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Published: August 13th 2007
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Legoland
Taken from the Tokyo tower Arriving in Tokyo, after months in south east Asia, was a real contrast. Armed with detailed directions to meet my sister (who moved out with family in September) I casually stepped off the plane in my t-shirt and flip flops then being hit unprepared by the cold. I say unprepared but I was warned about it before hand, doesn’t detract from how cold it was though. The next thing that hit me, and this was to stay consistent throughout my stay, was service.
As I've mentioned in previous entries, the locals of any of the places I'd encountered so far have been great, but in Tokyo its taken up another level. I've never stayed anywhere 5star before but the treatment I received right from stepping off the plane was excellent. Everyone treats you like royalty, not in the sense that they wont leave you alone or go on sycophantically about one of your dead relatives, but in that of service and attentiveness. Even the bloke driving the airport shuttle seemed concerned with my general well being. Of course this is coming from someone who is impressed when handed a hot towel on a flight (I still think its a nice
touch) but its still very noticeable and is one of the many reasons I was impressed with the Japanese. They prove that you can have excellent service without having to endure all this 'how are you?' and 'have a nice day' bollox.
When I got to my sister's place the toll of my trip so far took effect. Entering a family home with a full fridge, sofas, TV with cable, and home cooking after spending the last 3 months in guesthouses/hotels/hostels was fantastic. It was a bit strange not having to wait for the bill after eating (food was better too) and the comfortable warm home almost sapped all my energy. It could have also been that my diet was catching up with me, as Siobhan pointed out, eating eggs solidly every day for breakfast is not the most healthy option. I've got to admit, I found it difficult to ween myself from the home comforts after being re-introduced to them, it already felt like home.
But I'd be a pretty crappy backpacker of course if I made it to Tokyo and didn’t see the place, so after bribing my two nephews with presents to win their favour
(instantly becoming favourite uncle and blowing all the competition out of the water), I set out to see the sights and get confused by the train system (a good 20 minutes was spent following arrows that lead me back to where I started three times). I really liked the look of place, walking down the street at night has great comedy potential most bars being a couple of floors up on top of each other. This means youre particularly vulnerable to stationary lampposts and bins as you are looking up the whole time like an idiot. It also means the bars are a bit cosier but you're spoilt for choice in variety. I have to say, the smaller bars are a winner for me, except maybe one club where the dance floor was incredibly competitive. You had to dance with your elbows up to keep your balance and stake your claim, not a problem if you're a keen advocator of the funky chicken of course.
Another winner for Tokyo nightlife is that the longevity, there's always a bar to be found open in unlikely hours with a tireless barman (I managed to find one at 4am with a Beatles
sing-along in full song). Being English was definitely a plus as many people want to talk to and have a drink with you and the Japanese certainly know how to drink. This was the reason I favoured vampire hours and saw very little of the day time city, when I did, I made it count by heading over to the technological mecca in the Ginza district with some high hopes for my dead ipod. The Apple place was impressive, the service incredible up until the joker who, upon my enquiry of cost to fix, wrote down the cost of a brand new ipod, how I laughed. The rest of Ginza is how you'd expect, all the company big players. Heading into the Sony centre was like a new shopping experience; seven floors of the latest models and gismos on display. Nothing displayed in bulk, the emphasis being on the same shopping experience for each individual purchase from headphones to Blu-Ray video cameras. The people serving were more like successful Sony representatives than salespersons, not a name tag in sight. Amazingly I got out with my wallet intact but not before checking out the new PS3. Box ticked.
It is
extremely expensive of course, the cover charges make bar crawls limited adventures and with many Japanese ladies having expensive tastes I can imagine a lothario losing his money before he finds his woman. Romantic that I am, I stuck to a very strict tight pockets policy, after all its free to talk. None were less impressed with my financial restraints than when my brother-in-law's colleague and I were persuaded to enter a gentlemen's club from a pub by two charming ladies. Free entry and free 1st drink, why not I thought. A woman who had a very sudden and urgent interest in me was soon finding a very sudden and urgent interest elsewhere when I explained I had no money nor desire in spending recklessly on her, no matter how much she touched my knee. I guess I wasnt her type. Its kind of strange how respectful people are to visitors to Tokyo though, always bowing and not one person laughed when I very publicly walked straight into a door. These people are too nice.
All in all I loved Tokyo, all the times back home when you might wonder to yourself; 'why don't we do it this way?',
the Japanese are already doing it, evidence of this alone can be found in rail system. The trains are impeccable, the tramps, whilst competing with many innovative cardboard home approaches, are allowed to sleep in the locked tube stations at night. One thing in particular I'd love to see back home is the locker system at every train station meaning that you can lock away any bags you have when you want to enjoy the vibrant nightlife. Plus, and this is my favourite bit, if you have bought the wrong ticket or travelled out of your zone, there is no nasty fine waiting for you from a sarcastic quota filling ticket officer; you just go to the nearest machine and pay the difference.
I could go on sounding like some kind of train geek but the aforementioned examples express one of many things I loved about the place, the focus is on improvement rather than money. Yes its expensive there but no one is trying to screw you out of your money or rip you off. At least that’s the impression I got. Add to that unusual enthusiasms (24hour games machines, religious regard for karaoke), eccentricities (beer vending machines,
musical toilets) and you’ve got a fantastic city. I had a great time there thanks to the incredible generosity of my sister Siobhan and brother-in-law Andy as there is no way I would have been able to visit the place. I hope to return there again for longer, I suppose my enthusiasm for learning Japanese could do with a bit of tweaking…..
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andrew corbett
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update
Glad to see your getting back upto date on the blog. Just to let you know, I changed my train to the earlier 6:33 from the 6:39, as the markets are choppy and "hey what the hell" I just fancied a change. West Ham have started the season in their usual crap fashion, and our new signings of Dyer, Faubert, Ljungberg and Parker are all injured. Also on a football note, will be going to the new Wembley to watch either Eng vs Isreal or Eng vs Russia.....so London still has some highlights !! PS Dad just bought a 50" Pioneer Plasma and I've paid for him to get Sky HD....It should be all set up by the time you get home.