Tokyo

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DAY 1/2

So, we've had our first full day in Japan and I think we've walked a million kms! Last night we landed at Narita airport at 8pm local time after 7 hours flying. We got the local Keise line into to aoto station then got the subway to Kuramae station. We had to check in by 10pm and we made it just in the nick of time. Our hostel K's House was about 5min walk from there. Our little 8 bed dorm was full so we decided to go for a walk up the road to find some dinner. We ended up at this cool place where you use like a ticket machine to order your food then they bring you the raw ingredients and you cook it at your own station. So fun...and so tasty. They give you cooking instructions and a hour glass to get it right. The lady there was so nice and talked us through it.
This morning, we got up super early and headed out with a quick stop at the bakery..mmmm...love Japanese bakeries! After tackling the subway and train system, our first stop was the Imperial Palace East Gardens. They are beautiful and perfect...a little haven in the middle of a gigantic skyscraper lined city. It reminded us a bit of Hyde Park in the middle of London. After this we headed back on to the Yamonote line, which does a big loop around the city, over to Shinjuku (190yen each 30mins)so we could go to the 45th floor of the Metropolitian Government building for some awesome views of the city. The city is endless...no matter which way you look you cannot see the end of the buildings. Em bought a little notebook because they have a stamp and date showing you went there and Chris got a stamp with his name in kanji. From here we walked to Harakuyu where the Gwen Stafani girls hang out. They have awesome style here, some are a little crazy, but very cool. We kept walking dowb to Shibuya for some lunch and the most famous crossing in Japan. We went up to Starbucks which covers 2 floors so we could video the crush of people...who'd have thought it was so fascinating! After this we caught the train to Akihabara, which is Electric city (and 'maid cafe' city too). After looking at heaps of camera and other randome electricals like hand held hair washers we decided to head back. After 1 hour of walking (and our trusty compass) we finally made it back to our hostel. A little recoup time and we were back out for dinner at a Yakiroti restaurant and bar. It was about 5square meters and held 10 people. The 'chef' cooked our food in front of us and the beer was good!
Back at the hostel now, we been up on the roof having beers and chatting. Early night tonight so we can head to the Tsujiki fish markets in the morning. Sweet dreams.

DAY 3

So we were up early (not really early enough though) and headed to the fish market. We started with some super fresh sashimi and sushi for breakfast then headed into the market. The fish had been auctioned already but there was still so much to see and HUGE fish (mostly blue fin tuna) being chopped up. John West would have been impressed.
Afterwards we headed into Ginza for a look around at how the rich folk shop...Gucci, Fendi, D&G...We also tried another coffee...the Japanese are not good at coffee at all!
We then went to Shibuya again to look in the Iseten department store. This place is huge and similar to Harrods in London. There is a huge food court with the most amazingly beautiful food and packaging. I think we walked for about 2000000000 kms today. It was Friday night so we went to check out Roppongi. It was packed...all of Japan seems busier at night. The streets are flooded with people walking and laughing under the huge flashing billboards and neons. There are heaps of black men working as Club promoters/touts trying to get people in. Most places are on the something floor of some random building, and this makes it hard to find and hard to check out. We stopped in at a sports bar and had a 1000yen beer each! We caught the last train home, but noone told us it finished before our stopped so we were a bit stranded in the middle of nowhere. Thank god there are zillions of cabs in this city!

DAY 4 - NIKKO

Time for a day trip from Tokyo...to Nikko.

After about 1.5hrs on the shinkansen then local train, we arrived in the most beautiful old town! We got a free shuttle bus to the Edo wonderland. This is a themepark that is a proper recreation of a town during the Edo period. The old buildings, gardens, girls in kimonos and autumn leaves were so beautiful. We watched a ninja show which was really cool...like watching a crazy Japanese ninja movie, but in real life! We learned heaps about how they used to live and even dressed up as a Samurai and Princess.

Back in town, we walked up a few kms to the shrine and temples district. First we stopped at this cute restaurant for lunch. It was traditional, so we sat on tatmi mats at the low tables. Chris got a Chicken katsu and miso soup combo and Emily got some soba and curry! You first cross the Shinkyo Bridge which is ranked as one of Japan's three finest bridges. We then headed up to Rinnoji Temple and Shoyoen, a small Japanese style garden. The garden was soooooooooo beautiful and we stayed there so long we missed out on going to the main Toshogu Shrine!

Such a big day calls for a few beers, so we sat up on the roof of our hostel and had a few Asahi and Sapporo's!

DAY 5

Tokyo Motor Show! It was a rainy day and there was no chance of seeing Mt Fuji through the fog and cloud so we changed plans and went to the Tokyo Motor Show which was down in the docks (past disneyland!) The show was full of the latest and concept cars, scantily clad girls and even a dancing robot! We actually lost each for a little while, which was super scary! Chris tried to get a ride in the new GTR Skyline (Godzilla), but it was all booked out.

From here we went back into Tokyo station and over to Harajuku. Sunday is dress up and go shopping day, so there were some fantastic outfits around. Emily really wanted some new boots so we searched high and low for the perfect pair! Hahahaha. It's actually really hard to shop there because there is sooooooooo much stuff that it's overwhelming. We thought we'd buy tonnes of stuff, but we ended up with only a few items.

Tomorrow we are heading to Nagano then Yudanaka, so back to the hostel to pack!

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Photos

Old vs New
Tokyo Imperial Gardens

Rainbow bridge
Across Tokyo bay to Odaiba