Louise: Day Two

I wake up feeling terrible - I have a super-strength mutant type of cold that's making my head gooey and my stomach turn, and it's making me feel homesick and tired. But, I'm in Tokyo, and I'm determined not to waste the day. I pluck up the courage to attempt the 15-minute walk to the train station, despite the fact it's baking hot, a confusing route and I feel mildly like I'm dying.

photo by Tradewinds

I get really lost amongst the elevated walkways and alleyways and eventually give in and use my basic Japanese language skills to ask for directions. A kind man not only gives me directions, but walks me to the station when he notices my blank, sick-looking face. I was literally about 20 steps away, but the overpasses makes everything so confusing.

I'm thrown by being lost, and feeling increasingly homesick, so I decide to head somewhere familiar and set out for Shinjuku to tread the same area that I stayed in 2008. I take the train to Ueno before joining the Yamanote line, and feel a massive lump rise in my throat when I hear the familiar station jingles. I miss Rob so much.

photo by destination360

I wander around Kabukicho, and feel comforted by the familiarity of the area, but also a little more homesick for being alone. I manage to find the 7-11 and withdraw some money from the cash machine, which plays me a friendly little tune, before presenting me with my money in a magician-like flourish.

I play in a few arcades, but the games are much harder than I remembered, and everything I do seems to remind me that Rob is many miles away, and I haven't seen him in three months. It feels wrong to be here without him. I head to the 100 Yen store in the Shinjuku Prince hotel, but being in lobby and lift of the hotel I stayed in with Rob is agony. I make a concious decision to spend lots of money to cheer myself up, and then to avoid areas that 'belong' to me and Rob.

After buying a months worth of ramune-flavoured sweets, lemon juice and Pocky, I eat dinner in a rough-and-ready counter restaurant among tired-looking businessmen. I eat greasy, but delicious gyoza and hot, salty edamame.

It's starting to get dark and my head is throbbing, and Tokyo feels like the loneliest place in the world at this moment in time. I head back to Minami-Senju station, I then get epically lost trying to find my hostel and resort to hailing a Batman-taxi again, which costs me 710JPY (about £5) on a 5 minute taxi ride. GRR.

I go to bed feeling sad and tired. Surely tomorrow will be better...

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Louise & Rob: Day Nine

We wake up to cakes – which is the best type of waking up we can imagine! We fall into a tangley cuddle and end up setting off somewhat later than if we had gone with a tour, but since Expedia messed up our booking – we’re going solo!  We’re actually quite glad to be able to go at our own pace (particularly when we see tour groups milling around with silly hats and flags).

We get a bit confused when trying to book shinkansen tickets. When we ask the time of the train, the ticket clerk keeps showing us numbers on a calculator and it takes us a while to work out that she’s showing us the time, rather than massively expensive prices! We’re thrilled to learn the bullet train we’re catching is called the kodama – which is a type of forest spirit, which we’re familiar with thanks to Studio Ghibli.

The bullet train seems mostly normal, but slightly more fast and comfortable. And because you have to book tickets we don’t end up face-to-armpit like usual. The train is much quieter than inner city ones, but we’re seated across the aisle from a salaryman with an ekiben – and Rob keeps trying to peep to see what’s in there!

We arrive at Odawara station, and get a bit confused about where we’re supposed to go, but eventually get pointed in the direction of a tiny little train. Surely it can’t be that! We climb onboard and get nestled between a couple of tiny little old women, who carry on a conversation over us. The train reminded us of a toy train, with a weirdly-shaped track that was a series of hairpin bends –so it seemed we kept going one way, stopping and then going the complete other way – it seemed like we weren’t making any progress at all, until we noticed how high we were getting!

We find ourselves on yet another mode of transport – a big steep funicular that takes us up a big steep hill. It’s a bit busy to begin with, but lots of people get off half way up to go to a museum, with a garden full of strange statues – from what we can see! Louise is starting to get a bit travelworn, queasy and grumpy, but Rob cheers her up by reminded her she’ll soon get to see Fuji-san! If we can find him! 

Guess what’s next? Another mode of transport – yay! And this one isn’t for the faint-hearted. Louise hops happily into the glass cable car, while Rob edges in nervously – as we both realise just how high up we’re going. We get some beautiful views of sweeping green valleys and mountains, and eagle-eyed Rob spots the kanji symbol for big in amongst a forest. We spot lots of hot steam and sulphur spilling from the ground and it reminds us of iron town in Princess Mononoke – quite suitable about riding the Kodama! 

 

We stop halfway up the ropeway at Ōwakudani, which means Great Boiling Valley – and the name suits the place! We stop for some obligatory tourist snaps, and a meal. Louise gets some kind of noodle soup and manages to somehow get a noodle on her face –earning her the nickname of Noodle Nose. Rob eats katsu, and we both try the local specialty black eggs which are said to add seven years onto the life of anyone who eats them. Yum! 

Rob buys Louise a fox necklace from a local craftsman, and then we both search the skyline for the unmissable Mount Fuji – er, except we miss it. We can’t find it anywhere. Rob eventually asks a restaurant worker – who lifts a blind and points to the indeed unmissable Mount Fuji. It’s bloody massive. 

We clamber back into the cable car – after a short wait, during which we’re approached by a troupe of Japanese schoolchildren, who want to try their English skills on us. We eventually end up trapped in a glass car with some gobby Americans, who really annoy Louise by saying “Why can’t they use dollars here like the rest of the world? (It’s worth noting that at this time the exchange rate was 1 Japanese yen to 1 American cent. Braintingling eh!) 

We depart the cable car at Tōgendai, and sit a while near the peaceful waters of Lake Ashi – Rob is feeling a bit delicate – so Louise buys him a Hakone Ropeway badge, and hugs him until he feels better. We marvel at the pirate-shaped boats cruising the lake, but spurn them for a calming walk – where we bump into a pirate friend! 

We take our guidebook’s advice and take the coach home, but as it’s starting to get dark, and we’ve been on the coach for about an hour and a half Louise starts to panic, so we end up getting off the coach, and trying to find another way back to Shinjuku. This turns out to be a wise move in the end because, after some stressing and fussing and language issues at quiet ticket offices, we end up aboard the Romance Car – a wonderful, old-fashioned train with delicious buffet service and seats that swivel round through 90 degrees (thus removing the person behind’s legs if you don’t check first). It is indeed romantic, and we found ourselves wishing – for very much the first time that day – that our destination was actually further away than it was. There was time for Louise to enjoy a yuzu-flavoured sake drink, and Rob a large beer, from the well-stocked and friendly buffet lady, and for us to discuss the places we hoped to visit together in future – our adventure is certainly making us braver!

Alas, our journey did soon draw to a close, and we headed back to our hotel – albeit briefly, and before too long we were strangely reinvigorated and heading to Shibuya for a night on the town. We see the famous Shibuya Crossing, teeming with people, and pass many queues and excitable groups before deciding on a pizza restaurant for our evening meal. Here, Rob orders a spicy chorizo pizza and neither ends up with cheese on his face nor with the subsequent moniker “Cheesecicle-Face” (some of this last sentence may be inaccurate). 

Following our meal, we hit the arcades. Again. Seriously. This is becoming something of an obsession. But so long as we’re winning, what’s the problem? Laden with further armfuls of arcadian spoils, we stroll back through the seedier parts of Kabukicho (itself a pretty seedy part), before calling it a night. Night!

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Louise & Rob: Day Five

We wake early to a fresh fruit breakfast while watching Sunday morning anime, which appears to be about football-playing robots...’cept it’s all in Japanese – obviously. How we love Japanese TV. We make our way to the train station – excited about leaving Tokyo for the first time. We catch the train and end up nose to armpit with what seems like the entire population of Tokyo, including a group of anime-styled teenagers who spend the journey on their mobile phones and pulling faces at each other. Kamakura seems an awful long way away when you’re stuffed into a train car on a hot day.

When we arrive we decide to head downhill which Rob thinks will lead us to the beach, on our way we pass a tiny sushi shop, and after deliberating what’s in the interesting looking fishy ones pick cucumber maki rolls. Food in hand we pass by roadside shrines – filled with fresh flowers, incense, books and food offerings.

We’re also really amused by the sight of a KFC complete with full-size Colonel Sanders statue. Awesome.

The beach is a huge sandy stretch, surrounded by grassy hills and mountains – and the occasional mysterious sign, which seems to feature a huge black bird with some sort of warning...great. We debate whether this means we’re going to be eaten, or taken on a jolly flight. But by this time we’re starving so sit down to eat our sushi on the beach, watching local families paddle in the surf and poke sticks at crabs.

As we’re eating we become aware we’re being scouted out by giant black birds – which Rob suggests could be kites. However for now they seem to not be killing us – which is good. We do finish our meal more hastily than before though while keeping an eye on the birds.

After checking our guidebook we decide to head towards the giant bronze Buddha. We get distracted by a vending machine – Louise gets a peach drink, which tastes just like eating a peach. Japan feels a little bit like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory sometimes. We get completely lost and end up in a suburb-style area with some seriously big houses. We finally give in and decide to ask for directions and after being set on the right track we shelter from the blazing sun in a German-style cafe tucked off the main street.

Louise orders a mouse-shaped bun and is enthralled by the weird spiky flower on the table. After a cooling drink and sweet treat we head back onto the Buddha trail. We dip in and out of shops and realise how big an influence Hawaii has here. All of the shops are tuned into Hawaiian radios, and all seem to sell surfing gear, alongside wooden novelties and string dolls.

The day is so hot we grab a triangular icecream as we make our final ascent towards the Buddha. We pay a tiny amount to get in and are handed a wad of leaflets. And then we see the Buddha – it’s huge. There are huge pots of incense burning and plates piled high with oranges, and fresh flowers, and people. The whole area is vibrant and busy.

We both light a tightly packed bundle of incense, and decide not to go inside the Buddha’s claustrophobia-inducing belly despite the fact it’s ridiculously cheap. We look around the surrounding gardens and sit down in a shady secluded spot – it’s such a hot day.

After a quick recharge Louise is eager to be up and off again, but Rob has other plans...

Unbeknownst to Louise, Rob has been planning to propose this holiday, and this seems like the perfect time and place. By and large it goes well – especially when she says ‘yes’! The ring is only a makeshift one, purchased on the sly from a gift shop earlier in the day, and costing the princely sum of Y380. It’s a pink heart set in silver metal and Louise had wanted it when she saw it in the shop, but it didn’t fit the finger she was thinking of. Fortunately it fits her ring finger just fine!

We spend the rest of the day in a happy glow, ecstatically hopping from shop to shop, looking at gifts and planning our future. We’re so overjoyed we don’t even mind being crammed in the train on the way back.

On arriving in Shinjuku we return to the hotel for a bit of a rest before heading into Kabukicho for our evening meal and another night in the amusements. We find a tonkatsu restaurant which boasts sublime complimentary green tea, as well as delicious tonkatsu which we eat surrounded by businessmen and enjoy the boisterous, but smoky, atmosphere.

In the arcades we win Spirited Away playing cards and a Catbus flannel on the UFO catchers – thanks to Louise’s sheer skill. We also have a good go on the Taiko drumming game – a fantastic way of expending calories and by the time we’re done our arms are ready to drop off. Rob scores high while Louise bops along to the cheerful J-Pop beats.

We head back tired but happy, and so ends the best day of the best holiday of our lives so far.

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Louise & Rob: Day Four

We have a late start for the first time since arriving, eating chocolate chip bread while watching Japanese TV. We see the Mameshiba advert for the first time and quickly become bored of the irritating Curry Marche advert.

 We plan to see the temple at Asakusa today. We pour over the train and underground maps in our guide books, and decide the quickest way to get there is via Ueno. (Plus we went there yesterday – so it’ll be easy to find – right?)

We buy our tickets and walk through the gates like seasoned pros at the train station, but then become disorientated in the vastness of Shinjuku station. We eventually find our platform and we’re on our way.

Almost as soon as we arrive we’re thrown into the bustle of the shopping streets, we buy blackened roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, hot to the touch and wrapped in a small paper bag.

We become very excited about the market atmosphere of the shops, with baskets and tables piled high with goodies, and decide to buy some souvenirs for our friends and family. Louise is thrilled to find some very cheap vintage haori (small lightweight jackets – made from old kimono.) and buys a dusky pink one for herself and a pale pink one for her mum. We also browse inside and look at the exquisitely embroidered obi (kimono belt) and tiny tabi (cotton socks made to be worn with kimono). Along the way we buy colourful handkerchiefs, lacquered chopsticks, and various other trinkets and gifts.

We soon arrive at the Nakamise shopping street, and find shops peddling wooden kitchenware, garish kimono, wind-up toys, and geisha paraphernalia – such as wigs, fans and eye-wateringly expensive hair combs. There are also numerous food stalls selling sushi, udon and other snacks.

We buy sparkling water in an unusual bottle, which the vendor bangs on the table to release the marble stopper, which we later discover is a Japanese seasonal drink called ramune. We sit on the edge of a fountain and enjoy the chestnuts and water – licking the soot off our fingers.

We’re then tempted by a delicious potatoey smell, and discover a stall selling deep-fried potatoes, cut in a spiral and then rolled in seasoning. After indulging in a potato each, we move onto an archery side stall, where Rob does terribly and Louise does well – winning some theme park tickets (which we never actually get around to using). We approach Senso-Ji, walking through the various gates.

We come across a huge structure and discover that it’s a fortune-telling stand. We shake the tin and retrieve our sticks, this time getting our own fortune, by matching the stick’s symbol with ones on drawers. Louise’s is a very good one, and once again Rob’s is bad – warning him not to make any major decisions, such as moving house or getting married.

Before approaching the temple we cleanse our hands and mouths, as is the custom, and rub the healing smoke from the giant incense pot, Louise focusing on her sore feet. When we reach the temple we dodge flying yen and make wishes, before lighting remembrance candles.

On our way out and back to the station Rob buys a bracelet for Louise, it resembles the karma bead bracelets that were all the rage a few years ago, but has a tiny icon of the goddess Kannon inside one of the beads. Louise is also thrilled to spot a giant tanuki statue outside of a traditional-style restaurant.

We catch the train to Harajuku and meet a friendly business man who practices his English on us and shows us pictures of his pet dog. Harajuku is absolutely packed, but full of interesting looking shops and stalls, Louise finds a stall selling silk scarves and picks a vintage purple one with a hummingbird on, we browse the shops for awhile, and Louise falls in love with some giant plush cat paws, but upon deciding they wouldn’t fit in the suitcase purchases a Rilakuma t-shirt instead.

In the same shop we find a Chupa Chups lolly machine, where you pay 200 yen and get a ‘surprise’ amount of lollies. We discover vanilla ice-cream flavour, and know that we’ll never taste anything as good again.

We decide to search for Condomania – a shop that we have read about in our guidebook, and find it quite easily by the neon pink giant condom in the window. We browse the giant condoms, tiny condoms, glowing condoms, animal shaped condoms, you get the picture. We leave without making a purchase.

We decide to return to Harajuku a little earlier as dusk is falling and we’re getting hungry, so we head back to the hotel and drink cold Asahi beer from the vending machine, before heading to the hotel restaurant for food. Feeling refuelled we head out to play in the arcades in Kabukicho.

We have our first taste of Tekken 6, playing each other before two locals wipe the floor with us. We then find a generous grab machine that dispenses Disney lanterns, sweets, colourful soot sprites and string dolls. We win so much that the machine needs to be refilled, and we are given bags to carry out our goodies. We then head to a pachinko hall and try and master the upright pinball, and fail miserably – but have fun doing it. We play in various arcades, and find one that has a ufo catcher that’s full of curled up plush cats, we try and win one for a while, and a kind business man must have spotted us struggling as he alerted an arcade worker who came up and asked “Which one would you like? Shall I make it easier?” before moving the cat of our choice closer to the winning hatch. The business man watched us for a while, laughing at our efforts before handing over a cat he had won earlier. So eventually we emerge victorious with 3 curled cats.

 

We make our way back to the hotel, before snacking on sakura buns, bought in Shinjuku train station, and fall asleep looking forward to some actual fruit and vitamins tomorrow.

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Louise & Rob: Day Two

We wake up jetlagged, but pleased we didn’t draw the blinds, the view is still amazing, and we can watch ant-sized Japanese people rushing to work while we feast on Milk Pocky, Koala’s March biscuits and odd textured buns masquerading as donuts, all washed down with cold coffee and grape Fanta. Lament the fact that the only fanta we get in the UK is crap and tastes of mouldy oranges,

We decide to stick around Shinjuku for the day, as we’re really tired and not feeling hugely adventurous yet. I wear my owl top, and later notice lots of Japanese girls eyeing it up enviously. Good old Topshop. We take the terribly polite lift down to reception and prepare to get lost. We spend quite a while wandering around Shinjuku aimlessly, just enjoying the sights, sounds and general atmosphere, before too long we find ourselves at a large red Torii gate guarded by a pair of stone lions, sandwiched between offices, shops and restaurants – such is the nature of Tokyo.

Without even realising it, we’ve found Hanazono Shrine. The first thing we do is find a tree surrounded by paper fortunes. We go to a nearby kiosk and hand over 200 yen. We then shake a tin full of long sticks, each with a symbol on. When we each have a stick, we hand these over to woman behind the counter, who finds the corresponding fortune for us. Mine is good, however Rob is not so lucky. We then tie our fortunes to the fences surrounding the trees, as the Japanese believe the winds blow away bad luck and seal good luck.

We have a wander around and admire the shide (paper zig zags) that adorn the shrine. We throw lucky 5 yen coins into the collection tray, clap our hands and rings the bells, as custom dictates. We find it very hard to believe that somewhere so tranquil is in the centre of bustling Shinjuku.

 We leave the shrine behind and decide to head to Shinjuku Gyoen, on the way we spot an aquaria shop with bright blue jellyfish on sale. We then stop at a European-style cafe (my stomach is still really delicate from long distance flying!) and we order German-style hot dogs and sweet milk tea, which we decide to take and eat in the park, as it’s scandalous to eat in the street in Japan.

We arrive at the park, and get a little confused by the ticket machine, as you have to pay to get into the park, but there’s not a person in sight. We soon figure it out, pay our 200 yen and enter. We find a spot on the grass, in between artists sketching the park, children playing in the park, and families with picnics. We eat our food, particularly enjoying the tea - it’s our first taste of milk tea. After we’ve basked in the sun a while we spot a kiosk selling ice cream – one of the few foods it’s acceptable to eat on the move by the looks of it. We wander through the park and find a bench in the cool wooded area – Tokyo is still very hot in October, so the shade feels lovely. As we’re eating our ice cream we become surrounded by huge black birds, cawing, hopping and scuffling. We share bits of our cone with the appreciative birds before walking on.

We soon find ourselves near a huge pond with a pagoda in the distance and uniformly spherical bushes nearby.

We discover the pond is teeming with huge shimmering koi in bright orange, white and golden shades, alongside large leathery looking turtles. After spending time poking around the different areas on the park and watching the koi and turtles, we decide to leave. I use the bathroom before we go, and accidentally push a button which emits a loud buzzing noise, I become terrified that I’ve activated an intercom and swiftly leave. (I later discover that this is a sound effect, commonly used to disguise any toilet noises).

As we’re walking back to our hotel, I almost squeak with delight as I spot a huge, giant, massive Hello Kitty statue, (which I know know is the largest in the world). I feel like I’m heaven as I browse racks and racks of Sanrio merchandise. Rob shoos me out of the shop and emerges a long time afterwards clutching a bag full of goodies, including a bunch of scented gel pens and some chopsticks. He later confesses that the reason he took so long was because his Japanese wasn’t up to scratch, and he’d tried to buy things that he shouldn’t have...

We wondered a little more, before finding a giant stationary shop – this is shaping up to be a Louise-perfect day! We browse through many, many racks of postcards, picking the most suitable ones for friends and family (and some for ourselves – well, mostly Louise), including a Russian doll-style unfolding cat postcard. Ace! We also found a trove of Moomin goodies, and got Moomin diaries for Louise and Rob’s mum – two of the biggest Moomin fans in the world. We then head back to the hotel, proudly clutching our goodies, stopping for a McDonalds on the way back. We’re still not quite feeling brave enough to risk killing Louise (who has shellfish and mushroom allergies). We’re amazed by the fact that Japanese McDonald’s sell lots of different products to British ones.

Back in the room we wolf down cheeseburgers and fries, all washed down with tangy lemon water – with bright yellow jelly balls floating all around inside. The junk food makes us sleepy, so we nap on the bed, watching bizarre Japanese game shows. It seems that to get on the telly in Japan, it helps to have a penchant for stacking things on other things – on one show, we saw someone stack ramen noodle pots higher than themselves!

After a bit of a post-adventure (and post-junk food) catnap, we awake again feeling quite invigorated. Must be a combination of timezone confusion and Tokyo excitement! Whatever the reason, we elect that the best remedy would be to go out and exhaust ourselves all over again, in the grown-up playground that is Kabukicho.

Kabukicho is full of bright lights, amusement arcades, porn shops, peepshows, brothels and bars. The area has a great atmosphere, teenagers draped over benches and railings, salarymen stumbling along with arms around each other, cheeks glowing merrily pink and brothel workers trying to entice you inside with promises of ‘nice clean Japanese girls, who want to meet you’. We spend almost all of tomorrows budget in the arcades. At home we have a weakness for seaside grab machines, constantly frustrated at the ‘ungrip’ mechanism. Here in Japan, the UFO Catchers are difficult to get used to, but fair. We roll on back to hotel arms full of toy rabbits, bears,glowing Disney lanterns and soot sprites. We fall asleep with our purchases and winnings safely tucked away on the shelf behind the bed.

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Louise & Rob: Day One

 
We wake up after barely sleeping at all, Rob is anxious and excited as this is his first flight, and Louise is really nervous and excited because, well just because we’re finally going to Japan!

We checked in online yesterday (after a slight mistake of thinking we were flying a day earlier than we actually were!). Rob’s dad arrives to take us to the airport and we’re so excited we can’t stop jabbering on in the car. As we’re flying from a small airport we can’t fly direct to Narita, we have to fly via Amsterdam, We arrive on time for our flight, don’t have to wait long and we’re on our way. Rob is thrilled to like flying, enjoying clouds, sky and more clouds. Before long we’re in Amsterdam and Louise feels sick to her stomach, so Rob buys her a Happy Meal to settle her nerves, but she’s completely distraught to discover she has no toy!! Bah. So Rob buys her a penguin purse to keep her yen in.

Soon we’re on our giant plane and ready to go, we spend the long, long, long journey watching Friends, The Simpsons and Dexter’s Laboratory and listening to Goldfrapp and the Travelling Wilburys during ‘enforced sleepy times’. We also spend a lot of the time watching the flight map...and then, eventually, we’re there!

We speed through customs with no issues, despite Rob’s beard. We then find a stand for the limousine bus, and hand over 3,000 yen each and are told the bus will be outside within 5 minutes, and sure enough it is. We love the efficiency of the Japanese already.

On the bus we’re warned by a very friendly motherly sounding announcement that we should not use our mobiles, because it may annoy our neighbours, and spend the rest of the journey marvelling at the beautiful scenery that is our first glance of Japan.

As we watch the paddy fields and rustic streets turn into skyscrapers and giant zebra crossings, we realise we’re in Tokyo! After a little while we’re dropped off and given directions to our hotel, which we follow, get lost, ask for more directions, follow them, get lost...this went on for a while until someone very kindly pointed out our hotel to us.

The Shinjuku Prince is a business hotel in the heart of Shinjuku, it is surrounded by Kabukicho – a pleasure district full of peep shows, brothels, konbinis and amusement arcades and the streets are full of teenagers on dates, drunk businessmen and gaijin pimps. It’s awesome.

The hotel reception is beautiful, cream coloured marble and ikebana arrangements. After some confusion, and a slight language barrier we’re given a pair of key cards and directed to the 20th floor.

We’re tired and jetlagged, so decided just to hang around the hotel for now. The first thing Louise does is run to examine the famously high-tech toilet. She bashes the buttons and is upset when they don’t do anything, however Rob suggests that this may be due to weight sensor and presses on the seat, causing a stream of water to shoot Louise in the eye. Brilliant!

We then draw back the heavy window blind and are confronted with the hugest, sprawlingest, beautifulist view we have ever seen. Tokyo spreads as far as the eyes can see, and the skyscrapers really do scrape the sky. It’s amazing.

We’re both hungry after the arduous flight, so Rob heads down to the hotel patisserie/glass counter. Here, Rob selects a rather delicious-looking box of something called Leaf Pie, and discovers at this point that you don’t try to tip in Japan... Having hastily worked out a good 15-20%% (it’s the start of the holiday and he’s feeling generous) and leaving it in a very deliberate fashion in the money tray, he’s accosted on his way back to the lifts by the cashier, who informed him he’d left some of his change behind... silly Rob!

We nap for a while curled up like cats in each others’ arms sans covers, We wake up a little while later, as dusk is falling over the city. We watch red lights blink on the top of skyscrapers, the Epson sign outside of our room on a constant light loop, and the multi-coloured Human sign dancing in dark. We watch the office lights flick off one-by-one, leaving a few unlucky workers behind.

We freshen up and head for Kabukicho, we slip down side alleys and through pachinko parlours and past a man selling turtles by the roadside, before buying konbini snacks. We’re slightly sidetracked by the UFO catchers in the arcades, but eventually make it back to the hotel, where we eat our snacks, fill up on Pocky and fall asleep with views of the glittering city.

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Kabukicho

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Kabukichō has many faces. By day, it's an intriguing sprawl of restaurants, arcades, pachinko parlours and konbini, set within towering Shinjuku. But by night it really comes alive.

The amusements become populated by inebriated salarymen spilling out of izakaya, the streets are lined with enterprising gaijin who're promising access to plenty of girls who want to 'meet' tourists, and the love hotels become all the more conspicuous. Not that any of this is a bad thing, of course - it's all character. Kabukichō seems to work around one central rule: if you don't care for something it has on offer, then that something will leave you alone - there will be something else here for you, guaranteed.


Kabukichō isn't about ramming things down your throat.


If you'll pardon the expression.

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Shinjuku

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Shinjuku (新宿区) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo.

It is a major shopping, business and entertainment centre and houses the busiest train station in the world, the Metropolitan Government Office and Shinjuku Gyoen. It is broken down into different areas including red-light district and entertainment area Kabukicho.,

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