Blogs from Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan, Asia - page 5

Så var man ÄNTLIGEN tillbaka i Japan igen! Det känns nästan inte att jag vart borta i 2år, allt känns bara så "normalt" och hemma. Jag åkte hem till Angie fredag kväll med packningen (som jag konstant kollade för att vara säker på att jag inte glömt något). Väl där möttes jag av två galna hundar och SuperKallingen (aka Elias). Angie hade givetvis inte packat klart, men vi tänkte ändå att det inte var någon större idé att sova innan, så vi var uppe till 4 då vi drog till Arlanda. Där flöt allt på utan problem och vi upptäckte att vi bara har packat 26kg tillsammans och har där med 14kg vi kan fylla med shopping :D Planet var lite försenat från Stockholm, men det gjorde bara att vi slapp sitta o vänta i Paris, ... read more

Namja Town Ikebukuro has got the craziest ice cream combinations you can imagine. The ast time I went there was with Myles and Tiff a few weeks ago and we experimented rather chastely with buttered potato ice cream. As I prowled through the various types on display before we made our selection I knew it was the perfect place to bring my friend Kieryn on her trip to Tokyo. We met up with Go and his boyfriend Twinkle had some lunchtime gyoza and then made our way to Ice Cream City where we gorged ourselves on the most varying and somewhat horrific flavours; Pumpkin, India Curry, Beef Tongue, Sea Salt, Pudding, Sakura the list goes on and on and on. It's amazing at how much these Ice Creams actually taste like the flavour they're supposed to ... read more

Tokyo is the New York City of Asia .... well, almost. Take Manhattan, multiply it's population by 4, jack up the　fashion dare coefficient, add a billion more flashing neon signs and similar numbers of department stores, subtract the stinking sewers and street bums and there you have it. Unbelievable! Somehow the confusion melts into pure efficiency. Just don't attempt crossing the current of subway passengers en route to somewhere other than your chosen destination. Not that it matters where you end up. It's all so damn exciting. The shopping in this city is insane. We're hardly shopaholics, but the sheer variety of so many THINGS that the Western world wouldn't even dream of producing, (nor do they have the population to support the multitude of flavours, aromas, types, etc) draws us into store after store to ... read more

I'm sitting across the table from a german girl in a traditional izakaya in Ikebukuro. I'm drunk and trying to teach her how to order food in japanese. She's giggling and pushes the button for the waiter to come over, he arrives at the table bowing deeply and asks in Japanese what we would like. Ines panics and forgets everything I taught her in her minute japanese lesson and orders in english. Damn! She's giving english speakers a bad name! He doesn't know she's german! He probably just thknks she's lazy!! Bah I sneer at her drunkenly and accuse her of disgracing my name, she sneers back at me and we start to duel across the table in chopsticks. Now we're both giving gaijins a bad name. Our next two dishes have arrived on the table; ... read more

Ooooh Sanae and I went on a double date with the girls from Hong Kong tonight! Yay We were planning to go to Yokohama but because of the rain decided to take it indoors and check out the planetarium in Ikebukuro instead. Sanae and I got there first and argued the whole way through Sunshine City about which session to go to at the planetarium. I wanted to see Cosmic Collision! A bold and adventurous ride through space with exploding planets and colliding meteorites. Exciting Stuff. Sanae wanted to see the pleasant beach one which promised a relaxing, tropical 40 minutes that would remove you from all the troubles of this world. Sounds nice enough, but where's the explosions? Where's the adrenalin? Where's the Cosmic Collision!? Anyway, our arguments were getting quite heated by the time ... read more