il me conduisit à travers le vaste réseau de trains et de métros jusqu’à notre hôtel qu’il avait réservé, puis aux sushis.. une priorité! Le choc a été moins intense que ce dont je m’attendais. Soit parce que nous commençons vraiment à s’adapter facilement aux nouveaux endroits, soit parce que le quartier où nous logions, Asakusa, était relativement calme. En fait, même s’il y a beaucoup de monde dans les rues, l’ambiance demeure calme dans ces quartiers plus résidentiels que commerciaux. Selon moi, plusieurs facteurs y contribuent : des trottoirs très larges (et très propres!), pas de vendeurs ambulants, ni de rickshaws, ni de klaxons, ni de bazous, ni de motobike, ni de musique forte, ni d’enfants qui vous ... read more

J’ai passé cette journée en solo, plutôt ambitieuse mais au final pas si mal. Je ne sais pas combien de kilomètres j’ai parcouru, mais je peux vous dire que je ne sentais plus mes chevilles une fois rentré à l’auberge.. J’ai quitté Asakusa en prenant le Waterbus jusqu’à Hinode Pier. De là, je suis passé par l’observatoire du World Trade Center Building. Une vue à 360° sur la ville de Tokyo. C’est à se demander si cette ville n’est pas construite à l’infini, un peu comme dans Simcity ! Huge in fact. De là, on peut voir la Tokyo Tower, dont la construction a été inspirée de la Tour Eiffel. Je suis resté un bon moment pour prendre des photos et essayer de distinguer les moindres détails de certains immeubles, routes, voies ferrées, etc. Une ville ... read more

After a long but smooth flight, I finally arrived in Tokyo. From the airport, I took a one hour bullet train ride into the heart of the city to Shinigawa where my hotel is located. As the lush trees and traditional Japanese buildings flew by in the window, I put on my headphones and listened to some Japanese pop music to get me in the mood. Stepping off the train, I was greeted by a mass of people in a gigantic subway station. I found my way to the beautiful hotel, freshened up, and got ready for a night out on the town. Matt (my co-worker on this trip with me) and I were famished and we headed back to the subway and squeezed ourselves on the train and headed out to Shibuya, the youth district ... read more

I’m noticing a trend in my sleeping pattern…it doesn’t exist. I went to bed at midnight; by 3 I was awake, largely due to the power boat tester in the bed above me. I have never heard such snoring. I got ready and sat in the lobby using the internet connection while I waited on the others. We made our way to the station and 2 subway trains later we were there. . The tuna auctions are The only auction tourists are permitted to see. I was expecting electricity and bidding but the auction itself was actually really not much to see, you see more bartering and auctioneer energy on bargain hunt. What is interesting is the way they go about it. There are people walking around that use fishhooks to open the gills and poke ... read more

Sunday, which means harajuku again to see the goth/lolita doll girls. Tomo was still with us so he decided to come along too. He took us directly to the main exit where they all hang out. Theyre so great. All of them dressed so crazily and no one even batters an eyelid at them. Ive now discovered the reason they do it is because if some of them are bullied at school or very inhibited, sunday is the one day they can come and let loose of all their inhibitions by dressing as insane as possible. We strolled through the streets of harajuku then onto Shibuya. Tomo then decided to take us to this great little town just outside of the main tourist attractions. it's full of second hand shops and a couple of them are ... read more