The extended 21st birthday in Tokyo!

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So my 21st birthday began with 2 amazing nights in a 5 star hotel in Bangkok followed by a weekend in Fukuoka going out and going for dinner with all my friends here and it finally came to close with a weekend in Tokyo. As far as 21st birthdays go, I'd say it was a pretty spectacular celebration! I've managed to get the nickname Princess Ella here in Japan after everyone realised just how much of a big deal I make about my birthday haha.

I began planning our Tokyo trip before christmas as I knew we wouldn't have much time after i got back from Thailand and so the first task was finding accommodation that was central enough for us to get to everywhere easily but also affordable, as after all, we are students! I researched and found that the area of Shinjuku is a lively destination with loads to do throughout the day and night so I based my search on that. We ended up in Shin-Okubo which was a 2 minute train journey from Shinjuku or about a 10 minute walk away. It turned out it was actually the 'Korea town' of Tokyo which is pretty cool since I loved Korea so much. We stayed in a traditional Japanese/Korean place on futons on the tatami mats and the rooms even had the traditional paper windows. This meant it was freezing until we discovered on the last night how to put the heating on! Overall for three nights we paid about £75 each which is very good considering how central we were. We also managed to book flights, by complete accident, during Jetstar sale which meant we paid less than £60 for our flights!

After a short delay leaving Fukuoka, we arrived at Narita airport in Tokyo about half 9 and then we had to figure out the trains to get to Shin-Okubo. It was only then that I realised how HUGE Tokyo actually is! We found that everyone in the train station spoke English (unlike in Fukuoka) so it was really easy to find out what we needed to do and we even got a discount for our train because of our foreign passports. Usually discounts are only for tourists with visas of less than 90 days, which obviously we don't have so we still aren't sure if we were supposed to have got this but no complaints from us!! Our train was over an hour (and this was the express train) so we wouldn't make it to our hotel until after 11 - an issue since we'd discovered that check-in closed at 11pm! We found their number and tried to call them but they didn't answer so we then decided to try ringing Booking.com with whom we'd made the reservation to see if they could contact them. They were great, they kept us on the phone whilst they spoke to the people at the hotel and it was quickly sorted for us.

After we arrived at our hotel and checked in, we decided it was time to find some food! We'd heard that there was authentic fried chicken in Shin-Okubo so that was our first idea however we found that every fried chicken place we went to said they were closed when we walked in, despite the opening hours saying they would be open for at least another hour. We didn't think much at the time just that it was strange that they were all closing early on a Friday night but we later found out that it may actually have been because we are white! So yeah, it seems as though I've had my first experience of racism here! We ended up going to a Nepalese place that smelt delicious. Once we got inside though some of the people looked really dodgy! We were sat next to this group of men who we tried to avoid any kind of eye contact with however after not too long they started speaking to us. They were from Nepal and it turned out they were not as dodgy as they looked. It was a pretty funny evening to be honest but after food we had to get back as we were getting up early for Disney the following day!!

The Disney resort in Tokyo has two parks; Disneyland and Disney Sea. As we were only spending one day at the resort we had decided, upon recommendations, to go to Disney Sea since it was more of a theme park so had more rides and it is the only one of its kind in the world. Disneyland is similar in all countries. The journey there was another hour on the train and then when we arrived at the resort we got a Disney train for another 5-10 minutes to get us to Disney Sea. I don't know what it is about Disney but they manage to bring out the child in you, I was so so excited, we all were and we couldn't wait to get inside!! The park itself is built right next to the sea (hence the name) but what's really cool is that the sea runs through the middle of the park too and some of the rides even go under the sea.

We were so lucky with the weather; it was clear blue skies all day although it did get very cold at night once the sun had gone down. The only negative about the whole day was the waiting times for rides but I suppose thats a given wherever you go. They have a fast pass system where you go to a ride and take fast pass for it, free of charge, and you are given a time to come back. However, once you've got one fast pass you cant get another for about 2 hours and by the time 2 hours had passed after we'd got our first fast pass, all the fast pass slots were booked on the other rides. My favourite ride was Journey to the Centre of the Earth but I think this was mainly because it broke half way when we were on it! All of a sudden we stopped and there was a message saying we were being held there and it would start again soon and then about 5 minutes later it suddenly started again but went off so fast that it added to the thrill! The other ride I loved was Tower of Terror, it tells you the story then you enter a lift and it brings you up and drops you but it goes on for so long and drops you so fast that it's like your insides don't have time to catch up with the rest of your body! From the top we also got an amazing view of the whole of Tokyo! We managed to get on all the bigs rides and then all of the smaller ones we wanted to as well such as a simulator and an Aladdin themed carousel (which I had a strop on as a little girl beat me to the Genie - I was the birthday princess after all haha!) There weren't as many characters around as I was expecting, I think they tend to be in Disneyland. We did see a fair few but getting a picture with any was pretty difficult since people were queuing for ages to do so and we didn't want to waste any time. At the end however, we did manage to get a picture with Mickey which was pretty cool.

Since our GBF (gay best friend) had come with us, we had promised him that we would go to a gay bar with him on Saturday night. We didn't end up leaving Disney until about 8 o'clock and then we went to Shibuya to see the famous lit up crossing and for some dinner. I have to say that I was expecting the crossing to be a little bigger but it was still pretty with all the lights. By the time we got back to our hotel it was almost 11 and the last train into Shinjuku was 11:30 so we had to do a very quick turn around in order to make it. We bought some drinks from the shop to have whilst we were getting ready but didn't have time to drink much. We arrived in Shinjuku assuming that our friend would know where this club was and know some sort of directions... apparently not! In the end we managed to ask someone but as we went to leave the station me and my friend noticed a man stood staring into a underwear shop window playing with himself!! At first we just looked at each other as if to say 'have we really just seen that' but upon looking again and confirming it we just burst into fits of giggles. I'd heard weird sexual things about Japan before coming here but this was the first time I've actually seen anything! It was also strange because no-one else paid any attention to it but that it just the Japanese way, you keep yourself to yourself.



The club was really small and really packed. Despite the Japanese anti-dancing law being repealed at the end of last year, this club obviously hadn't changed its policy yet as there was no dancing allowed which made it a rather strange experience. To be honest, there would not have been room to dance regardless. In the end we didn't stay too long but I got hit on by a lesbian which was pretty funny, afterwards she turned around to my friend and was like 'your friend is really straight isn't she?' haha. After we left that club we initially tried to find another club but somehow ended up in Golden Gai which is famous for its tiny bars that fit only 4/5 people in. They are designed for a more personal experience at the bar and there are loads of them along this little street. We were going to go for one drink but then realised how expensive it was just to get into one and then to buy a drink. Plus we were super tired from our long day at Disney so decided it was time to call it a night.



Since Fukuoka lacks any real British food, we had planned to go to a British pub on the Sunday who we had been told served an all you can eat cavery! We were all super excited since a roast dinner is practically a staple food for us Brits and in addition, we were taking our dutch friend for his first ever roast!!! The pub was called the Meguro Tavern (Meguro is the place where it was) and it was actually scary how much I felt like I was at home in any pub having a Sunday dinner! It is owned by an proper English man who was serving us the cavery and everyone working there had British accents, it was pretty surreal. To top it all off they even had proper cider - best Sunday ever! After eating until I felt like my stomach was going to explode, we made our way to Harajuku for some shopping.

Most people will have heard of Gwen Steffani's Harajuku girls - her crazy Japanese groupies- so I was pretty excited to see Harajuku. Its made up of one main street full of little Japanese stalls and shops selling some crazy items but also some really nice stuff. They had a lot of vintage shops. It was absolutely packed trying to walk down the street, apparently Sunday is the busiest day. I saw a few people dressed in some crazy outfits, apparently they think its fashion haha. We found this shop called 'condom mania' which was so strange - they sold all different types of condoms; some with rulers on to measure, condom lollipops and make your own flavoured ones! The funniest thing about it however was the fact that they randomly had normal things like cooking utensils. After this we went to do a little bit of shopping in normal high street shops such as H&M then went for a coffee in a really cool little cafe on the top floor of a big department store. The drinks came with flavoured candy floss in the top which I absolutely loved! We sat on a balcony looking down onto the busy streets so it was a really nice little spot.

Our next stop for the evening was the beautiful Odaiba. Odaiba is an island that sits in Tokyo Bay meaning you get the most incredible view of the city from there. It's not the easiest place to get to, it took us over an hour, but there is a monorail that takes you there (providing you find a station in central Tokyo where the monorail goes through!). Japan is famous for having tons huge Ferris wheels all over the country so we decided that it was about time we broke our Japanese Ferris wheel virginity and what a place to do so! The view from the top was amazing, you could see all the lights stretching back into the distance. It's times like these when I wish I had a really good camera because pictures off the iphone just don't do it justice! We ate dinner in one of the food courts in one of the shopping centres. There were so many pretty lights around, both inside and out. Then we went out to look out over the bay. You could see the rainbow bridge and the magnitude of pretty city lights all across the city. There was a huge statue of liberty there too which I thought was weird. I think Bangkok and then Tokyo has turned me into a city girl; I love the bright lights and the constant buzzing atmosphere.



We only had a few hours in the morning on the Monday before we had to catch our flight home. We decide to visit Meiji Shrine, one of the most famous in Tokyo, since it was easy and quick for us to get to. It was really pretty and we were so lucky with the weather. The bright blue sky makes everything look just that little bit prettier. The walk up to the Shrine is like a little wooded area which is so strange considering its in the middle of a huge city but its nice because its almost like you are escaping from it for a little while. There were barrels of French wine and of Sake all stacked along the walk way that had been donated to the shrine. Apparently they were all still full which seems like waste of alcohol to me! We joked that if they were in England, they'd have to be in a bullet proof cabinet with security guards to stop people stealing them! Meiji shrine is home to the largest tori (shrine gate), it really was huge so it was quite cool to see that. The shrine itself was really pretty too. There was a place where people wrote their wishes on little wooden blocks and hung them up. I spent ages looking through these messages; there were some horrible ones about death or heartbreak and some just wishing general well-being on their friends and family. My favourite one however was the boy who wished to reach 40,000 followers on Twitter - of course I followed him and found that his wish had come true... maybe the shrine played a part in that.



After, it was sadly time to make our way to the airport. Luckily we'd allowed ourself some extra time... whoever told me that trains are never delayed in Japan, they lied!!! We got on the train to make our way to Tokyo main station in order to hop on the Narita Express, however two stops before the train suddenly come to a stop and everyone was looking around confused wondering when it was going to go again. After about 10 minutes there was suddenly an announcement and people started getting off the train. However it was all in very fast, muffled Japanese so even my friends who speak practically fluent Japanese couldn't understand. All the trains normally say everything in Japanese and English but not this time. After a while, still with no idea what was going on, we started getting worried about the time and thought it might be a better idea to find another train going to the same station. Apparently everyone had the same idea and we quite literally were pushed onto this train 'til you couldn't move, you could barely breathe because it was so packed. Imagine a busy London Underground train and then add another 30 people into each car of the train - they have people on the platforms whose job it is to literally push people in so the doors will close! We missed the initial train we had planned to take to the airport but luckily, due to Japan's very relaxed policies with domestic flights, the next train would get us there just in time if we hurried through security. In the end our flight was delayed so we didn't even have to rush but by this point we just wanted to get home, nobody likes sitting in an airport especially in a boring tiny domestic terminal that is no bigger than a bus station!



Like I said before, I loved the bright lights and lively atmosphere that Tokyo had. It felt very different to being in Fukuoka and even Osaka to some extent. I suppose this is down to the fact that it is a much bigger city but also, as with most capital cities, it is a lot more multicultural. I almost feel bad admitting it was nice that, if you wanted to, you could get a English things pretty easily. Don't get me wrong I have really grown to love Japan and the food and even some of their strange ways of doing everything, but sometimes you just need a little piece of home too! I am desperate to go back to Tokyo before the end of my year abroad, its already worrying me that I'm running out of time! The city is so big so 3 days there barely even scratched the surface of it.



I have the most incredible few months ahead of me now; the next week is full of exams and work but after that my oldest best friend from home, who I've known since I was 4, is coming to visit!!!! Then we are spending a few days in Osaka before she returns home and I fly to Hong Kong to see another of my besties! We shall then be spending Chinese New Year in Hong Kong before flying to Taiwan. After this I am off to Laos and Vietnam with the girls I've met here then finally Cambodia to meet my boyfriend! So yeah, BIG plans! I can't even begin to describe how excited I am, I actually felt emotional as I was booking these flights. Anyone that knows me knows how long I've wanted to travel (hence the year abroad) so it really is a dream come true for me. Kind of hoping it gets rid of my travel bug but I have a feeling its only going to get worse! I will do my best to write a blog about each country - I can't promise they will be frequent, I may write some offline when I'm doing looong hellish coach or train journeys then upload them later but they will get done one way or another. I want the memories written down for myself more than anything!

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