Tokyo and Yokohama

---

I took another bullet train the 750 km or so from Hiroshima up to Tokyo. It took around four hours which is a tad better than southern rail might manage. Arrived at the main station but had to transfer round to the area my hotel was in by metro. As i was heading over to my line an announcement came over the tanoy saying it was closed "Due to a person" apparently this is a Japanese railway euphemism for a suicide. All very sad i'm sure but it made my life a bloody nightmare. Finally got where I was going and checked into my hotel with another room the size of a small shoe box.

Food and drink here is very reasonably priced and of very high quality but hotel prices would bring a tear to the eye of the sultan of Brunei. Staying in the Shinjuku area known for its nightlife and close to Shibuya with its famous but not that exciting all ways road crossing. When you see Tokyo on TV or film all bright lights big city its almost always these areas.

Its Tokyo where all the weirdness that is Japan comes together. Apart from doing all the obvious tourists things you can go to a cat cafe (pay a fee stroke a cat) an owl cafe (pay a fee hold an owl) go to a maid cafe where young girls dressed in some strange sexy french maid stroke anime hybrid uniform will serve you drinks or if none of that takes your fancy you can go go-carting round town dressed as a cartoon character. It really is a very unique place.

Travelled all over town using the very efficient metro which is great except at rush hour when it takes on the look of the train scene from Schindler's list crammed in like sardines is an understatement.

Amongst a whole list of very enjoyable experiences there was one fly in the ointment. I had a day at the National museum and while trying to work out how to get a ticket from the machine a museum guide came over to help. As we were deciding which ticket I might need he mentioned that it was free to the over 70s and then looked at me with the expectation that i was going to say i was...I mean Christ on a bike I might not have aged well but 70 !! I hate him, the woman who bought him into the world and all his friends. The museum was great but he needs to die a slow lingering death.

During a visit to the Meji Jingu shrine by chance they were having a ceremony to ask for a successful year for the upcoming Sumo season that was about to start. They had some of the best Sumo wrestlers in Japan there. Blimey their some big old boys made me feel quite thin.

Also had a bit of luck when on the spur of the moment i went up to the observation deck of the metropolitan building just in time to see the sun set over Mt Fuji. Tried some photos but very poor due to the distance.

So after a great week in Tokyo it was on to Yokohama which i mainly went to because i liked the sound of the name. Its says it has the worlds biggest China town and it is big but i can't believe its the world biggest i'm sure I've been to bigger. Yokohama is down on the coast and a lot more laid back than Tokyo, then most places are. Weathers been OK so far but on my last night a snow storm blew up which looked all very nice from the hotel window but was a right pain when you tried to go anywhere.

I've really liked my time in Japan and consequently I've spent longer here than i planned which means i'll have to shorten the time in Korea which is where i'm off next.

All for now will update again soon.

---