Us foreigners on the other hand, like to take any excuse to get out of the country! No sooner had the last class finished on Friday, I was changed into 'regular' clothes and in a taxi to Dongdaegu train station. I was to meet Winnie there and embark on a journey to a place so famous, so anticipated, so admired. When I was back in England, Japan had seemed like it was unobtainable, a distant land of bright lights, rich culture, an historic empire and Nintendo :) - Tokyo was a place I'd dreamed of visiting. Arriving at Busan airport, I could see that we were not the only ones of this mind-set, practically 65% of the people in the departure lounge were foreigners. I found it amusing that despite summer vacation ending only a month ago, our fellow westerners were still up for leaving the county again.
It was a mad rush to get to the airport, taxi, train, taxi, plane. But we made it and checked in. The flight was great and had only cost less than $250 (£155 ) return. Upon landing in Narita Airport, we swiftly went thought immigration and headed with 2 friends, Niall and Josh, to the subway/train station. Unfortunately, living in Daegu, with it's 2 lines of subway, had not prepared us for... this:
We were kinda forced to buy some certain ticket by the Japanese security guard then ushered to a platform where we waited for a train bound for God-knows-where. We caught the train, missed our stop, caught another connecting subway, realised that it was past 11:30pm and that they had stopped running and had to get a taxi to our hostel. The taxi journey lasted about 8 minutes and cost about $30 (£19). It was then 1am, so we checked into the Ace-Inn hostel, dumped our bags and went to buy some $4 beef ramen.
The next day we'd decided to get up at a decent time and go sight seeing. We opted to go to the MeiJi Shrine in Yoyogi Park first as the weather was warm and the day was bright. Upon finding the park, we saw that the entrance was marked by a huge wooden structure, and behind it a long, peaceful path flanked by tall trees. The surroundings were very serene. After walking down the path, we headed to a breaking in the woods that surrounded the MeiJi shrine. This was a white-stone temple which glimmered beautifully in the sunlight. It was a really hot day and we were keen to keep in the shade when possible. We walked peacefully around the shrine and wrote a message to attach to the tree, which would wish our respective families, health, wealth and happiness.
After taking the snaps and sending our love home, we walked on, in search of water and to experience another side of Japanese culture; the crazy yet beautiful area of Harajuku. Harajuku has become synonymous with crazy fashion, the modern vibe and somewhat unfortunately, Gwen Stefani's 'Harajuku Girls'. We walked around this area, trying not to stare but also being on the lookout for the aforementioned fashionistas. Our walk lead us to Takeshita street and the surrounding area. This was definitely a cool place to be!
After I'd finally realised I'm way too old and white to be pretending I'm a cool cat, we moved on to the Shibuya area, a pretty short yet entertaining walk from Harajuku. I really liked the cleanliness of Japan where ordinary shops like Forever 21 and H&M somehow seemed more appealing and attractive, due to the cool design of the Japanese buildings, paired with the glorious weather.
When we got to Shibuya, we were told to look for 'the crossing'. After hitting a crossroads, it became obvious that we were standing at 'the' Shibuya crossing. As soon as the lights turned green, this happened:
* Shibuya crossing, said to be the busiest in the world
I think it was safe to say we'd found it. After the onset of claustrophobia, we decided to get the spider-web of a metro and head to Roppongi Hills. Roppongi Hills is a New Urban Centre and one of Japan's largest integrated property developments, we were told that this is where the magic happens on a nighttime. However, we had plans that night and we'd aimed to go to the 52nd floor of the Mori Tower, in order to grab a great view from the city above. To Winnie's delight, we happened to have visited at the time of a Harry Potter exhibition. So with my wallet in one hand, and an excited, giddy, Potter-geek in the other, we headed up to the 52nd floor. I have to admit, it was really inreresting to see the actual sets and costumes from the movie, and the view from the observatory was stunning. Only when you're so high can you actually begin to appreciate the vastness of Tokyo and why it's arguably the biggest city in the world.
* Winnie at Harry Potter ex.
* view from Roppongi Tower
After gathering our energy, we decided to make the most of the up-coming evening by going to Disneyland Tokyo. Neither of us had been to a Disney resort for a long time, and both were relishing the chance of telling friends that during out time in Asia, we'd visited the magical world of Mickey and Minnie. We got a decent deal for an evening pass. However we'd, perhaps foolishly, underestimated the amount of people that would be there. The parade was due to start so walkways were being closed off to make way, which made it awkward to move around. After the parade we chose to ride the wooden rollercoaster, which despite the long queue, was really fun. But nevertheless, the night was a fun experience and we enjoyed acting like we were 13 again.... a memory that is getting ever smaller in my mind.
After catching the subway back, stopping off for $4 ramen on the way, we went back for a well-deserved rest. Unfortunatley our sleep was disturbed by some inconsiderate guests who, despite there bing a socialising room on the top floor, decided that the bathroom beside our bunks was a super-wonderful place to discuss their exploits at 3am! I, ever-so-politely of course, asked them to refrain :)
The next day had the makings of being one of the most memorable days of my life. We woke early, showered and headed to the meeting point for our day excursion to Fuji. Winnie and I met with our friends, Jase and Jared and boarded the bus. We were greeted by the tour guide, a man so typically Japanese, and departed for the famous natural wonder. The guide, who had a hard-to-pronounce Japanese name so comically preferred to be known as 'fish', began giving us some useful facts about Tokyo, Japan and Fuji. Again we were blessed with divine weather. The first stop of this memorable tour was to the Fuji museum, for 15 minutes. We had a wonderful view of the mountain from this point and rather than fill ourselves with facts and stare at rocks, we decided to take some time to admire nature's gift to Japan and take some pictures. We were soon on the way to the 5th base camp of the ancient Mt. Fuji and the beautiful sights kept on coming. 5th base was the highest any vehicle could get to the summit of Fuji, which was close enough for an astonishing view. The four of us explored the area, which was littered with souvenir shops, cafes and a temple. At the side of the temple, was a look-out point where we were treated to the view away from Fuji, to the valleys adjacent. The day was getting better each minute.
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| Winnie, Jase and Jared - and Mt. Fuji |
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| Walkway at the base camp |
After catching our breath, we stepped back onto the bus and made our way to the restaurant for a traditional Japanese meal, which was quickly gobbled by our hungry selves.
After feeling refreshed and well-fed, we departed for the next stop on this delightful tour. Lake Ashi was to be the next natural wonder to steal our breath. The bus came over the hill of the valley and revealed before us a stunning mass of water encompassed in high green hills and reflecting the glistening sun into our eyes. Led by our new friend, Fish, we were ushered onto a open decked boat which was to ferry the group to the other side of the river, to be met by a cable car. The boat ride, though windy, was beautiful and relaxing. After we disembarked, I took the opportunity to buy my parents some Fuji souvenirs before entering the cable car to ascend Hackone Komagatake. Though I had never heard of this mountain, I was astounded by the wonderful views of Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi that we got from the top. The cable car base looked like it had been transported from Soviet Russia which rather than making you want to cross your fingers that it didn't fall apart, actually added to the ambience of the mountain top. There was a small temple on the top which gave us something to walk towards and gave a focal point for some pictures. I was really glad we were able to share this experience with our friends, Jared and Jase. It was a wonderful view and though we were not alone, it was a peaceful and tranquil moment.
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| Pondering life |
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| The view from the mountain |
The remainder of the trip was spent descending the mountain, getting back on the bus and having time to take in what we'd witnessed that day. The last feature of this awesome tour was that we had a ticket for the Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) back to Tokyo. These trains run around 320 kmph around Japan and are pretty luxurious. We got back to Tokyo in about 35 minutes (it'd taken about 3 hours by bus).
After arrival, and yet more guidance and direction from the outstanding Fish, we were left on our own to spend the evening in Tokyo. We arrived back at around 7pm, which was amazing when we thought about how much we had packed into the day. We had sought Fish's advice on getting some decent, yet reasonably priced sushi ("reasonably priced, in Japan?? hahahaha" - I hear you say!) we headed to Akihabara, which is known for it's many electronic shops and video game arcades. We wandered around the area, taking in all the lights and sounds, as well as the various 5-6 story electronic stores that sold absolutely everything you could ever want that is electrical. I really, really liked this area and enjoyed playing on old Street Fighter (<--- click) games and watching the teenage Japanese game addicts spend their last yen on their favourite vice!
We finished the night by grabbing some amazingly delicious sushi at a rotating sushi restaurant on the 8th floor of the Yodobashi Akiba building, then finished off the perfect day with a Starbucks tea and cake before calling it a night. This was an amazing day that I'll never forget. If anyone is interested in this specific tour, I can't recommend it enough. It may seem 'pricey' when you first see it, but take into account the prices in Japan, as well as the various activities that it includes, and hopefully you'll see that it's a good deal. Click here for more info on this tour. :)
On the Friday morning we didn't have to get up as early, so we allowed our feet and minds to rest a little before leaving the hostel to explore some more. First we decided to go back to Harajuku to do some shopping. Winnie had seen (the now infamous) Bart Simpson t-shirt down Takeshita Street and I also wanted to buy something Japanese style. We were blessed by a third consecutive sunny day, which made it impossible not to have a good time. Winnie made her purchase, and I resisted buying a strange jumper with the faces of all the Simpsons characters all over it (didn't want to copy, you see) and then we headed for breakfast. Winnie's new Converse shoes were really hurting her, so after breakfast we found a shoe store and bought her some Havaianas flip-flops. We had some time to visit one more shop, where I found a Yoshi (Super Mario) t-shirt that I liked and Winne found 'the' Toad hat that was to define her trip! The hat was about $40 and actually made Winnie look like Toad, however, despite really wanting it, she decided to pass. I also was tempted to buy some his-and-hers Mario and Luigi hats!
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| let's-a go! |
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| 'the' hat!! |
As it was approaching lunch time, we decided to frequent the Akihabara Yodobashi building again and try one of the other restaurants out. We had some hot-plate BBQ meat with rice which smelled and tasted delicious. We'd been lucky enough to get tickets to the final day of a Sumo tournament that was happening at the time. We'd arranged to catch up with our friends Josh and Niall there, so decided to make our way to the stadium. After a pretty short subway ride, we exited the station and latched on to a random American couple who knew the way there. Once in, we found our seats up in the higher tier of the giant arena... only to discover that we were sitting next to (and I mean, next to) Jared and Jase! We all thought this was really funny. Josh and Niall were also seated a few meters away from us.
We then sat and chatted whilst basking in the great view of the traditional Japanese sport. We watched the contenders each come to the stage/ring and demonstrate their ability to stomp onto the floor. I had to admit, these boys, though huge, they were flexible! The atmosphere intensified when the crowd-favourite came to the fore. Though some of the matches were over in a matter of seconds, I felt myself getting really excited when there was a real grapple between two huge fighters and admired their agility and ability to manoeuvre when they were millimetres from elimination. After a couple of hours, we decided to head off to the Pokemon Centre in Minato to fulfil Winnie's wild desire to see all things Pokemon (which was disappointing in my opinion).
After us both (okay, just me) being underwhelmed by the small and boring Pokemon centre, we got back onto the Subway to meet Jared, Jase, Niall, Josh and Karen. We had plans to find Gonpachi, a Japanese restaurant which inspired the fight scene from Kill Bill Vol. 1. After meeting (almost) on time and walking for a few minutes, we found the restaurant. We had to wait about 30 minutes until a table became free, but once we got inside, it was well worth it. Typically, Josh, Karen, Niall and I passed the time with a beer. Immediately on entry, we could see the similarity between this restaurant and the scene in Kill Bill.
Gonpachi-
KB -
The food was great. This view was shared by all and it was kind of fitting that during the Korean holiday of Chuseok, we were in a different country but had made the effort to meet 'as a family' and share a night and a nice meal together.
After we'd finished and it was time to leave the restaurant, we said goodbye to a stuffed Jase and Jared and headed on to Roppongi. We had met a really nice Japanese-American girl in Taipei called Yukiko and Winnie had kept in touch with her. We'd arranged to meet her this night. Of all places, we were taken to a British theme pub where on the 4th attempt, I was able to order some nice beer whilst we sat and talked with Yukiko. We later left to go back to Shibuya area where we drank some more, and met up with Niall (who had left us at Gonpachi) and some of his friends. After a few beers, we somehow ended up in a karaoke room and despite falling asleep, I managed to bore everyone to death with 'Scenes From An Italian Restaurant' by Billy Joel, and impress Winnie with my french accent in 'Be Our Guest' from Beauty and the Beast. At about 4am, we decided to call it a night and take an astronomically expensive taxi back to the hostel.
On the Saturday morning, we woke late and had a shower, packed our bags and left. We didn't have much time in the morning due to flying at 4pm and waking late. To make things easier we put our bags in a locker in Shinjuku station. We decided to get some sushi in Akihabara, fighting off the urge to go back to Harajuku to get the Toad hat. We had to scurry to get the subway back to Shinjuku so we could catch the Narita Express, a train that would cut out all the hassle and get us to Narita Airport. As time ticked on, we had to power-walk to collect our bags from the locker then make a dash for the Narita Express terminal.
Obviously, as we were pressed for time, the platform our train was on seemed to be the furthest platform possible. The bags were heavy, we were tired, the train was leaving soon and the station was jam-packed with people. Our power-walk turned into a jog, and our jog turned into a sprint. We literally had to run for the train. We were told to go to Platform 4 or 5. There was a train on both. I chose to get into the closest one where I was told by a janitor with a mop, through sign language and grumbles, that the train we wanted was on the opposite platform. I don't know what happened in the following 5 seconds, but in that time, we managed to get from one train, across a platform onto another, with the door almost trapping Winnie's bag as it closed and her losing one flip-flop in the process. We were tired, hot and stressed, but we made it. The Narita Express is a new, modern and comfortable train which really impressed us. Once we'd cooled down that is!
The rest of the journey was comfortable. We landed in Busan around 6pm, ate some great food at The Grand Apple buffet (expensive but worth it) and stayed in The New Day, our favourite hostel in Busan. The Chuseok holiday was rounded off nicely with a morning at Spa Land and a comfortable ride home from Haeundae.
NB - If you're going to Japan for a period of time, I really suggest hiring one of these. Me and Winnie hired one, as did Josh and Niall and we all swear by them. It made researching things and getting around Tokyo much easier, having access to google maps and the internet was priceless.
