Day 1 Tokyo
So an early morning start got us through the very bureaucratic but badly done China immigration and onto the plane to Tokyo. What a difference between China and Japan. After our brief 7 days in China, it was immediate that people just seemed happier in Japan but then there seemed to be a lot more wealth for the majority of people and a lot less people. There were some awesome cars as well. Quite often you'd see an Aston or a Ferrari (saw a Hummer with what have been close to 30" rims) Turned up to the hostel and again it was a real difference. We had bunk beds to start! but it was really clean and tidy and a pleasant environment. People were sat in the communal area and talking etc. which made a change.
As we only have 3 days in Tokyo, we headed out for a general look around. We were staying in the Asakusa area so we strolled round, found some good tempura to eat and generally got our bearings before getting an early night to get up for the fish market.
Day 2 Tokyo
Got up for 7 and headed over for some fish market action, only to get there and find out it was a public holiday and it was closed. Magic. So we waited for the Hama-Rikyu gardens to open and ambled round. The gardens were beautifully kept and really showed the Japanese style and quality. The sun was out and the sky was blue so it made the outing very tranquil.
After this we headed up to the Ginza area and Marie did lots of window shopping in all the designer brands (lots of whimpering as well !!) before being lead to the Sony building. It's just somewhere to see all their latest products on display but it was great. The pinnacle was a massive 3D home cinema projector. Sat and watched some football highlights and then a game. Martin decided that this was well needed when he returns!!!
We then headed to the Imperial Palace gardens, where we took it easy and had a rest and enjoyed the great weather.
Headed back to the hostel to do some research on activities for the next day including trying for the fish market again. We were told that 70 people could watch the first, and 70 people the second tuna auction. The market office opened at 4am and the tickets were given out on a first come first serve basis. We decided to try for the second auction as we could not justify the £30 cab fare it would cost us to get there before the first train.
Disappointment came with the news that all the sumo stables were closed because they had all gone down to the south island to do final training before the upcoming tournament, so we would have to come back for this!
Day 3
Got up at 4 something for the first train at 5. Got to the office only to be told that the allocation for todays tuna auction had been filled - crazy and annoying. They used to let anyone watch it but as usual because of some idiots being idiots, getting in the way, touching the fish etc, they had to stop it and only allow a certain number in. So another thing we will have to come back for (oh well). So we strolled round what we could of the market and was good to get a feel for the craziness of the place.
Decided to head back to bed for a couple of hours and then we went off to buy some Nizomi bullet train tickets as we'd been told there are places that sell discounted ones. Had to pay 12,500 yen each (£96) and writing this as I sit on it now. Going damn fast!
After we had got the tickets we walked down to Akihabara, which is were all the tech-geeks go for a fix. You can pretty much get anything you want in this area relating to games and comics. It was also very apparent that this was the area to go to if you want some fiction fantasy pornography (shops full of the stuff). There were also girls stood on the road giving out flyers for what is called maid cafes. This is where you can get girls or boys to dress up in your Manga favourite caracter (or whateverelse you prefer) and serve you food and tea.
When we had finished there, we did a walking tour round an area called Kagurazaka. This is where the Geisha's in Tokyo live and it is was all small streets, with pubs and cafes big enough for only a few people. We stopped at this recommended place for some cake. Well they were more like pancake mixture filled with sweet beans (kidney beans), chestnut paste and vanilla cream. Not sure on the kidney beans but the others were good.
To finish off, we headed off to the Rippongi area which is well noted for it's nightlife. Stopped in a veggie restaurant and had some good food but went crazy and bought a couple of drinks and then got the bill ! Japan is going to break our budget. Took a stroll round and decided again that we'd come back here when we had some more money!
Went back to the hostel and got chatting to an American guy who gave us some good tips about central america.
Lastly, Marie has a cold.