Kon'nichiwa. Here we go.. let's do this Japan!

Japan has been high on my list of places I've wanted to visit for a long time and now I finally get that opportunity. I had high expectations of what the next 2 weeks may have in store for me so I was massively looking forward to touching down in Tokyo.

As a lover of major cities, Tokyo has also been right at the top of places I've wanted to visit so when I arrived at the Narita International Airport on Friday the 13th, of all days, I couldn't wait to get started.

To say Tokyo is big would be a massive understatement.. it is monstrous! The scale of the city became quickly apparent as I made my way from the airport to the Tokyo Station which took an hour and a half by the "Rapid Local" train. The much faster "Airport Express" would have still taken an hour in duration.

As for the lay out of the city, I'd liken it to that of Los Angeles purely for its size and how spread out the suburbs, or "wards", are from one another. This made choosing accommodation a nightmare as there isn't really one particular area you can call the "city centre". It doesn't actually matter all that much because wherever you stay in Tokyo you're going to need to use public transport whether you like it or not. However, mastering the subway/train map isn't so simple. At first glance, the map could be mistaken for a 2-year old's drawing that they've been scribbling on for a few hours.

Tokyo is covered by a dense network of train, subway and bus lines, which are operated by about a dozen different companies which makes it complicated to work out which route to take and what ticket you're supposed to buy. However, once you get your head around it, you'll have access to the most impressive and efficient transport network you'll ever come across.. so good you can time it by the second, which is absolutely necessary for this giant of a city and it's massive population.

Anyway.. I actually ended up in a pretty flash area of town called Nihonbashi. This wasn't intentional, I mean I'd done my research logistically but it was more by chance that the accommodation I chose was located there.

Experiencing the famous Japanese capsule accommodation was something I wanted to try out so this is the reason I ended up at the Nihonbashi Muromachi Bay Hotel. This style of accommodation is relatively cheap, comfortable, and offers privacy.. and is also very popular among the Japanese suits who visit for a few days on business.

It really was an experience too! When I explain the following it may sound like a right faff, however I really enjoyed the novelty of it despite cursing on countless occasions.

Shoes off at the door, put your shoes in a locker and swap them for a pair of slippers. Give your key to reception and they exchange it for a key to your locker and a fob to access bedrooms and showers. Check-in is only complete when you pay via a vending machine at reception.

Up to the men's changing rooms on the first floor where every day you find a fresh "hygiene pack" in your locker which consisted of toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, a shower scrub, comb (keep your comments to yourself), towel, and dark blue Japanese style pyjamas! "No chance am I wearing these, I'll look like a right knob!" I haven't worn pj's since I was a kid. However, having glanced around, all the Asians were wandering about in the navy nightwear, even at reception and in common areas.. yet no one seemed to bat an eyelid.

Sack it!! I put my dignity to one side and jumped into my pj's.. if you can't beat em', join em'! I'm not denying that I looked daft, but everyone did so who cares?! It was like walking around amongst a bunch of convicts getting ready for karate practice or something.

Anyway, that was that. The lockers are tiny so no chance of fitting a large backpack in there, so the bag has to be taken back down to reception who give you another fob in exchange for keeping it safe. If you need anything out of your bag from there on you have to go to reception to get it.

To shower it was down to the bottom floor, and up another two to the bedrooms which are segregated by gender. I'm not joking, you are literally up and down like a w****s drawers.

There must have been at least 40 of these capsules in one single room.. lined up side by side as well as one above another. Sounds cramped and uncomfortable right? But it was far from it, in fact I had some of the best nights sleep in a long while. These capsules are considerably spacious and comfy, equipped with fans, mood lighting USB charge points, and completely private once you pull the shutter down. Don't get me wrong, it's not the Four Seasons or anything but I thought it was spot on!
Only snag was that you had to be out of your bed by 10.00am so the capsules could be cleaned. Perhaps the only downside of this style accommodation is that they're not very sociable and backpacker friendly.. it literally is just a base. The common area/dining room is laid out like a school classroom in rows of single seats and tables so I barely spoke to a soul. Everyone seemed to have their own agenda but it was fine, so did I, and it's not as if I'm going to start drumming up a convo with a Japanese businessman is it?

Side note.. remote control toilets!! My fascination with these meant I ended up spending more time in there than I should messing around with the buttons. Heat the seat to your desired temperature, various choices of angle and pressure at which you'd like to spray jets of water, deodoriser, and a "privacy" button with volume control which can be used to avoid those uncontrollable flatulent embarrassments :) There were other buttons written in Japanese which I avoided the temptation to touch incase I activated the ejector seat!

I headed out to Akihabara.. a famed sector of Tokyo which is a haven for geeks who go nuts for gadgets, retro gaming and anime. Not one myself but I was told it was a unique place to visit. The whole area is dominated by a congested vibrant maze of electronic shops, flashing signs, advertising, gaming arcades and massive billboards of anime characters.

I had a wander, and it was unique but not overly fascinating. Although I did keep getting hounded by numerous young Japanese girls dressed as maids which I'm presuming/hoping were of a legal age. You know the style.. short skirts, pop socks, pigtails. They were scattered around a number side-streets in Akihabara attempting to lure me in to their "Maid Cafe's" which I was highly reluctant to do. I couldn't understand a word and their squeaky high-pitched voices were terribly off-putting.. "I can't tell what you're saying love!"

Now it sounds seedy right? Thing is I'm pretty sure it isn't. How do I know? Because curiosity got the better of me! It also gave me chance to escape the rain too.. which was going to be my excuse incase I happened to walk in on something X-rated.

The girl led me up a few flights of stairs yapping away and showing me a menu of drinks which looked more suited for kids.. "I still can't tell what you're saying!!" Her voice really starting to get on my wick.

I followed her through a door and suddenly walked into what I can only describe as walking into a real life cartoon. WTF?!! The thing is, it was actually a cafe, just a really weird one with alarmingly bright colours, and weird props that you'd probably expect to see on a Japanese pop video.

The maid was obviously trying to get me seated but I had been distracted. The place was empty.. except for 2 European lads sitting in the corner being served by a maid, yet sitting there at a child's table with bunny ear hairbands on their heads. Seriously.. WTF?!

I looked over and actually mouthed "WTF?" while shaking my head in disapproval at them. One of them sheepishly smiled and dipped his head again. Oh dear lads.. embarrassing!!
I'm out of here!! Needless to say, I made a sharp exit despite the squealing efforts of the maid to get me to stay, "nope, not for me this one mate!" I later found out that these cafes are all themed and the waitresses dress up as maids, based on the concept that the customers are treated like "master". If this is the case, I've no idea what the bunny ears are all about. Weird!

I headed to a large public park in Ueno to regain some normality. The 300 acre park in the centre of Tokyo is filled with museums, temples, shrines, natural attractions, a zoo, important institutions and several of Japan's top schools. It was a welcome escape from the frantic city streets.

I've found it difficult to keep up with the football back home due to the time-difference but there was no chance I was missing the biggest game of the season - Liverpool v Manchester United.

The time-difference meant the game started at 8.00pm in Japan so I decided to find a bar in Shibuya where the best of Tokyo's nightlife is. Before I sought out a decent bar I took a purposeful detour to the famous Shibuya Crossing, rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world with approximately 2,500 people crossing from all directions at every single light change. The crossing, outside the Shibuya Station, is quite the stage.. overlooked by high-rise buildings and a vast array of large illuminated video screens advertising the latest hot brands, films and tv shows, while the chaos ensues down below. Making your way to the other side without bumping into someone is almost unavoidable.

The sporadic flashing of signs, billboards and advertising is a constant wherever you wander in Shibuya. The edgy nature of the area with its fashion boutiques, music venues and non-stop nightlife attracts the younger generation and those hipster wannabes.

I found a boozer.. the "British Pub" sign enticed me inside, the irony being that I was the only Brit in there. The main thing is that they had the game on.. thank the lord for happy hour as the game finished in a drab 0-0 draw.

I checked out the Asakusa district on Sunday which is famous for the Sensō-ji Buddhist Temple. There was a ceremony going on with the burning of incense while the Buddhist's carried out some sort of chanting ritual. Definitely not something I'm usually interested in but I bobbed my head in anyway before making a swift exit.

If there was an area that could be labelled the centre of Tokyo it would be the ward of Shinjuku. Known for its major commercial and administrative sectors, it also houses the busiest railway station in the world and the Metropolitan Government Building.
High fashion brands such as Chanel, Hermes and Bvlgari dominate the high streets here with their lavish and pristine oversized shops, however, if you wander slightly off-piste down back-streets you will find a completely different alternative to Shinjuku where obscure bars and restaurants are hidden away in amongst the smuttier alleyways.

Tokyo is massive in size, we've established that, but what I never realised is that it's even bigger than it appears. There's a whole different world beneath the surface in many areas of the city that you wouldn't have thought existed. These underground precincts of shops, restaurants and malls merge into one another and stretch out across large portions of each ward and link the train and metro networks together. They offer a great alternative to reaching a part of town by avoiding traffic, as well as the rain, which happened to be useful during my time here since it was pretty relentless.

Unfortunately the wet weather dictated what I could and couldn't do in Tokyo. Nevertheless, I made the most of what I could and in the back of my mind I knew I would get another bite of the cherry in a week or so.

I have a train booked tomorrow morning heading for Kyoto. For the next 7 days I will explore as much of Japan as I possibly can.

See you in a week Tokyo.

Sayōnara xx