Geeks, temples, gardens, cruising, the new Sony Walkman and plenty of food in Tokyo

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Geeks, temples, gardens, cruising, the new Sony Walkman and plenty of food in Tokyo



You can't walk very far in Tokyo without finding somewhere to eat. There are more restaurants here than in any other city in the world plus convenience stores on most streets as well. After meeting Toyo at the Kaninamarimon gate and having a quick flit and a prayer in the Senso-ji temple it was time to find the first food of the day. That's not to dismiss our first two stops but I started talking about food so I thought I'd better lead into that. (Both the gate and the temple and the market in between are worth a visit)



You think Tokyo is expensive? We had three meals and two drinks and the bill came to just over £10. It was pretty good too as a meal consists of miso soup with your main too. Apparently the restaurant is one of a chain and we were given vouchers when we go back....but I have no idea what it was called and no idea what the vouchers are for as it's all in Japanese... Still, vouchers though!



Toyo, bless her, seems to have more problems on the trains than we do and was asking for help all the time. We normally try and wing it or look confused and usually end up in the right place eventually. It's reassuring to see Japanese people struggling though even when they understand all the writing.



I managed to pay for breakfast after Toyo paying for everything yesterday but she beat me to buying tickes for a cruise up the river. Again all the commentary was in Japanese but the boat was quite noisy so I don't think even the locals could understand it. It was a pleasant meander but, to be honest, there wasn't much to see other than lots of work going in in preparation for the next earthquake. This wasn't that reassuring, particularly as Toyo told us there is another typhoon on the way.....



The boat dropped us off at Hama-rikyu gardens which were quite pleasant and a peaceful haven surrounded by skyscrapers. And then we were off again and heading for a train to Ginza which is apparently Tokyo's answer to Oxford street. Lots of expensive looking shops surrounded us but at least they were throwing out some decent cold air onto the street.



We then noticed a building that had Sony on some of its floors and went to look in there, going through two floors dedicated to Nissan first. There were lots of high tech Sony items but the only thing people were queuing for was the new Sony Walkman. I didn't queue but was surprised at how big it was-probably as big as the ones we used to put cassettes in. Strange.



Also in Ginza was one of those 'only in Japan' zebra crossings where the zebras go diagonally as well as across the four roads. It seems to work fine but you must have to wait ages if you're in a car. Mind you pedestrians wait very patiently at all crossings even if nothing is coming late at night. I would imagine then that their pedestrian road deaths and accident statistics are a lot lower than ours.



Back on the train then to Yanaka which is a very old part of town as it escaped the WW2 bombings and has survived all the earthquakes. A nice little street contained shops and restaurants which we wandered down-far from the madding crowd as it were. I was getting a bit weak and worn out by now so we stopped for something to eat in a little cafe.



Toyo was surprised that I ordered squid sashimi and octopus sushi and kept asking me if I was sure. Maybe not many westerners eat raw squid and octopus....strange people! I enjoyed both and Claire was delighted with her plateful of vegetarian sushi while Toyo had some sort of fish. With three drinks the bill came to about £24 so not bad again.



And then to the cemetery which is apparently a must-see.....in cherry blossom season.... There were some cats that delayed us and got us bites from the mosquitos. Bloody cats!



We then walked to the train station where Toyo left us to go home. It's been fantastic seeing my friend again and she has been so kind but it's especially difficult saying goodbye, especially when you have no idea when or if you will ever see them again. Hopefully it won't be too long.



We were then back on the trains and heading for Ueno when I decided I wanted to go to Akihabara instead. I think a lot of what makes Tokyo Tokyo isn't a particular building or tourist site but an area. And Akihabara really is such an area. It's geek heaven with multistorey stores selling all manner of electrical equipment, video games, DVDs etc plus the chance to sit and play video games and two Sega buildings amongst all the neon and flashing lights.



We went in one of the Sega buildings and saw the locals playing various games, one of which involved wearing white gloves and following directions on a screen as they waved their arms around and banged things etc etc. Other people were watching this spectacle too as the two guys playing it seemed to have a LOT of experience. Only in Japan? Probably.



We bought some souvenirs and just wandered, taking in the sheer spectacle of the place. We may have taken some photographs too....just a few.... But mainly you just walk and think 'I'm actually and really in Tokyo!' I had a couple of goes on those crappy grab machines hoping they would be better than the ones in seaside arcades back home. They weren't.



Back on the train and actually to Ueno this time where I saw a street with bright and flashing lights and decided we were going to walk down it. Claire was all for looking at a map but sod that, this street was for us! Well to walk down anyway. I don't think I could ever be tempted in to a pachinko parlour other than just to try it or see exactly what happens in there.



We wanted somewhere for me to have a snack and us both to have a drink, preferably where we could people watch. This doesn't seem to be a thing here so we actually ended up at a place called 82ales on the fifth floor of a building. Claire's beer was Japanese and possibly the most expensive beer I've ever seen-we might have to sell Bod to pay for it... I had a coke which was too expensive as well and a strange snack. It said roast beef. Hmmm...see the name, roast? This was far from roasted. It was very nice but it definitely hadn't been in an oven. It came cold and with a small scoop of tepid mashed potatoes. Probably more Japanese than British so all good.



More wandering and Claire wanted more beer. I saw a sign that had it at a more sensible price but this time it was an Indian restaurant. As the roast beef dinner had been about five mouthfuls I volunteered to have something to eat cos I'm good like that. The restaurant had a huge party of Japanese women who definitely got the better deal if their husbands were off playing pachinko!



We both had a little something to eat and it was very nice, probably more authentic Indian than the Anglocised stuff we get at home. The soft drinks in restaurants here are pretty poor value for money as they are usually packed with ice and the actual drink is usually gone in a couple of slurps. The strawberry lassi I had here was no exception-very nice but gone in a heartbeat.



I'm not sure the staff here see many westerners as the whole kitchen crew came to gawp and smile at us as we left. Not wanting to disappoint them we puked up on the floor, mooned at them, smashed pint pots over each others's heads and called them a bunch of *****. Ah, Brits abroad. Make you so proud. If I lived here I'd definitely go back. No idea what it was called though but it's in Tokyo if you want to find it.



Using something called maps (Google it kids-they used to be printed and not interactive) we managed to negotiate our way back to our ryokan with no help whatsoever. Clever us. Day one in Tokyo-excellent. Dream come true.

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