It's So Japaneasy

We didn’t arrive in Tokyo until after nine at night and by the time we got through immigration and picked our bags up it was closer to ten before we headed to the train station. We had to cross almost the entire city to get to our hotel and once we worked out the psychedelic spaghetti like Tokyo subway map we where soon on our way. The journey took about an hour and a half with two line changes, but luckily it was quiet and we could get a seat with our backpacks without any problems. Our Hotel the Tokyo Inn was in an area called Magome but there didn’t seem to be much happening here apart from people passing through. The room was very small and the bathroom even smaller, Joanne had to have her knees fully bent in the bath so there was no chance for me to stretch out and soak. We decided to have an early night so we could have a early start the next morning.

The subway station was right beside the hotel so we decided to get a Tokyo day pass that would get us onto any Tokyo Subway line and the Circular JR line. We decided our first stop would be the central Tokyo station which had a tourist information centre so we could pick up some maps and information in English. We had two changes to get to our destination but we never waited more than two minutes for a train. The trains where busy but not packed as we had waited until just after rush hour, once we got our maps and stuff we decided to have a quick look round. We seemed to be in a business district with huge offices towering above us, but on the ground floor of all these offices where shop after shop of all the most famous designer brands like Gucci, Louis Vutton, Armani, Tiffany’s and so on. We had a look at some of the shops but I didn’t see much I liked so we decided to look for somewhere for lunch.

One of the flight attendants on our flight recommended checking out the basement floor of most department stores for reasonable priced food so we did as he said and after picking one from a dozen of small restaurants we jumped in for our first taste of Japanese food. The restaurant was called Fumotoya and it was mobbed with business people having lunch. The décor was really cool but the staff spoke as much English as we spoke Japanese, but we managed to order a great lunch with the help of a picture menu and lots of pointing and nodding. We both had a small bowl of miso soup then Joanne had a chicken rice dish and I had beef and noodles, the food was excellent and it was all washed down with green tea.

It was still quite overcast so we decided to hit the shops and jumped back on the subway to Shinjuku, there was a large shopping centre just as we got out subway so we decided to head to the top and work our way down. Top floor Tower records, supposedly the best stocked record shop in Tokyo. The place was massive and covered three floors, it also had a huge book and magazine section. It was the day of the new Franz Ferdinand CD Japanese release so we got to hear most of it while we browsed about, they had quite a few large displays promoting the album and showing the new video. The CD prices were ok probably equivalent to HMV back home but Tower was almost the most expensive record shop in Glasgow when it was open, so I refrained from increasing my collection any further. The remaining floors of the shopping centre were filled with loads of sports and fashion shops selling well known western brands. We spent the next few hours blissfully wandering the busy shops people watching as much as window shopping, the Japanese sure like to shop.


After a while we decided to give our feet a rest and started our hunt for an internet café. The lonely planet guide mentions that there’s not that many internet places in Tokyo, but we managed to find one quite quickly. Once inside we soon realised it was more than just your usual internet café with some clapped out PC’s and plastic bucket seats that we’ve been used to the rest of the way round on our trip. First you are allocated a room number and given a free ice cream and told to help yourself to as much free coffee or soft drinks as you wish. Once in your private room you have a large TV, DVD Player, Playstation 2, PC, comfy leather chair with foot rest and access to an extensive library of magazine, books, DVD's and games. We only really wanted to check our emails so all the extras were wasted on us apart from the ice cream.

When we emerged from our private rooms into the neon lit streets it suddenly felt like we had really arrived in Tokyo, the place was manic with business men making their way home, high pitched juveniles shrieking to their friends and a few dazed tourist bumping into each other as their eyes jump from one flashing light to the next. My first ever full time job was with a sign making company and for a short time I trained in the art of making neon tubes, this is a process that is a lot more difficult than it looks and one that I never really mastered and was quickly moved onto other tasks. So I had a lot of respect for the work that created the millions of iridescent tubes glowing above my head advertising things I couldn’t read nor understand.


Some of the guys we met on our trip in Peru had recently been in Japan a few moths before reaching South America and has tipped us off about a few things in Tokyo, so it’s with thanks to Sharpy, Tubbsy and Matt that we found a place for our next meal. The Yoshinoya restaurants are Japan’s answer to McDonalds serving quick cost effective Japanese food, which can be found not to far from any subway station. Over our two weeks in Japan we returned to Yohinoya to fill up on the miso soup, noodles and rice on many occasions. It had been a long day so after some walking about the neon lit streets we jumped back on the subway and back to Magome to rest our weary feet.

Next day we went for the cheaper day pass that got you onto all the subway stations apart from the circular JR lines, this saved us a few pound each and we could get to everywhere we wanted but maybe via a few extra stations. We headed to the Ginza district to see the Imperial palace, well you can’t actually get in to the palace as it is only open to the public two days of the years. So we took some photos and headed back to Ginza and to the Sony Building to play with all the new gadgets and some that were still in development. The place was spread out over 5 or 6 floors and we played with robot dogs, listened to Franz Ferdinand on headphones that cost more than my stereo and TV back home, played the latest football game on the Sony PSP which has Shunske Nakamura and Zico (legendary Brazilian footballer who now manages Japan) in all their marketing campaigns and whiled away an hour so without spending any of our hard earned Yens. Well I say hard earned but being unemployed and homeless for seven months certainly has it drawbacks when in a city with so many great shops with prices tags to match. We noticed on the map there was a Godzilla statue in the area so we walked a few street to where it was on the map and once we got there we both nearly fell about laughing. We were expecting a gargantuan replica of Japan’s biggest movie star but what we found was a two foot model on a 4 foot plinth stuck in a corner near a subway exit.

Since the sky was still quite overcast we decided against sightseeing round the cultural highlights and headed instead to Akihabara home to Tokyo’s world renowned electrical and gadget district. We wandered from Ginza past Tokyo station which had a large exhibit featuring a F1 racing car and some genetically elongated Japanese girls in short mini dresses and big boots sponsored by some company called The Royal Bank of Scotland.


Akihabara must have over a 1000 shops selling endless amounts of MP3 players, Cameras, Computers, DVD players and the ubiquitous mobile phones and with the helium voiced sales staff squeaking out the reason to go to their shop and not the one next door selling exactly the same goods. The prices are definitely cheaper than back home but maybe not as cheap as Bangkok or Hong Kong so we didn‘t pick up too much but I‘m sure if there was an electrical appliance you’re after then you would find it here no problem. The area also had loads of shops selling Japanese Comics & Animated Movies (Manga) but some of this stuff was a bit weird and a bit different from the Beano and Dandy. Every newsagent has thousands of comics on sale and it’s not unusual to see loads of businessmen engrossed in them on the subway.


Friday morning we caught the subway to Ueno and wandered about the Ameya-yokocho market which was the famous black market district after World War II but now just sells the same counterfeit goods you can find in most markets around the world. This is where we saw the fake Celtic strips with Nakamura and the number 25 on the back, the quality wasn’t too bad and they even had a copy of the new Green away kit which was only released in the UK a few weeks before hand. We were in a shop the night before that had a large display showing a Celtic Strip and loads of cuttings from Nakamura's first few games for Celtic but I’m not sure if either all the strips where sold out or they don’t have the distribution network set up yet to cash in on the interest. We picked up a hot takeaway box for lunch which had some rice, salmon and some chicken tempura which was once again very tasty.


In the afternoon just as the sun came out we went on a free guided tour of Ueno Imperial Park with an English speaking volunteer. The volunteer was in her late 50’s and spoke very good English and had a good sense of humour. We were told some of the history of Tokyo’s first public park and how it was once the highest point in Tokyo. The park is also home to most of Tokyo’s homeless who sleep under tarpaulin in the northern end of the park, while we were there a Christian charity was having a service and afterwards they would give out food and clothing to the homeless.


We also went to a Buddhist temple where the guide showed us the correct etiquette for using the water purifiers at the front of the temples. The temples were very beautiful and we had a chance to look around as we were the only ones there. We then saw giant stone lanterns, monuments to fallen Samurai, 5 storied Pagodas, fountains and countless other shrines. The ninety minutes flew passed and was a great way to learn a bit more about the area and people so if you ever make it to Tokyo ask at the tourist information office about free tours by the SGG (Systematized Goodwill Guide) club. Once we said our goodbyes to the guide we headed to the Shinobazu pond which was split in to three main ponds. Two of the ponds are completely covered in water lily pads and the other is a boating pond with large pedalos in the shape of swans for hire.

After wandering about the park we headed back to the subway to catch some of the shops in Ginza. We walked and walked as it turned from day to night and streets slowly started to glow with the massive billboards and neon signs but once again it was all designer palaces thronged by the hip young things throwing their money at French bags, Italian footwear and Swiss watches. I’m not sure what the average wage is in Tokyo but on the subway nearly everybody has an Ipod, tiny mobile phones and wearing really smart expensive clothes. Since we’re not hip young things with money to burn we had some dinner in the cheap and cheerful Yoshinoya. We were quite intrigued by a massive sign for a shop called Don.K which turned out to be Japan’s answer to Poundstretchers but with a few twists. It had all the usual stuff like cheap aftershave, Rolla-Cola, cheap plastic toys, Pink Balaclava’s and sports socks. Yes Pink Balaclavas and nurse’s uniforms popped amongst all the usual banal stuff you usual find in bargain basement shops. After getting some provisions it was back on the subway back to Magome for another well earned rest.

When we woke in Saturday morning it was another glorious day so we put on our sunscreen and headed out for another day pounding about Tokyo. We arrived at Omotesando Subway and walked along past another collection of designer stores this time interspersed by loads of small café’s and coffee shops mobbed by people showing off their best clothes and trying very hard to look very cool. At the end of the street we came across a totally different crowd of poseurs, the cos-play-zoku (Costume Play Gang) are young teenage girls dressed in some of the most outrageously over the top get ups you could ever imagine. Some of them are in Little Bo Peep, others are dressed as children’s cartoons characters like Pokemon and some in weird goth like creations all topped off with massive boots and a million beads or ribbons.


After people watching for a bit we had a quick wander round Shibuya-ka park with it’s massive Shinto shrine one of the biggest gate like shrines in Japan but the one we see today is only a replica as the original was destroyed in bombing raids by the Americans during World War II. We then headed to the nearby Takeshita Dori area which is a bit like Ashton Lane or the Merchant City in Glasgow but a hundred times bigger. This is where the cos-play-zoku shop and the there are hundreds of cool little boutiques, record shops and cafes. We came across a shop selling Disney character clothing for dogs and another selling English football hooligan memorabilia. We also spent half an hour in the Beatles shop where I could quite easily have spent hundreds of Yens but Joanne kept reminding me that I’m unemployed and homeless. There was also quite a few label shops like X-Large, Triple Soul 5 and Stussy where I would normally pick up a t-shirt or two but this being Japan there’s not much of a market for X-Large stock so I had to once again stick to my Window Shopping role.

We headed back to the hotel to get changed and have some dinner as we planned to go out for the night at hit some of the bars as we had been very well behaved all week. The hotel’s restaurant was very good and we especially enjoyed the dim-sum. We got the subway to Roppongi which supposedly had Tokyo's best night life, so we decided to have a look about first before diving into the first pub we see. This took a bit longer than we thought and with so many bars to choose from and so many touts trying to get you into their bar or club. The first bar we went into was a reggae bar on the fourth floor which the tout told us was beginning to get busy, but once we got into the bar we found out we were the only one’s inside and a small beer would be 800 Yen which is about £4, so we made our excuses and headed back down to the street.

The first bar we had a drink in was called Gas Panic one of may of the same name throughout Tokyo, as we walked in there were people dancing on the bar and the place was mobbed but we managed to get a drink in the upstairs bar which was a bit more sedate but this wasn’t really our kind of place. So further up the street a young Canadian guy who was touting for a bar that had just opened that night gave us half price passes for the Dollar Bar. Once again it was on the fourth floor but this time it wasn’t empty but there were two other people sitting in this beautiful bar with all the best of fittings, plasma TV’s but has as much atmosphere as the sea of tranquillity. So once again after one drink it was back on the street looking for the so-called happening bars of Roppongi. The next place was the Kingston Town bar which once again wasn’t too busy but the music was great so we stayed in here for a few drinks. The DJ was a 7ft Jamaican guy wearing a White suit and a large fedora hat and between playing some of the best music I have heard in a bar in moths was also playing darts for drinks against some other Jamaican guys. On the TV screens dotted about the bar was the 2005 Miss Dancehall competition and if you know anything about Dancehall Reggae you will realise that the screens were full of young Jamaican girls shaking their plentiful rears and anything else that jiggled at the judges, audience or anything that happened to be in the Caribbean that night. Some of these girls are known to inject there backsides with chicken fat to increase their chances of impressing the judges in this very serious Jamaican competition. After Joanne took a few notes on some of her favourite moves it was time to move to another bar.

Next stop was the Motown bar which was full of drunk middle age Japanese business men singing and dancing along to some of the most awful Euro Pop and 70’s Disco records ever to be heard. There was one guy we noticed up dancing who was cradling a bottle of beer as if he had known it all his life and was deeply in love and another guy who had obviously been to the Kingstown Town bar and was shaking his behind in all directions in hope of a few extra points. The beers in all the bars ranged from 500 to 800 Yen so to be honest it wasn’t a lot more expensive than drinking in Glasgow City Centre but the night was still young and had a few more twists before the end.

We decided to go to one more bar before we hit the road back to Magome so our last pub for the evening was the Geronimo which was facing the subway station, once inside we were quite surprised to find the small bar completely mobbed and what seemed like a mad party. We managed to get a place in a corner to stand and sip our Coronas, a few minutes later a girl in front of us reaches over the bar and hits a large gong with a drumstick. Within the next few minutes we were handed a shot of some cocktail because this girl had banged the gong, this happened nearly every ten minutes and over the night far to many to count. We never did really find out what it was all about but supposedly if you bang the gong you have to buy everyone in the bar a shot, there must have been about 40 to 50 people in the bar.

We got talking to Angel & Jane two girls from the Philippines who where standing next to us in the bar, Joanne had been asking them if it was one of their birthdays as they had banged the gong. The conversations got a bit hazy after this but we had a good laugh when we brought the camera out and started taking loads of silly group photographs, as the night wore on the faces and poses where getting more and more contorted. At about 3:30am we called it a day, said our goodbyes and headed down to get the subway. Once outside we soon realised that the subway was closed so it was into a notoriously expensive Tokyo taxi, which was only £16 and it did get us back to our hotel a lot quicker than the subway would.


Well we never saw much of Sunday morning but by lunchtime we were in booking our train tickets for our journey to Kyoto the next day. We had hoped to wander round some of the second hand camera shops in Shinjuku but we could only find one and it didn’t really have what we were after, but every cloud had a silver lining. On some of the small lanes and side streets behind the large department stores we found hundreds of small specialized record and CD shops, so I had a great afternoon browsing reggae, northern soul, Indie and sixties shops. There was also so many live bootleg concerts and DVDs available I’m sure if I looked long enough I would have found a Static, Limehouse or Twister CD for sale, even though the furthest east we ever played was Cowdenbeath. These where a few of the bands I was in when I still thought I was going to have a career in music before realising I was destined for a life stuck behind a desk numbing my brain.

After Joanne was totally bored by the fifth Dub parlour we had been in we decided to try and find an internet café to catch up on some emails. You would think that with Tokyo being the modern metropolis that it is it would be easy to find somewhere with an internet but no it was a nightmare, the one we had been in a few days earlier was closed so we wandered for hours before we eventually found somewhere. After that we had to find an ATM as most cash machines in Tokyo don’t accept cards from outside Japan, so once again it was another wild goose chase for an elusive Citibank ATM which took a good 50 minutes. By this time it was 9:30 and we where really hungry so we decide to got to a Curry place we had seen a few hours earlier. Before you enter you select your choice of meal and accompaniments from a vending machine out on the street, once we selected our Chicken Kormas and Nan’s we clambered into the tiny restaurant and handed over our tickets from the vending machine and waited a few minutes before we where served two massive meals with two gigantic nans, it’s always a worry when you start eating something bigger than your head. Another great low cost meal in Tokyo so it is possible to Tokyo without spending a mint, but I’m sure you would probably enjoy it a bit more if you had a bit more to splash.

We loved our first six days in Tokyo and we know we only skimmed the surface but the place is filled with fun and the people are very friendly but just a little shy. We also never had to many language problems which is good going since we only knew about 5 phrases in Japanese.

Arigato - Thanks
Konnichiwa - Good Afternoon
Kombanwa - Good Evening
Sayonara - Goodbye
Wa doko desu ka skanku dreadu shoppe - Where is the Dub Reggae Shop?

Next morning it was off to Kyoto on the Bullet train.