11th December 2010

So here I was :D Tokyo.....no idea how to get to the hotel or how far it was off I went. My bag came out last as always... don't know how that works!!

First experience in Tokyo was the toilet. Ok I know no one wants to hear about this but you sure will wanna use one once I finished talking about it lol. All I wanted to do was pee and go and get myself to the hotel but it took me about 15mins to figure out how to use it. It had soo many button and all in Japanese. Not really sure what they all did!! When I sat on the toilet the seat was all warm....then trying to figure out how to flush I started pressing the buttons. The first one i pressed did nothing or if it did I don't know what lol The second brought out a pipe which squirted water out and was to wash your but!! Luckily I wasn't sitting at the time!! And god know what the other did. Finally found the flush which was another button on the other side of the toilet!! What a mission lol Anyway enough about the toilet hehe

I got to the hotel by the airport limousine (basically a shuttle bus!!) and then a taxi. Was fairly easy but about 2hrs travelling again! By the time I got to the hotel (Grand House Chang Tee) it was 9 am and the lady said I couldn't check in until 2pm!! No rooms were free. She hardly spoke any English so it was proving to be a bit difficult to talk to her.I asked for a map so I could have a look around but all she had was this tiny map which had a little blue line on it of how to get back to the hotel. There was no way I could sit there for 5hrs so off I went. Not really sure where I was going but I managed to get myself near the train station and it looked like everything was happening there hehe. It was crazy.....soooo many people and all these big shops/deparment stores. I wanted some breakie so went looking for a cafe.

On route I found a tourist information centre. Thinking that this was great and I could speak to someone in there I went in. Don't be fooled!! Even they don't speak English. They gave me lots of booklets and maps but couldn't answer any of my questions lol!! This was going to be fun. I found a cafe and chilled out with a coffee and some toast and tried to find my bearings on the map!!

Had a few hours to kill so I wondered around the stores and discovered how expensive everything was. Not the place to be shopping after travelling for a few months!! By 1pm I was getting really tired so I headed back to the hotel...again no idea where I was going I somehow managed to get back there without any help! Luckily they had the room ready when I got back :)

I had arranged to meet a friend in the evening so I thought Id get a few hours kip before I headed back out. Was a bit worried about how I was going to reach Shibuya which is where I was meeting him and his girlfriend. All I knew was that I had to get on a train.

Luckily the trains are fairly easy to use :) They have one train which just goes round in one big circle so you can't really get lost and the other trains are like our underground. They don't have a travelcard so you have to buy a ticket for each part of your journey which does work out expensive when you have a few journeys to do. They have a swipe card which you just put money on and it deducts the right amount each time. It makes life easier for us English speakers as the ticket amounts and stations are written in Japanese at the station so its hard to know what you need to pay. They don't penalise you for paying the wrong amount though. They have ticket adjustment machines at the other end :)

I did manage to get to Shibuya in one piece and without getting lost. I was concerned about getting back late on my own as the hotel was down a alley but Tokyo is one of the safest cities around. You can leave your mobile on the table while you go to the toilet and no one will touch it!! Not that I tired it.

Shibuya was crazyy.....I got out the station and there was people everywhere. He told me to meet him by the Hachiko Statue (dog) but it was hard enough finding that through all the people not sure how he was gonna find me!! My mobile wasn't working out there so made it that much more difficult. I was there a little early so I went for a wonder. It was like pic circus but so many more lights. They have the first crossing which is like the one in oxford circus but much bigger. You just kind of get pushed in a direction...not necessarily where you want to go lol. Im sure there was a nack to it :) Believe me london is not busy lol

They did manage to find me and we went first to a stand up sushi bar. I'd never had sushi before so was all new to me :) His girlfriend spoke Japanese which is always handy as she did most of the ordering. I didn't have totally raw fish...it was partly cooked and that's how I liked it :). They then took me to a ramen/noodle bar. You ordered your food in a machine outside and then went inside to be seated and get your food. Was all strange to me :) The last place for the night was the Park Hyatt hotel bar.....where Lost in Translation was filmed. I've never seen it but the bar was really nice and had amazing views of the city. Just seeing it all lit up was amazing.

12th December 2010

I had my tour booked today....Panoramic Tokyo :) Was looking forward to it but had to be up mega early so I could get to the pick up point. I had asked my friend how to get there last night so wasn't too much of an issue. Hamamatsucho bus station was where the tour started.

It took me to all the main spots and was definatly worth doing:

(1) Meiji Jingu Shrine - where I got to see a proper Japanese Wedding. Was so cool.

(2) Imperial Palace East Gardens - they were beautiful but can imagine they would be even nicer in the summer when all the flowers had blossomed.

(3) Asakusa Kannon Temple & Nakamise Shopping Arcade - Best place for shopping for souvenirs. Really packed on a weekend so best to go on a weekday when its a a bit quieter. Got to see a dragon dance at the temple too :).

(4) Drive through Ginza - This is where all the designer shops are. Like Bond Street but 100 times bigger!!!

(5) Tokyo Bay Cruise - Small cruise under the rainbow bridge.

(6) Odaiba - Could see the rainbow bridge/statue of liberty (I knoww wrong country but it was there lol)/tokyo tower from here. Was beautiful when it was lit up. Literally looked like a rainbow. :)

Initially the tour started off a bit boring cause no one was talking to each other. I tired but nothing!! Then people got a bit better so the rest of the day was more fun. Definatly recommend it if your there. Gives you an idea of where you want to go back to.

I was meeting my friends again that evening so I went for a bit of a wonder before I met them. We went to a Yakitori restaurant in Roppongi and went for the set menu. The food just kept coming. There was sooo much we were so stuffed. Was a proper Japanese style table too :D They actually forgot to give us one or two dishes which was good lol. Dessert was pumpkin ice cream with salt on top. Sounds really strange but was really nice :)

13th December 2010

The rain had kicked in today and was coming down hard :(. I didn't want to spend the day indoors so I had to just wrap up and head out!! I wanted to go back to Nakamise Shopping Arcade in Asakusa to get some souvenirs so I headed there. Even after all the food the night before I was starving and not the best thing to do but I went to Mc'Ds :( I just couldn't be asked to find a restaurant which spoke english let alone me figure out what I could eat lol. It was a one off. I was allowed :p

The shopping arcade was much quieter today!! So mush easier to shop...it's outdoors though so wasn't much fun in the rain. Took me a while to shop lol so I kinda killed most of the day!! I went to some other areas to have a bit of a walk around too but I was kinda shattered. Any stop you get off at in Tokyo on that circle line (Yamanote line) you'll find stuff to do....mainly shops but you wouldn't ever get bored.

We went to a small restaurant for dinner but wasn't a late night or anything. Headed back a bit early so I was ready for my last day in Tokyo :(

14th December 2010

Few more places to check out before I head back home!! Another rainy day but not as bad as yesterday which was good :) I headed for Ginza first today. Not that I'd be able to afford anything but just had a bit of a look around. A lot of designer shops and big department stores. Was very cool and a dream for the rich person (seems like everyone there is hehe).

I then went to Takes***a Street in Harajuku. This street is another crazy street. Full of youngsters and random shops with costumes and all kinds of stuff. Was worth a look. Didn't buy anything....don't think you'd find me wearing any of that stuff in this country lol. Seem to be very popular with them though!!

From there I just took a walk back to Shibuya where I was meeting my friends. We went to this restaurant where they do Japanese tapas. Was a really nice place :) I should write the place names down but I didn't :( If you get a good table you can watch the making the food in front of you. Great atmosphere. They then took me to a place called Donkey hotel (not a hotel at all!!). This is actually a department store which sells everythinggggg. Anything you can think of they have.....it's all really randomly laid out but they have food, toiletries, fancy dress, normal clothes, tools etc. Your probably thinking its like another supermarket but you have to go there to know what I mean lol.

Well that was it....my last nite there. I said my goodbyes :( and headed back to the hotel. This time tomorrow I'd be back in London!!