Goodbye Manchester, Hello Tokyo

---

Day 1 Journey to Tokyo

Konichiwa.

We both arrived in Tokyo, slightly tired after taking the megabus to London and making our way on the underground to Heathrow for our 12 hour flight to Tokyo. Apart from being treated to free wine, our journey was uneventful and so we slept on and off throughout. The closer we got to Tokyo however the more our nerves and excitement began to kick in as we questioned how our journey to our hostel in Asakusa would pan out. When we arrived at Haneda airport buying the skytrain/subway tickets was fairly easy using the ticket machines and so we had no problems at all. All the stations had English translations so we managed to get to the station we needed and thereafter our hostel without too many incorrect turns, which actually surprised us too. I guess all that preparation came in handy mixed in with a little common sense and a lot of guess work!

Due to it being late evening we did not really have the time to do much but as food was on our minds we decided to search the immediate area for some food. After strolling around we came across one of the vending machine operated food restaurants. It took us a while longer to order due to the lack of certainty in what we were ordering. After deciding and some guess work on operating the system we successfully ordered our food. Within 30 seconds of ordering, not a second longer we had our plates in front of us. We couldn't stop laughing. 30 seconds! What were we about to eat? After initially choosing something what looked like an egg dish, it turned our P had ordered a tofu dish which she did not like at all and Chris had ordered some fatty beef on rice, which he enjoyed but was far too fatty. Part success!! We then headed back to our hostel and attempted to sleep.

I don’t say attempt to sleep lightly. Our dorm room, shared with up to 6 other guests was ice cold. We were given 2 top bunks, in which you may be thinking, well heat rises. Well yes and no. Any heat that was rising was being sucked into the layer of felt in the beams above (all visible) while the cold wind was being blown back at us. No insulation whatsoever. We just agreed that we would just have to take it on the chin over the next week.

Day 2 Asakusa and Ueno

The following day was cold but greeted us with bright blue clear sky’s. All wrapped up in layers we decided our first stop should be the tourist information centre in Asakusa to get a feel for the immediate area and to get an idea on what we should do that day. As we left our hostel our attention was being drawn from all directions. The number of bikes roaming the streets, the shops with nothing but Japanese symbols on the outside making us wonder what lied within, the huge sky tree tower in the distance and the quaint streets nestled among the mayor roads. Although there was lots of people, bikes and traffic the noise pollution was at a minimal, no horns, loud rumbling engines or noisy people. This was incredible. Another thing that caught our attention was the traffic light system. Everyone followed it obediently. I mean, we do have the Green Cross Code at home but in reality a lot of people cross anywhere and everywhere especially more so on smaller streets. Here there is a crossing on each street and no one crosses unless the green man is showing, so although there were many occasions that there was no traffic on the smallest of roads we had to fight off our childish urges to rebel and wait for the green man.

Our first visit of the day to the information centre enabled us to get full maps of the city and we also took advantage of the observation deck on the 8^th floor. This offered us some breath-taking views of the nearby sky tree, famous temples and pagodas in the area such as Sensoji temple, the 5 story Pagoda and the surrounding gates. The clear sky’s gave us just what we needed to take in the fantastic views and leave us completely inspired by the area.

Our next stop was to Senjoji temple. The main walkway between Kaminarimon gate and Sensoji temple was very atmospheric with many locals and tourists alike either hovering over the tourist type trinkets or engaging in some religious rituals. One of these rituals was burning incense in a large pit outside the temple and wafting smoke over their heads and body - it is believed this is done to bring good luck and fortune. Speaking of good fortune – the temple had these fortune boxes where after paying 100Yen you shake a metal container filled with sticks with Japanese characters etched into them until one falls out. Each stick is different and relates to a specific drawer and fortune within. We both decided to have a go, P going first, getting a very positive and uncannily true prediction about buying a house, moving, taking a trip and being bestowed with good luck and fortune. Chris on the other hand got the complete opposite vowing to do it again until he got a good one.

Later on, we decided to take the 30 minute walk to Ueno park, to explore the wonders within. As it is still winter the cherry blossom trees are not in bloom but despite the lack of pink, we still enjoyed our leisurely stroll, commenting on how clean Tokyo is as a whole and how atmospheric the park was with its temples and rich history.

One shrine within the park has a remarkable and emotionally evoking story, the Toshougu shine with its eternal flame. This flame has longevity and purpose. The origins of the flame lie in the atomic bombs that were released in 1945 by the USA on Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, claiming the lives of thousands of people and continuing to affect many people today both directly and indirectly. Shortly after the bombs went off a man named Tatsuo Yamamoto went to Hiroshima in search of his uncle. All that remained of his uncle’s house was ruins in fire. Initially Yamamoto brought the flame back to his own neighbourhood; Hoshino-mura as a monument for his uncle, but over time this flame symbolised his desire for peace and to put an end to the use of atomic bombs. It was kept a light by Yamamoto and his village until 1968 in which it was thereafter taken to 14 different places where it continues to burn. As the sun began to go down we headed back to our hostel, inspired some more and set upon our plan for the next day of exploring.

---