tokyo - day 2

well - sunday in tokyo, harajuku time as already noted in a earlier entry

but the better things were yet to come! chi took me to this really good noodle place near harajuku where everything looks really traditional (and tasty!) and it was my first encounter with a washlet hightech toilet (i'm obsessed!), heated seat, sprinkling system and 50 other buttons i have no idea what they are doing.

in the afternoon we visited a vernissage of a friend of her - hidden in a small but interesting space between shibuya and harajuku i was once again the only tourist amidst local artists. the art exhibited was beautiful and before i know what happened one of the artists handed me a stunning photography book of the wakayama region as a gift - i was speechless!

but the "highlight" of the evening was my first go at sushi... in my life.. not only sushi but fish/seafood in general! i was so scared - to the amusement of the sushi chef who kept starring at me while i tried to eat eel! i could handle salmon and the eel but the "rotten beans with salmon eggs" paste was a bit too much so i stopped after one bite. it was an interesting experience but it would probably take a while until i could live of sush

so, now, finally, the complete story of the first days of my japan experience!

after arranging my jr rail pass with my exchange order from sydney, which surprisingly worked out pretty well & fast, i took the "slow" rapid train to tokyo station. after 5 minutes the train stopped, shut down the engines and i heard some japanese only explanations over the speaker. as everyone else in the train stayed quiet (i mean absolutely quiet!) i didn't worry and sure enough, 2 minutes later we were back to full speed.

first strange japanese thing are the face masks about 5% of people are wearing everywhere, not against foreign germs but as a barrier for pollen. but it takes some time to get used to that view and it doesn't really help the stereotype of personal distance :)

the scenery while on the train ride was quite unimpressive - if it wasn't for the japanese writing it could have been some industrial zone in switzerland

once at tokyo station the challenge was to get to kiba station via the subway where my couchsurfing host chi lives. in train stations all the directions and station names are written in english as well so it's not too bad to navigate around; it took some seconds to understand what kind of ticket i needed, though

i even managed to do that and board the right train to the right direction, i was so proud on myself!

first impression after relaxing on the top of neverending stairs at the station: japanese bike riders are dangerous! they come in big numbers, can drive on the pavement and don't seem to care that there are people walking as well... especially those old ladies seem to love their kamikaze driving skills

chi picked me up and brought me to her cute japanese shoebox-sized flat where i installed myself on the futon (a sleeping experience to continue for many nights in japan)

after tasting some sake in a traditional old-fashioned mini-cafe i explored the city on my own - shinjuku and shibuya mainly. what a difference to sydney! so much energy, so much style, amazing!

of course i had to try out one of the small station restaurants for cheap lunch (excellent, especially since they had a cow head symbol next to the menu so i knew there won't be anything nasty like seafood or chicken in it) and later stopping for an hour in a manga kissa, the famous 24hour multifunction private spaces! you pay a small fee per hour (or buy a overnight package) and can enjoy for free reading mangas, surfing the net, playing games, drinks, etc. the seats are comfortable enough to sleep on them and you got own private little space - what a perfect place!

later i visited chi in the small bar in east tokyo she works at and enjoyed observing japanese bar life: e.g. long term guests have their own sake bottles with their name tag on it, etc.. great familiar atmosphere! and i got to try different kinds of sake, yummi!

as mentioned in the last sydney entry, i proudly present the invasion of my departure gate at sydney airport by a japanese school

the video starts shortly before the "at ease" command

well, to make it short: tokyo is everything i expected it to be and more; i can't describe how much, but it was love on the first sight!

it's busy, crowded, alien, huge, kinky, loud, flashy, stylish, arty, manga-esque, surreal, beautiful, exciting, technological, interesting & versatile



in one day, it got the top spot for the place i will settle after travelling!

for the first time i was completely sucked into a city, after being disappointed by new york, la, sydney, etc. tokyo makes up for everything... didn't have time to process pictures or write my blog entries but unfortunately the freezing temperatures (especially compared to boiling sydney 2 days ago) and all the excitement resulted in a pretty tough cold so i will take it easy today and have time to catch up

tomorrow my travelling starts and i rather be fit for it

but back to tokyo: it's incredibly CHEAP compared to what everyone thinks - i dunno where everyone gets the idea that tokyo is expensive to travel in (ok, the real estate situation is a bit tough, but you are not really exposed to that as a traveller) - i can get a nice beef & rice plate for 680 yen (including tee or water of course) or noodle soup for 500 at every bigger metro station or corner shop; water, tee and coffee for 120 yen at the vending machines and a all day metro ticket costs 710 yen

sydney was much more expensive than that and in tokyo you don't even have to search for cheap places, they are everywhere!