Arriving in Tokyo

Saturday 10^th April

Yes, the breakfast was pretty enjoyable (Ham & Egg with Macaroni in Soup – traditional HK breakfast), it was also pretty cheap by Aussie standards too – only being $22 that comes with a Hot lemon tea!!

Anyhow.. we spent most of our time walking around the HK airport terminals to check out what is good. My camera/laptop bag is falling apart with the zips all dying for some reason, so have to shop around for a replacement. Hopefully it can last until I get back to HK since I am half expecting it to be expensive in Japan.

The biggest issue I have had at the airport was my recurring problems of spraining the left calf muscle. I took it for a stretch and lo and behold, I was soon on the ground crying for my life because I happened to sprain it. Took about 5 minutes to recover, but walked around with a limp thereafter. Bumped into a friend of mine in HK who coincidentally is on the same flight as me.. hahaha

Anyhow, we got onto the plane and finally has taken us to japan like we have hoped for. One of the first things you will notice are the manners of the local people. The bus ushers and operators even give bows to buses when they leave making me feel guilt that I do not match their levels of politeness. All the bullshit about Gaijins not being able to survive in japan are false too. I am happy to report that most places in Tokyo are written with English and probably even more so than my native HK realistically!

Tokyo International airport (Narita) is pretty far from the city and after a shuttle bus ride to our hotel (90 minutes), we finally got the room and had a small rest before looking for Tom. Tom had missed his flight previously and was suppose to be hanging around in Tokyo somewhere but took him until 6pm to find us since he constantly got lost and that our hotel being in the suburb of Akasaka was being mixed up by him as Akasuka. He had to take the taxi across town to find us.. hahah.

After grouping up and having a small tiff about where to go, we decided to hit the main Tokyo popular district of Shinjuku. If anyone who knows Tokyo, they will know that this area is similar to Mongkok, Kings Cross or New York’s Time square whereby there were heaps of people.. We took the Metro to Shinjuku (5 stations) and came out hungry and looking for something to eat. Walking about 5 blocks, we could not make a decision on what to do, so I suggested a Yakatori place that I found.

Yakatori.. what is it? Well.. someone (originally came from NZ) had enlightened me to this concept- where it is basically BBQ skewered chicken components. If you ever get the chance to eat this, then I fully recommend it. We ended up with a mixed Yakatori dish (meat, meat+Shallots, skin, giblets and neck). Sounds a bit hows-it-going, but trust me, it is very good. Ended up getting fried chicken wings, Karaage chicken pieces, Chicken skewered sausages etc. Ended up with a Sukiyaki (Japanese hot pot) of Chicken too… hahah..

Yep.. had a good walk around the place with Shinjuku famous for having the red light district. Walking around the designated district had several invites by pimps to check out live shows etc.. but we just walked on checking out all the pachinko palours, slot and arcade machines there. It is certainly a contrast to the normal Aussie Aristocrat ones at the local for sure.

Anyhow.. Tons of pics which I hope will make it to this blog post. I have decided to write up on my PC every night with a new entry to be posted to blogger whenever I have the chance. (haven’t realised this entry has already taken up over a page on Word).

This place is very interesting and tomorrow will be a first of many shopping sessions. Right now, I am hearing two people snoring who both do not admit to it.. hahaha.. I will take it down on video to prove to them since they keep pointing the witch hunting at me.. what a bunch of pricks eh?