Good news, your boy is back! The trip to austria was particularly good this time. We couldn't climb our desired mountain as the risk of avalanche was too high, but be did manage to get up a different one, and put in some heavy back country skiing to boot. Next time we'll get up, next time....
As ever, there are a few photos over at flickr, if you're interested.
After spending quite some time in tokyo, and having made many mistakes and learned a great deal whilst here, i thought it only fair to share some 'insider' knowledge. I'm not going to tell you great places to go or shops to visit, there's plenty of other people to do that, but here's just a few things i've picked up which might help you, should you visit this mental city.
1. Finding your way.
Easily the hardest thing in tokyo is finding something. The road system still has large parts from the edo period, which were specifically designed to confuse invaders, and they continue to confuse today. Many roads have no names, and there are no street signs, so the only way to be sure to find something is a map. Most shop websites have the address, but remember to print out the map. Also, don't assume the cab drivers know anything. This is such a sprawling city, that jumping in and saying 'national history museum' won't cut it. They often need a map too, bizarre but true.
2. Exploring.
With planned destinations such a difficult concept, you will probably find yourself wandering about. One thing to remember is that this is a very '3D' city. In the UK, and in most cities i've visited, shops, bars and restaurants are on the ground floor, businesses and housing are above, but not in tokyo. It's not unusual to have bars, cafes and restaurants on the sixth floor, and clothes shops in the basements. It feels a bit odd getting a lift to a bar, but be brave. When walking the streets, look down and up, as well as around you, most of the best things aren't at eye level. Whilst on the topic, the ground floor is called the first floor here, adding to the confusion.
3. Get lost.
Most people say 'just go wandering, get lost for a while' when you visit a city, but nowhere is this more true than Tokyo. The main streets are often full of Chanel, Gap, Vuitton etc. and aren't that exciting, the backstreets are where it's at. The added bonus is that Tokyo is such a polite and relatively crime free place that you'll always be safe, and you can always find a helpful local to tell you where to go.
4. Get a suica
In London we have the oyster card, which allows easy travel with a felica enabled card. In tokyo they have a 'suica' card which is essentially the same thing, but it's really cheap (about 70pence per trip). The added bonus is that the suica can be used as currency in most newsagents and shops, meaning there's no embarrasing fumbling through your coins when buying gum.
5. Drinking
Drinking in Tokyo is a big deal, although the japanese tend not to be very good at it. Coming from the UK, and having experienced pubs and bars for most of my adult life, i found it quite hard to get into drinking here. Whilst there is an emerging 'bar' scene in some of the cooler parts of town, it's fairly rare to just go for a drink here. As the japanese can't really take their beer, they nearly always eat at the same time. Their equivalent spot is called an 'izakaya', which is like a restaurant which serves small dishes of food along with the beer. It's considered fairly rude to just go there and drink, so be aware. If you order a big bottle of something to share, never pour your own drink. Always pour for the other person, and they will reciprocate. Try to keep the label on the bottle facing upwards too. It's considered very rude to serve yourself, and looks greedy to asian eyes. If you do happen to be in a western style bar, you must have a drink in your hand at all times, otherwise you may be asked to leave
6. Health
If you have a cold in Tokyo, get a mask. It might look a bit odd, but you must look like you are doing everything possible to stop spreading your germs. This includes blowing your nose, which is an absolute no-no. However disgusting this might sound, snort it up, it's the done thing here. Do not blow your nose.
7. Shopping
If you visit tokyo, you will go shopping, and of course there are a few differences from the west. Firstly, if you are here for a while, it's worth remembering that there are loyalty card schemes all over the place from sneaker shops to camera shops. This really makes sense, as the points work out at around 10% saving in most places. When paying, there is always a little tray at the cash desk, put your money in here, don't hand it to the cashier, as you might touch them, which isn't done. They like to wrap things up here too, just let them, it's part of the service, and doesn't cost you anything. If you ask for something without a bag, they can sometimes freak out, so forget your eco-head when here, it's easier that way.
8. Racism
For a nation where politeness is the norm, there's a fair bit of racism here. The difference to the racism i've experienced elsewhere is that it's not a hatred based segregation, but fear based. Many bars and clubs have signs which say 'Japanese only', and you must respect this. It's not because they don't like you, it's just that the japanese men can often feel intimidated or nervous around westerners. It's weird, but true. If you look anything like me (over six foot, shaved head), then don't be surprised if people will give you a wide berth, and leave seats next to you on the train. It's just the way it is.
I'm sure i've forgotten something, but that'll do for now, just remember, it's quite a fun place, but be respectful wherever you go.
My friend Robby has a japanese phrasebook, the page on 'romance' is amazing. The phrases are arranged in a weird chronological order, which seems to tell a story. If you cant read the photo, here they are in order.
Kiss me
I want you
let's go to bed
touch me here
do you like this?
i like that
i think we should stop now
do you have a condom
let's use a condom
i won't do it without protection
don't worry, i'll do it myself
it's my first time
it helps to have a sense of humour
oh my god!
That's great!
Easy tiger!
That was amazing, romantic, wild.
The thought of someone in bed, trying to read the phrases mid-coitus cracks me up.
hey hey hey, greetings one and all from tokyo, or should i say 'snowkyo'. Woke up this morning to see big clumps of the white stuff tumbling from the sky. As Tokyo is such a developed city, the ground is nearly always too warm for it to settle, so it's one of those wet slushy days. I am here for three weeks, so i hope it either cools enough to settle or stops, as the slushy stuff isn't much fun.
I popped over to Harajuku on sunday, for the usual checkup on the shopping front, and was a little disappointed. There doesn't seem to be too much really interesting stuff going on. Everyone has seemingly given up on the dayglo, all-over-print Bape madness, but no-one really knows where to go next. The new Bape store behind Omotesando hills is a huge disappointment too. It draws on 1950's Americana, sorta like a diner with stoneclad walls, but it's not great to be honest.
One interesting thing i noticed was a strange new hobby. Japan is famous for it's reservedness, and invasions of public space are a real no-no. Walking around Harajuku on sunday i saw six or seven groups of people holding 'free hugs' signs: cue lots of hugging, posing for pictures and giggling.... oh the giggling. Now i think this is quite a good thing overall, some of the people here could do with loosening up. Some people on the other hand are not really the kind of people who should be hugging giggling teenagers...
There are more pictures to be seen in my flickr page, should you be interested (click here). Speaking of which, i finally got hold of my new camera, a Nikon D80, and it's lovely. Still reading the manual, there's a lot to learn, but i'm enjoying it. Hopefully i'm off to Asakusa at the weekend, the old part of town. A friend at work has a sculpture and metalwork shop out there so that should be fun.
Hello readers, just to let you know that webwatch will be on thursday this week, as on friday I will be in Austria. Long time readers will know that i'm a bit prone to the odd mountain adventure, but i think i might have bitten off more than i can chew this time.
A colleague of mine is leaving sony soon in order to climb a mountain in Pakistan, and this weekend is his training trip. He asked me if i fancied coming along, and the opportunity to buy loads of fancy kit and anodised bits and bobs was too much to resist. I think i might be needing to use it this time though.
The mountain we are climbing is called the Hochfeiler, a particularly nasty 3800m spike in the middle of the Austrian Tirol. The four days will include training in ice climbing, crevass traversing, and (this is the one i'm not looking forward too) 'casualty evacuation'. Wish me luck...
Hey, it's easy to take the piss out of other peoples food, i guess that it's always funny to see what other people consider worthwhile eating. I was in a tofuro restaurant, and they amazingly had a menu with english translations, but i think that just made it worse.
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