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Japan
Diary
Friday
23rd
We arrived at Kansai Airport near Osaka early in the morning and headed
straight for Willo's place in Sabae City. We arrived in time for lunch.
Went out in the evening for an Okonomiyaki
and then on to Bar
7. All you can drink for £12
- very messy indeed.
Pocky - a truely fantastic Japanese invention
Saturday 24th
Off
we went on a scavenger
hunt very early in the morning with
pounding heads from the night before. We soon realised that chasing around
the countryside looking for "clues" was not compatible with
stinging hangovers or a nine-hour time difference. A quick sleep and some
of the finest cheating I have ever seen and we were the first to finish
the hunt. In the evening we had the scavenger hunt social and were proudly
given last place and a fantastic seven points for our efforts.
Sunday 25th
We chilled out and watched some crazy energetic dudes play cricket. We
then had a curry and went back to Willo's house.
Monday 26th
Big Al took
us to a local shrine where I was told by a monk to expect "OK good
fortune" which had me jumping for joy. Big Al then drove us to the
paper
museum.
After this we met Willo for some food. In the evening we went to a local
electrical shop to buy some digital cameras. We then went to a bar called
Nanairo a scene of some of Will
Spin's
finest moments. The evening finished back in "the local" Bar
7.
Willo
in his house in Sabae
City
Tuesday
27th
After a long sleep we went to a fantastic 100
yen shop. For 50p you can buy almost anything. We then went for
an onsen (Japanese bath) at a local sports complex.
Wednesday 28th
We left early and got the train to Kyoto. After checking in to a great
hostel
we went to the Higashi-Hongan-Ji
temple. We then had some food and a few beers, which was enough for our
first day in town.
Eating
out in Kyoto was fun
Thursday
29th
In the morning we went to Kyoto
Tower
and had a walk around Kyoto
Train Station
which reminded me of the San
Siro
Stadium in Milan. In the afternoon
I was persuaded to go to a Geisha
dance
in Gion. It was fairly interesting actually, I wish I had recorded some
of the music. We eventually found a restaurant that would except scruffy
foreigners before going out for a few more pints in town with an American
guy called Michael. We found a bar called Para
Mode.
The owner "King" was a lovely chap and gave us free Saki!
Friday 30th
We had just enough time to visit To-Ji
temple before boarding the Shinkansen
bound for Tokyo. We had booked into a capsule
hotel
in Akasaka
and Willo came down from Sabae to join us. We spent the evening exploring
Akasaka and having a few jars. Willo and I then went for an onsen back
at the capsule hotel before climbing into our coffins. All the other Japanese
in the male dorm of the hotel seemed to be wealthy businessmen. We felt
like we had reached the big time as a result.
Saturday 1st
We left the capsule hotel after another onsen. Clare aka "Sheila"
had also come down at this point to join us from Sabae. We had some real
problems finding some accommodation but eventually we found a ryokan (not
a ryokan in the traditional sense though more like a hotel) called Nakano
Lodge. "Castle Greyskull" as it soon became known was a pit
of a place and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The owners also had
a 10.00pm curfew which wasn't really ideal. We went out for a quick stroll
around Shinjuku
which was nearby. In the evening we went out for a nice meal for Willo's
birthday (again in Shinjuku) before an ill-fated attempt to go to a club
called Liquid Rooms which had closed down. We went to a few bars instead.
Nakano Lodge aka Castle Greyskull. This
picture makes it look half decent -
it wasn't
Sunday 2nd
After getting up reasonably early we went to Harajuku
a place where the trendy young things in Tokyo hang out on Sunday. After
some lunch and a quick route around the shops we went to Akihabara
the cheap electronics district of the city. In the evening we thought
it best to go to a club to make up for Willo's birthday false start the
day before. We ended up watching Derrick May at a club called Space
Lab Yellow
in Rappongi.
Monday 3rd
We got back to our hotel at about 6.00am slightly past the curfew! We
had to check out at 10.00am and the little lady who owned the place got
us up at 9.30 with the use of her trusty megaphone! We relocated to a
hotel in a different part of town. "Sheila" and myself headed
off to Akihabara
again. I was very much worst for wear at this point and so it wasn't long
before I was going back to the Hotel. Sheila said goodbye to everyone
and then it was left to Will and I to go out for the evening as the girls
were still feeling sick as cattle. Willo and I went to Shibuya
a kind of Japanese Leicester Square - but good. Things went a bit wrong
at this point and we ended up in Futako-Shinichi
for the night. Willo described this as "a very funny story"
Thrown
out of Nakano Lodge by an old woman with a megaphone
Tuesday 4th
Willo and I reached our hotel at 7.00am and Willo and I needed a bit of
a sleep. We were up at around lunchtime and went to the Sony
Building
in Ginza. After something to eat and the now famous search for a compatible
ATM we went back to Shibuya
to meet up with Nas and Meeel. After a few drinks with them and a friends
sister we took a very early train in order to avoid a repeat of the disaster
of the previous evening. Back at the hotel Willo and I decided it was
important to relax in the onsen before hitting the sack.
The
Tokyo Metro is not all fun and games.
Wednesday 5th
We checked out of the hotel and headed for the main Tokyo terminal to
catch the Shinkansen
to Osaka. We booked late so we couldn't sit together but this was no big
deal as all I wanted to do was sleep anyway. On arrival in Osaka we had
a stroke of luck by finding a really good hotel with two half-price rooms
due to each mirror having a pillar in the middle! We had a minor panic
when we couldn't find a compatible ATM but after a couple of hours we
found one. We went for another Okonomoyaki and then to quite a few bars
to mark our last evening with Willo as he had to be back in Sabae on Thursday.
The Japanese are crazy for this game. It's
called Pachinko and is a complete mystery to me.
Thursday 6th
The emphasis of the day was on shopping as we had done precious little
of this so far. We scoured the city looking for bargains. I also thought
it my duty to check out Den Den Town
the part of town where they sell all the cheap electrical goods. The evening
followed the now familiar pattern of eating out and then drinking out
for as long as we could.
Shortly before going to sleep on the last
night. I was quite bored by this point.
Friday 7th
We are leaving! We were at Kansai airport for about 8.00am to catch our
flight.
I think a fun time was had by all in Japan.
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