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Published: February 13th 2010
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Flighing into japan i knew i was going to love it, iv been waiting to get here for a while i always wanted to see it and now at last i have! the second i knew it was going to live up to my expectations was when the captian came onto the tanoy and told us to look out the left hand window to see mt fuji as if he were the tour guige and we had just payed all this money just to see mt fuji from above. Mt fuji is pritty awesome, lucky enough to have seen everest and mt fuji from above now which is pritty cool.
looking pretty lost and bewildered a japanese guy came from nowhere and offered to help which basically saved me from hours on the tube wondering what the hell was going on, its easy enough once you know it but you have to really study the subway map to figure out whats going on its like trying to find a worm in spagetti you just have to look hard enough and youll find it eventually...i also reallise my comparissons are getting pretty wierd these days. getting to the hostel wasnt too
hard either, getting in to the room was the roof was so low i couldnt stand up straight and the room so narrow i couldnt actually stand width ways but on the upside it was warm and my own room. the first night had to be spent just planing the next day which was pritty packed because i got to tokyo too late in the day to see what i wanted.
Tsukiji Fish market The biggest fish market in the world and some of the biggest fish i have ever seen and i have seen alot of fish! The amount of tuna left alone how massive they are was crazy especially as the price for one sushi tuna dish was around 30 pounds! Had to be up stupidly early for the auction and stuff because all the fish gets boxed up and is gone by daylight. there was a small markett right next to it which sold the japanese chefs other greatist passion knives and there was japanese steel in abundance and not terribly cheap either! other than tuna they had jsut abut every other fish and shellfish and octopus which is even close to being
edible. the puffer fish were cool especially seeing the chefs buy them knwoing theres only a few that can cook it without killing people and there was even a Giant Squid!
writing this in my notepad was difficult to say the least although a tad warmer than beijing it was still bloody cold and my fingers were freezing over sat outside the hana-rikyu gardens waiting in vein for them to open as i gave up i looked a the sign by the entrance saying they were closed for the day! i headed back towards the fish market where the best and cheapestt sushi in tokyo was served in the little retaurants and it was pritty good i couldnt afford the tuna obviously it would be the cheapest thing on the menu for me but it was nice and i was eating sushi in tokyo! Talking about food the japanse famous fast food is bento which is food like a tv meal in a box where you misçcrowave at a 7-11 or something and take with you, its about as cheap a meal as you will get usually and its really good and filling. the rice balls are great too,
theyr cold and have all kinds of fillings beef was lovely i never thought id like it but i got kind of addicted. buying it was like a whole thing in its self the woman behind the counter was actually a cartoon charater she spoke and even ran with little steps over to the microwave to do it for me! then came getting the change where she would count it all out seperatly note by note going from highest to lowest.
Ginza Basically ginza is the tokyo version,they like to say anything is the japanese version of anything western, of time square or piccadilly. its pretty boring really in the day i thought there wasnt much to talk about but at night time its awesome lit up in neon lights with thousands of japanese people walkingits streets only i forgott my camera didnt i! also attempted to find the sony building but i got lost and gave up in the end.
Imperial Palace Finally gtting the hang of the metro system and experienced the fabled tokyo rush hour sardines packed into a metal can. A quick stroll down the road turns into
millions of street crossings having to wait for the green man or risk killing a few japanese people who will follow. theres a statue of a brave samuri dude who mst have been important he looked pritty cool to be fair. the trees in the imperial palace garden are deffinitly what u expect of something so traditionally japanese, the park is really quiet even with loads of school kids wandering around and it has a good view and a huge contrast with the huge city just accross the road from so much green. the palace im sure is really cool but i think its still lived in im not sure but your not allowed inside and if the guards wernt enough then theres a moat surrounding it to keep out us gaijin.
Akihabara The best part of Tokyo, its so cool in the nerdiest way imaginable. all the action happens on electric street, the name kinda gives away whats sold here...apart form ll the electronics the place is filled with arcades maid cafes and gaming and anime stores. its the place where japanese kids and adults alike go to escape thier boring resticive suburban lives and
indulge in gaming and in the girls case dressing as manga characters called cosplaying. The arcade was impressive so much to play even if it was expensive as hell, the slot machines in the basement of the skyrisers where absolutly insane so much so i have no idea how to describe them id like to have taken a video or photo but your not allowed for some reason. the general feel and atmosphere of the place is my vision of japan before and now reinforced it. in the afternoon the crowds start to gather and the girls dressed in the knee high socks and cosplay clothes come out aswell as so called harajuku girls the fashionable japanese youth. some girls earn a crust from thier hobby by working in a maid cafe where they dress up and serve you. so im walking back to the metro after eating my vending machine lucnh, you pick what u want pay then take the ticket inside and they make it for you ideal for me. anyway on the way bak i pass yet more of the millions of vending machines everywhere only this one catches my eye, thongs ? in a vending machine
like you used to get bubble gum or the fake plastic rings has thongs in it? i always thought this was just a myth or a joke or something people told to take the piss but its true they really do sell everything. couldnt help but htink of a scenario in which your waking down the street and suddenly want/need a random thong that desperatly that youd buy it from a machine.....theres also the situation when youd need to buyy shoes from them too baffled i headed back to ginza to see it at night before finding my way back to the hostel with my bento meal as my one day fling with tokyo came to an end, next up a huuuuge journy all the way to mexico.
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