7 March 2012
I made it here
My flight threatened to be horrible, but turned out to be fine. I estimate it was 75% full which would normally mean I would get a spare seat next to me.
However, the vast majority of people on board were Japanese, along with some Australian boys (Trev, Dazza, Davo, Stevo, Spud were some of the names I heard!) on their first overseas trip using up frequent flyer points gained travelling fly in fly out to mining sites in the outback.
It would seem I was set to have 2 spare seats next to me, but the loud rude drunk Australians frightened some Japanese people, so they were moved into the area at the front, where theres 3 rows between 2 bulkheads.
Hence I had 2 idiots next to me demanding beer before the plane had pushed back, and describing loudly in detail what they intended to do to Japanese schoolgirls.
Next up, the movie system didnt work, and the constant attempts to reboot it for the first 5 hours of the flight just made the personal lights all turn on and off randomly in the entire plane simultaneously, they are controlled from the tv handset thingy.
None of this however, could match the power of xanax, I went to sleep and didnt wake up until breakfast was being served an hour before landing.
Customs was more interesting than normal, the customs officer had lots of questions and spoke perfect English, he demanded to know how much money I had, how I would get to the city, would I be able to afford to eat etc. He also insisted on seeing I had a departing ticket booked and questioned the accuracy of what I had written as occupation.
Tokyo is foggy, but isnt cold, I decided on the bus rather than the train as the Yamamote line at rush hour with my bags sounded foolish. I stood out on the street waiting for the bus wearing only a t-shirt but I wasnt freezing.
The bus got me to my hotel at Shinjuku by 9am, way too early to check in, so I dropped my bags off and headed to the main Tokyo station to buy a Shinkansen ticket for Friday. My Suica RFID travel pass still had credit from 2 years ago, Australian cities still rely on single use cardboard tickets, and 'PLEASE HAVE CORRECT CHANGE' signs.
I lined up where the sign said Shinkansen, only to be told you can only buy tickets in this line for same day travel, and I have to go outside and buy. This wasnt too difficult, but I think some nearby English understanding Japanese people had a few colorful insults for me anyway.
With nothing to do for many hours, I walked, North. Eventually this got me to Akihabara, electric town, but I got pretty lost along the way.
Turns out the plane I thought was mine wasnt, so heres the one that was mine which is the same but without the fancy paint job. Yes no one cares.
Narita airport seems to be 900km from the city. In the land of the fast train it takes 90 minutes by train, or 90 minutes by bus. I took the bus.
The bus ride had left me feeling weird, but coffee fixed that. They even understood skim milk, the same starbucks didnt offer it last time I was here.
Its me! Looking a little worse for wear.
I stumbled onto some sort of new fabric street on my walk, it seemed very unpopular.
There are many small canals running through Tokyo with canal boats such as these. However many of them are now in permanent shade as they make a great place to build an elevated highway.
I enjoyed this multi storey rusted car garage. I stood for 10 minutes hoping somoeone would use it.
That big building partially obscured by a tree is a Yodabashi electronics shop. Nothing but computers, ipads, dvd's etc. Its enormous. For Adelaide people, it probably has the same amount of floor space as 4 x Myer or David Jones stores. I even bought something!
A random street in Akihabara.
My lunch, I had no idea what I had ordered. And it was a bit dissapointing, half an egg, one slice of pork and some instant noodles in an almost tasteless broth. Unfortunately I am not a fan of Japanese food generally. Stay tuned for Taiwan to see some real food!
This is what I bought from Yodabashi, comply headphone tips, you cant get them in Australia unless you import them, which makes the shipping cost more than the product. They are made of space age foam, the relatively sane people on the forums where wooden volume knobs and directional speaker wire is the norm swear by these.