What I did on my summer holidays - Tokyo & around part 2

Ahem...having dragged ourselves out of the aforementioned Shinjuku mire, still finding ourselves in Tokyo, we wandered through Ginza which is famous for some reason. Perhaps we came at the wrong time, but we did manage to see the Sony showroom, which along with absurdly high resolution video cameras, teeny-tiny mobile phones and other commonplaces gadgets, there was a pit of these things...



Aibo, the first two letters probably standing for artificial intelligence, is a funny old customer. Its face lights up depending on what mood its in, and its body is covered in sensors that affect said mood...therefore if you stroke it in exactly the right place, according to its mood, it will wag its tail, or stretch in a luxuriant manner...I actually found myself becoming emotionally attached to and wanting to please this connection of wires & electronic pathways...suddenly a large number of questions about the nature of pets, consciousness and my own existence were fought back by my exhausted beer addled brain.

So then we went to Asakusa which has a lovely big red temple called Sensoji. No pictures yet as I`m saving those for the entry on Sanja Matsuri...watch this space...

It being so insanely hot, we decided to go to Odaiba, as it has an artificial beach. Odaiba (meaning "cannon emplacements") is reclaimed land formerly housing defences set up by the Shogun in 1853...it`s now almost like a Japanese take on Blackpool. A circular monorail helps you divide it into sections of things to see and do...like deciding which mall to go to.



Once you`ve overcome that obstacle, there`s "all manner of things" to keep the discerning tourist occupied...



...like a replica of the Statue of Liberty, for some reason...



...and the Fuji TV Centre, a monstrous construction if ever I saw one...



...it`s most notable feature, apart from its appearance, being a shop selling things related to Japanese TV. I`m glad we saw this, as we were privileged to witness footage of a chap in a foam dinosaur suit participating in adventure sports, such as scuba diving, skiing, dune buggy-ing...the paraphernalia I`ve seen around since then has pretty much confirmed that this is the whole point of the program. God bless the Japanese.

Then there`s the Tokyo Big Sight Centre



I like the building, but there`s not much inside...when we arrived there was an exhibition on the history of sewage works...



I have no explanation for that, other than it`s outside the Big Sight. Quick stop off in Shinagwa...



...then home to Kawasaki before we go to stroke the egos of the Harajuku Cosplay types. The time to go appears to be at around 4pm...















Once again, hooray for Harajuku!

Tune in next week when we abandon the bright lights & insanity of Tokyo and head for the relative tranquility of Kyoto to hunt Geishas & feed monkeys.

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!!!!!")