Goodbye Tokyo, Hello Bangkok

Someone once said that time flies when you're having fun. Not sure who that was but I have a feeling it was some smug arse of a person who was always annoyingly right. I had a lot of fun in Tokyo which meant I had to leave all the sooner. Damn.

I thankfully managed to get a shinkansen back to Tokyo and arrived quite late in the evening on Thursday. At this point I would like to point out that I don't have a JR Pass. Yes...really. I have had many conversations with people who have the JR Pass and laugh at me for not getting one. Despite my repeated attempts at explaining to them that it was cheaper NOT to get the pass, they carry on laughing. Maybe I should tell them how much I spent over four weeks and that might shut them up! The JR Pass offers a fantastic discount if you plan on travelling long distances within a 7, 14 or 21 day window. Technically I did, but I decided to get an overnight bus and save on accommodation costs. My itinerary did change and perhaps I could have taken advantage of the pass at some point during my trip. When I first put together my itinerary, it was cheaper not to get the pass. End rant...

Moving on...

Shinkansen fail. Still looks pretty sexy though.

When I arrived in Tokyo I headed straight onto my next train to meet Ben. What I didn't realise is that I couldn't buy a ticket in Kamata so was stuck. The train official had no idea what I was on about so I walked off red-faced. As I wandered about with that bemused expression I have come to know and love, a gentleman asked me if I was ok. His limited knowledge of English coupled with my wild gestures and stressy tone of voice made his welcoming expression alter to what I imagine to be fear. I believe his inner monologue would have read "who is this strange girl? I wish I never bothered. That's the last time I help a tourist!". My bumbling attracted more attention and four more English speaking locals asked if everything was ok. It would have looked a strange site to an outsider! I then heard a familiar voice and turned round. Ben was in Kamata! The locals looked relieved when I told them I was sorted now Ben had arrived. He was out running some errands and spotted me. Phew.

So off we went to the back streets of Ikegami. All the houses looked the same and I wondered how I would ever know my way back to the station. This was pushed to the back of my brain and was replaced with a sudden urge for food. Ben took me to a local Yakitori (meat skewers amongst other things) restaurant. I'd been to one which served chicken, but this restaurant's specialty was the pig. I wasn't in the experimental mood so picked parts of animal which I knew were good and edible! Ben was ribbing me for it so I dared him to eat pigs rectum...he did. That's another thing I love about hanging out with guys. If you dare them to do something, the fear of pride being damaged means they always do it. I've been quite mean and used this weakness to my advantage many times. I did have cheek and temple though which is slightly unusual so I didn't back out completely.

Back at Ben's, I was shown to my room. I had a room! I was expecting a couch in the middle of the living area. Knowing that I was going to be there for a few days went to my head a little and I took advantage of the space (i.e I emptied pretty much most of my backpack onto the floor. It looked just like home.). Ben has a washing machine and a computer I could use freely. Both amenities conjured up feelings of excitement which is pretty sad. I have been living out of my backpack in low-rent dorms so this, to me, was freedom! I love the freebies.

The next day I met Alistair - well spoken chap from Kyoto/Nara - and decided to "explore" Tokyo. I thought I had the perfect day planned until I realised that there are two Ueno Parks. One in Ueno, Tokyo and one in Osaka. We needed to be in Osaka for what I wanted to do. Unfortunately this fact was revealed whilst in Ueno. Alistair laughed at me and I felt like my IQ had washed away to single figures. Undeterred, we decided to look around Ueno Park and view the exhibits in the Tokyo National Museum. As usual, I decided to take photos of objects which amused me. In seriousness though this museum was spectacular. The silk paintings were the highlight for me. The exquisite detail was mind-boggling. The scroll-drawings too were so detailed and well preserved.

 I know, very mature. But these did make me giggle.

I've taken quite a few photos in the past of the roof tiles in Japan. This exhibit was really fascinating. It described the origins of each tile and what the patterns and symbols represent. I saw examples of tiles built with the residents' family crest on.

I saw two of these attached to the building protecting the buddha in Nara. The display listed the subject as a Shibi. I have since found out that the two in Nara are said to be in place to protect the building against fires.

We were both cultured-out so went back to Ikebukuro for the best udon imaginable. The place serves dishes in three sizes - regular, large and super large. The brilliant thing is, no matter which size you opt for, the price is the same. Genius.

Saturday was a lazy day. I didn't do much at all but went to a British themed pub in the evening which was quite fun.

On the Sunday I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography with Ben. I didn't have any strong feelings towards the current exhibits but saw a brilliant one which started in October. No good to me! We opted for the portraits as the other options were children (ahem) or a hidden war of some kind. The exhibit was entirely made up of black and white photography which I love so I was happy with my choice. On the evening I visited Nadia, a girl I met during my first few days in Tokyo. Unfortunately time constraints meant I only saw her for a couple of hours. Nadia needed to do some homework so it only felt like minutes before I had to catch the bus back to the station. I got a croggy (slang for hitching a lift on the back of a bicycle) to the bus stop which was quite fun. It was a shame I didn't get to see Nadia for longer but it was better than nothing! I listened in on their gossip and boys talking session which I loved. They cooked a yummy dinner of chilli and onion bread. It made me realise how much I have missed female company. Guys are great and  easier to get along with but there are certain things you can't say in front of or discuss with guys.

Monday was another lazy beginning with the possibility of meeting Henrik and Thierry (I met in Hiroshima) in the evening. I wasn't hopeful but we did end up meeting and I had a brilliant night. After standing at the wrong exit (4 instead of C4, ridiculously signposted), we met in good time and had a stroll around whilst keeping an eye out for any interesting eateries. We were accosted by a cheery English-speaking local lady who suggested visiting her brother's bar and restaurant. We tried to find out a bit more about the food they served but was distracted by the blindingly drunk little old lady who stumbled out the same building. She was a feisty one and was determined to get onto her bicycle. There were two others who safely helped her away. Everyone seemed to be having a good time so we thought we'd give it a go. The staff were lovely and the owner spoke quite good English. We felt useless as the menu was in Japanese. The owner was very patient and super-friendly.

Thierry attempting to stare out the menu. Nope, we still had no idea what we were ordering!

With the help of the owner we ordered drinks, sashimi for both guys with rice and noodles and I had noodles and Takoyaki. The guys let me have a piece of their sashimi which was very kind of them. Henrick ordered another platter of sashimi - salmon. When it arrived we saw three pieces of octopus on the side. Henrick looked nervous but I was delighted. I love octopus! Henrick, Thierry and I looked at each other and realised that we were being put to the test by the locals. I reckon they thought the octopus would freak us out. The entire room looked at us as we each took a bite. I think we passed. 

We were all pleasantly full and were looking to leave when some drunken locals started bantering with us. Everybody was happy in the room and the atmosphere was very uplifting. We stuck around for a bit longer and spoke to everyone. Again, after what felt like minutes, I had to catch the last train back to Ikegami. The one downfall of staying in the middle of nowhere is having to catch an early train. We said our farewells and, although I'm not sure how the guys felt, I hoped that I'd see them again one day.

Although the night was very young for some, it was pretty late for me as I knew I had an early start the next day. I arranged to meet Alistair again and we decided to hit the fish market at a decent (for us) hour and visit Odaiba, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay. Alistair was fashionably late so didn't get to the fish market quite as early as we hoped. We thought we'd missed everything but decided to have a nosey anyway. There was still plenty to see.

 Yummy!

 Lots of fishies.

 Weapon of choice...yikes!

We wandered aimlessly around and heard squeals from two local ladies. We went in for a closer look and realised they were rubbing live eels. Alistair and I both had a go. It was very slimy and weird but fun. Neither of us squealed. The seller gestured "unagi?" for which I replied "aaaah, unagi. Yes I know unagi.". Haha. It just reminded me of my earlier blogpost.

 
We thought we'd seen all there was to see when I spotted this!

 One guy was having a lot of fun!

 Bit of a closer look.

 The weapon that caused the damage. Wow...

The fish market was certainly a feast for the eyes, but we wanted a feast for the belly too! We walked round the market stalls and stole a couple of free samples. I spotted something strange too...

The fish market is minutes away and this stall is selling spam!

Lonely Planet listed a place that sold sushi platters for 1000 Yen. A steal in general but for fish straight off the market, that was a very good deal indeed. We actually managed to find it too! More luck than Lonely Planet's instructions, but still.

Nom nom. I even had the salmon roe too!

We didn't leave that place hungry, it was good. Time to head across to Odaiba. We boarded a conductor-less train and, not being satisfied with the view I had, moved to the front. I took a lot of front and side shots from the train. Because we travelled on a cloudy day, there wasn't much light to cause reflections on the glass. This meant I was able to take great shots without a glimmer of myself and the rest of the people on the train too!

Shimbashi had a lot of impressive structures. I went a bit photo crazy. Again, this probably isn't the best shot but it shows both the skyline and the track quite nicely. I love the sky in this shot and the track leads you in further. Maybe it's just me...

The first thing I saw when I got off the train.

We decided to go and look at the shops and seek out cake. It was a mutual decision...honest!

Tee hee. Yes I am immature but come on, you wouldn't get a shop with this name in England.

How thoughtful.

After shopping it was on to SEGA! My pocket was considerably lighter after this visit. There was so much to do!

I drove in this bad boy. It was awesome.

After over-indulging our inner-childs we decided to look at the sights in and around the shopping area.

Fuji TV Building

We watched the sunset and it was beautiful

 Fuji-san...is that you?

 Ooooh, we meet again.

We waited and waited for the rainbow bridge illuminations but they never came (whilst we were there).

An awkward goodbye ensued with Alistair. His final words to me were "make sure you don't die." I responded absently "I'll try my best not to".

Before I knew it I was saying goodbye to Ben too (he didn't even bother to get dressed and expected me to hug him in just his pants. I don't think so.) I decided to stay in the hostel I stayed at when I first arrived in Narita. I found it without any problems this time which was mad. Priorities were food, shower then blog. I did the first two without any problems but when I came back someone was on the computer. I decided to watch a movie. Cassandra's Dream - Ewan McGregor (yes please!) and Colin Farrell. After watching it, I realised why I'd never heard of it before. It wasn't that great but it passed the time. 

I saw this later on and wished I watched it instead...

 Looks like an Asian spin on Saturday Night Fever...with kung-fu!!

The computer became free and I started blogging. I met a couple of German guys (Tobias and Lars) who are staying in Japan for a year to study. It was typical that I wanted to wrap up my blog and get an early night but end up having a fun conversation with randoms but when I have time on my hands and really want the company, nothing. 

Moments later Adriano (guy who walked with me to the hostel on my first night) came in. I don't think he recognised me at first, or did but wasn't 100% sure. I jogged his memory and he joined in with our little banter sesh. He announced that he's Canadian...Canadian!! I love the Canadians!! Mainly due to the folks I met back in Kyoto - they thought I looked like Maggie Gyllenhaal (see below). I'll take that...and run! This guy also said I was hot but I thought he meant it in the sweaty gross sense. I was pretty damn hot on my first night. But he meant it in the nice way. It's so strange, back home I straighten my hair and wear a little bit of make-up to give myself some colour and I wear perfume! Here, I have my hair pinned back, my glasses on more than my lenses, my clothes look like they belong on a flea market and I'm pasty as ever...yet I seem to have gained the interest of certain people around here and it truly baffles me. Maybe that's where I've been going wrong back home. Just don't try. No effort. Just be me. Ha! Who knew?