What I did on my summer holidays - Tokyo & around, Part 1

Yay! Great to see that disreputable Banks character again. I had heard about a fireworks display the night he arrived, so I thought it would be an appropriate herald for his arrival and the inevitable reckless behaviour that befits a pair of twenty-something blokes on their jollies...after a good hour or so on the train & a perplexed meander through an alien section of Tokyo(?) we were greeted with a puny fizzle in the distance, and left with no feasible option but to...drink beer. This proved to be our answer to many a problem or spare moment over the course of the holiday, but no matter...

...so the next day we went to Shibuya. This, like Shinjuku is Tokyo as you`d expect it - bright lights, noisy noises, STUFF and absurd amounts of people. Shibuya didn`t yield much as we were on a pants finding mission - why couldn`t we find any? Such is the impenetrable mystery of the Japanese mind...

...abandoning the megalopolis of 21st century Tokyo, on the third day we ventured into Kamakura, sometimes described as "little Kyoto", and appropriately so. The capital changed locations several times in feudal Japan, ending up even in Kamakura, which is tiny really, compared to the sensory onslaught of Tokyo. It`s really lovely with nice secluded shrines, the odd temple here and there and a large Buddha. Although not massive as far as large Buddhas go, I wouldn`t want to carry it home. Of course, I took no photographs. Silly me.

Then the inevitable occured - a night out in SHINJUKU!





Matt took a photo like the one above, and in the true spirit of the internet, I liked it, so I nicked it.

In spite of all the bright lights and flashing things, Shinjuku is home to probably the most tranquil garden we saw. Slightly anticlimactic though, as the promise of a beautiful lake yielded by our trusty Lonely Planet guide happened to have been drained for some reason, revealing mud, mud, glorious mud...

...so we went for a beer. Wary traveller, lest ye be sucked into a bar with no atmosphere and find thyself having to talk your way out of an elevator, never pay any attention to anyone who tries to persuade you into their bar in Shinjuku. We found some friendly places though, and even managed to sink in a couple of hours of karaoke - woo-hoo! The night ended in a gay bar...one of those moments that tells you the night should definately end, my meticulously translated (with a humourous twist that contained no twist of humour whatsoever) rendition of Englishman in New York, followed by the most expensive beer I`ve ever had (seven buggering quid) left me truly understanding that you should be wary of strange men who offer you sweets (as bar snacks)...

...leave it there. Tune in next week to see us pick ourselves up from the mire of Shinjuku, ponder the point of pets, ride a monorail in a dockside micro-Blackpool that takes a few Liberties and gaze in astonishment once more at those freaky Harajuku teenagers ("Oh my GAWD MOM!! They look like KISS!!!!!")