Japan - Tokyo!

Shinjuku, Tokyo

We have now been in Japan 5 days and I am still not over the culture shock. It is culturally the most different place I have ever been in my life. It is so different to anywhere else I can't even begin to make comparisons. Everything you see in the films and on TV, it's all true – that's what Japan is really like. Its everything I imagined and so much more. A few things that stand out:

Firstly, and obviously, the language. Nobody speaks English and there are barely any westerners here, which makes getting around quite tricky. Luckily Jemma is good at maps and we have some how muddled through on the subways.

Secondly, the people. They are so polite, bowing constantly and there are so many things you are not supposed to do (according to our guide book). For example, you shouldn't blow your nose in public and when someone hands you something, you should take it with both hands. This is only scratching the surface of beginning to describe the etiquette. Needless to say, it has left me feeling a bit on edge at times, worried that I might offend someone.

Another thing that is difficult for me, is the food. I really don't like Japanese food too much and I have tried to adapt to it (eating Octopus with what looks like crape paper on top) but I am constantly having to resist the urge to go to McDonalds. A few other things I have noted with interest: the people are very quiet – sometimes in the street you could hear a pin drop. A lot of people wear those face masks to protect themselves from germs (a lot of people = at least 20% of people), they allow smoking in public! This shocked me when I walked into McDonalds and could smell smoke and then saw there was a smoking and non-smoking section. They love their game arcades, which are very loud and also filled with smoke. They have a lot of girl bands with about 15 members in them who all look under 15 and the bulk of their fan base seems to be made up of middle aged men.... I could continue for ages with all the interesting things we have seen but hopefully my photos speak for themselves. I also forgot to mention the toilets, which often have buttons on them offering various functions from a flushing noise to cover up embarrassing noises, heated seats and little squirts of water that you can clean yourself with and then dry yourself with a little fan button afterwards. I haven't had the guts to try this yet but Jemma tells me it is fun.

Toilet functions

 In spite of this culture shock, I am absolutely loving being here and it is something I have dreamed of for a long time. I am really enjoying the foreignness of it after having spent 5 weeks in Australia, which is basically England but hot. The hostels are world class (literally: the one we are staying in was voted best in the world by hostelworld.com) and the scenery is beautiful. We have a JR rail pass which allows us to travel anywhere we want for 2 weeks and we are currently basing ourselves in Kyoto and hoping to explore the surrounding areas from here.

We started off in Tokyo which was mind boggling, as you can tell by looking at the subway map.

Tokyo subway

We had a really nice hostel and an American room mate who was Japan-mad and told us lots of useful things, such as how to say thank you and hello and how to avoid the infamous groping men on the subway!

We visited the electrical district where all the games arcades are and we saw a boy with the best hand-eye coordination I have ever seen before. We also visited Harijuku which is known for its crazy fashion sense (as referenced in the Gwen Stefani song What you waiting for). In addition to this we went to the busiest crossing in the world in Shibuya (which is where they filmed some of the scenes in Lost in Translation) and we ate at a couple of different noodle bars.

 I managed to find Japanese coco pops for breakfast and Jemma has been having pot noodles. We have been advised (by our crazy Japanese-mad American room mate) to avoid the 'radioactive' tap water and so far I have only eaten one McDonalds in the 4 days we've been here. Also in Tokyo, we walked through the red light district where they have love hotels that you can rent in blocks of three hours and they play seedy music in the street. In this area they also have lots of pet shops with various animals in little incubator like tanks such as kittens, monkeys and meercats. We have also come across a shop where you can go in to pet the cats for an hour (presumably for people who don't have enough room in their house for a pet?).

They also have lots of Manga shops, some of which cross the line into adult shops without too much warning. One of Jemma's favourite things about Japan is the way the trains play music like a toy piano (child-like music) when they arrive, as do garbage trucks (I noticed this today). Everything is colourful and smiley as though a child has thought it up. It really is like nothing else I have ever seen.

We are now in Kyoto which is the beautiful historical old capital and I will write a blog on what we have been up to here in the next few days.

(Internet has been free so far in all hostels!). We came here on the bullet train (Shinkansen) which is also featured in Lost in Translation (my favourite film). I will leave it for now as they are doing a little session upstairs on how to write your name in Japanese and play Japanese board games.

Photos here: Tokyo Photos