Monthly Archives: June 2014

Coincidences, Strangers, and Stranger Coincidences

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I wake myself up screaming in pain. I have cramp in my left leg and I’ve just woken everyone up. Not the best start to the day. I have a shower, get dressed, then stumble to the lift. Researching cramp, Yahoo Answers tells me that I need to drink more red wine, add more salt to my diet, and eat less bananas.

At the hostel I meet a freelance journalist from Canada. Her name is Aaliya. It is her first day in Japan, so I offer to give her the tour of the area. We walk to Senso-ji where we both receive an o-mikuji fortune. Aaliya gets The Good Fortune; it says that the ‘patient will not get well soon, but will escape death.’ I hate to think what the bad fortune is like. I receive The Best Fortune.

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After a stroll around Asakusa, we take the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line to Shibuya. A short walk from the station and we arrive at the famous Shibuya Crossing. There are three massive television screens mounted on buildings, they only show advertisements. We decide to go into the Starbucks Coffee shop for a better view of the crossing. I later find out that this is the busiest Starbucks Coffee shop in the world.

Overall, I find Shibuya Crossing to be quite underwhelming. It is literally people crossing a road. How this became a famous tourist attraction, I have no idea. After we take photographs of people crossing a road, we walk around Shibuya for a while. We notice a neon sign saying ‘CAT’ and decide to check it out. It is, of course, a cat cafe; a place where you have a cup of tea surrounded by cats. Unfortunately, they only allow two people in at once for thirty minutes at a time; there are two people already waiting, so we decide to leave.

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After a walk around Shibuya, we change to the Yamanote Line and head to Akihabara. Here we get some food. Tempura again today, two prawns, squid, sand borer, and scallop served on rice with seaweed. ¥1280 with a pint of beer. After a look around a few of the shops in Akihabara, we head back on the train and return to the hostel.

Radiohead are playing on the speakers in the hostel lounge. There is also a film crew here interviewing people for Japanese channel TV Tokyo. I hang out in the lounge with a couple of the hostel staff who have just finished their shift for the day. One of the staff members recommends that I check out the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku, another recommends I eat at an Alcatraz themed restaurant. I note both down as options for another day.

I hang out for a while longer with one of the guys that works here; he is genuinely hilarious and I can see myself becoming good friends with him. We joke about forming a Japanese manzai act together; a style of traditional comedy here in Japan involving two performers. He says that if I want to I can work at the hostel for three hours a day, cleaning, in exchange for a free room. A lot of backpackers do this, apparently.

After a light snack of salmon teriyaki, I head out to an izakaya pub with Aaliya and two of her friends from the hostel, James and Matt. Here we drink for a while, sitting outside and enjoying the warm evening and a light breeze. Eventually the three of them head back to the hostel; they have to be up at 3 a.m. to catch a taxi to the Tsukiji fish market. I decline the invitation to join them; I will be not be getting up that early.

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I wander alone around Asakusa at night, taking my time, taking photographs and taking in the neon lights. When I get back to the hostel, I grab a beer in the lounge. I hear a man talking about Shane Carruth, director of Primer and Upstream Color. I am surprised to hear his name. I join the conversation and it transpires that we have both read Shane Carruth’s script for his abandoned project, A Topiary.

The man says that another director he really likes is Zal Batmanglij, I am also a huge fan. I find it very odd. The conversation naturally turns to Brit Marling and Mike Cahill, and the coincidences continue. This is probably only interesting to me, but it seems that all of my favourite people, artists, authors, and musicians keep being mentioned. I didn’t say so in my blog a few nights ago, but the Irish guy staying in my hostel room, his favourite author was the same as mine, Iain Banks. He was also reading a different book by the same author as me, Haruki Murakami. I find it all very strange.

I stay in the hostel lounge and spend the rest of the night drinking with some random people. Two of which are from England. There is talk of a group karaoke trip tomorrow, which I really hope goes ahead. The rest of the night becomes a bit of a blur, and I retire to my room just before 3 a.m. Meanwhile, the others wake up to visit the fish market.

One Zoo Over; the Panda Impressed

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Today I once again decide to stay within the boundary of Taito Ward. Taito is where I am technically living. It is one of the 23 municipalities in Tokyo. It is home to five districts, one being Asakusa and another being Ueno; where I will be heading to this morning. Since arriving in Asakusa I have only ventured out of Taito Ward once, which was yesterday’s trip to the other side of the Sumida River.

I set off from my hostel about 9 a.m. It is 33°C today in Asakusa, and I am incredibly thankful that every building in Japan is heavily air‐conditioned. I start walking, remaining on the same road for ten minutes, before arriving at Ueno. A short stroll later and I am near the entrance to Ueno Park.

The park is home to the Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Nature and Science, both closed at the moment; probably because it is Sunday morning. Ueno Park is also home to many temples, statues, art galleries, and a concert hall. I hear a crowd in the distance and decide to see what’s happening. Deeper into the park I walk, until I find the source of the noise, a baseball field. Baseball is a very popular sport in Japan, and a crowd of about forty people gather here to watch what is probably some amateurs practicing. After watching for about ten minutes, I decide to check out the Shinto shrine, Tosho-gu.

Another thing that Ueno Park is famous for is Ueno Zoo. I arrive at the entrance and am surprised to find it is open. I use the automatic ticket machine, with its English option, pay the bargain price of ¥600, and enter the zoo. The zoo is home to many animals, including the Asian elephant, the hippo, toucans, kangaroos, pelicans, puffins, flamingos, crocodiles, the reticulated giraffe, the red panda, and of course the two giant pandas, Siennyu and Shinshin. Unfortunately, the giant pandas are inside an annoyingly reflective glass enclosure making it very difficult to get a good photograph. This one was my favourite:

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After the zoo, I walk back to the hostel and rest for a while. I caught the sun quite badly and my face is a little red with sunburn. Eventually it is time to head out to get some food.

It’s lunch time in Japan, and most of the restaurants are very busy. I have a desire to eat fish today so take a while wandering around until I see a restaurant with plastic models of sushi and sashimi bowls outside.

The cool air conditioned restaurant is very busy and I am seated opposite a Japanese man. I order a big bottle (660ml) of Asahi, costing ¥550. It is served in the smallest glass I have ever seen; so small in fact, that I probably had to refill the glass no fewer than ten times during my meal. Browsing the menu I notice the restaurant also offers my favourite Japanese whisky, Hibiki. They offer both the 17 year old and the 21 year old for ¥700, much cheaper then back home. I order the tuna sashimi rice bowl set, served with a tofu based Miso soup, Daikon and seaweed. It is delicious. The tuna some of the freshest I have ever had. The food is ¥1550, making the total cost of the meal, a very good value for money ¥2100.

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On the way back from the restaurant I take a detour through the market streets of Asakusa and see yet more outdoor street performers. The first act features a man playing The Entertainer by Scott Joplin on a keyboard, as a male and female clown play musical chairs. There is no dialogue, just over exaggerated hand gestures and some convincing facial expressions. The duo of clowns eventually invite a woman from the audience to play musical chairs with them. The audience member wins the game, after a large amount of clowning about. The acts finish, pass around their hats, and move aside to let a second act set up.

The second act is a female balloon artist, tap dancer, and comedian. Again, much like the first act there is no dialogue. She is being filmed by two people with professional looking cameras. After making some balloon animals and flowers and doing pranks on the children of the audience, she randomly brings out some bright and colourful boards and starts to tap dance. She then starts doing tricks with her hat; she starts by rolling it down her back, then catching it. Tossing it over her body, catching it with her foot, before flipping it back up into the air, where she catches it in her hand. Next she rolls it up her arm and flips it back into the air before catching it on her head. It is actually very impressive.

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After she is finished, and her hat is passed around, the camera people leave, the performers leave and the crowd disperses. I decide to go for a few beers in the English bar next to the hostel. Here I end up talking to a Japanese man. He asks me where I am from, and I tell him England. “You know Oasis and The Beatles?” He asks. I tell him I don’t like Oasis. The very next thing he asks me is, “Do you know Radiohead?” After about an hour of talking about Radiohead, the Japanese man has to go.

Next an attractive Japanese lady comes into the bar and sits next to me. She is thirty years old and spent 7 years in England as a child. Her accent is incredible. She goes from sounding like a Japanese person speaking English, then her accent randomly changes into a posh sounding London accent, just for the odd sentence or word. After a few beers and a decent conversation, I decide it is time for me to sleep. I ask to pay my bill, which should have been ¥2320, but I am only asked to pay ¥1000. I have no idea who, if anyone has paid for any of my beer tonight. I don’t argue, pay my ¥1000, say goodbye to everyone, and leave.

Penguins, the Universe and Everything Else

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Once again it is very hot. The hottest day so far this year in Tokyo. A stroll along the Sumida River and into the city of Sumida signals the start of my Saturday. I start by heading towards the tallest tower in the world. Eventually I arrive at the base of Tokyo Skytree; here is an area known as Tokyo Skytree Town. It is full of souvenir shops and restaurants. There are plenty of tourists here today; 9 days ago was the two year anniversary of Skytree’s completion, and it seems the celebrations are still going on.

My initial plan today was to head to the top of Skytree and take some incredible photographs of Tokyo from the observation deck, but instead I see a sign for the Sumida Penguin Aquarium and my interest is piqued. I walk up to the ticket booth. “How many people?” I am asked by the lady at the counter. I make a deliberate point of looking over my own shoulder and around into the deserted space behind me, before indicting that it will be just one. I hand over my ¥2050 and enter the aquarium.

The first level of the aquarium is dedicated to living aquascapes, a word I heard for the first time yesterday, and will no doubt hear again tomorrow. The aquarium is quite small but does have some interesting things to see, most notable are the jellyfish and sharks. The highlight for me, however, is the aptly named ‘Animals Enjoying Water’ section. This is home to fur seals and loads of penguins. They seem to be enjoying the water.

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After leaving the aquarium and deciding that half an hour is too long a time to be queueing for Skytree, I decide to check out Sumida Park. I don’t make it to the park though, as along the way I am randomly stopped by a Japanese lady who hands me a flyer and says, “Would you like to come and see our Temple?” I accept her offer and she guides me across the road to the Temple.

The Temple is home to a branch of Nichiren Buddhism called, Shoshu Buddhism. I am invited to sit down in front of a beautiful alter, but unfortunately I’m not allowed to take photographs inside the Temple. Three more people join us, one man and two women. One of the women speaks very good English, and so we sit and she tells me the story and history of how this branch of Buddhism began and what it means.

Next I am given prayer beads to wear across my hands and invited to chant with them. “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo,” repeat three times. After we chant, I sit for a while longer discussing their beliefs. They ask me if I would come to their Buddhist ceremony in eight days time at the Temple. I accept their invitation and we chant one more time before leaving the temple and saying our goodbyes.

On the way back to the hostel I see a blindfolded street juggler. He manages six balls at once and gets quite the applause from the large crowd that has gathered around. Then I see a man on stilts dressed as a dragon, but with a white painted face and a terrifying smile. Finally I see a woman in a bright red suit and matching hat, she is wandering around one of the many markets playing the accordion and being photographed by just about everyone.

My intrigue leads me to the sound of a beating drum, and I soon arrive at a random pole lantern festival in the middle of a crowded street. The performers here balance massive 12 metre tall lantern poles on their palms, foreheads and backs; while other participants hit drums, play flutes and get the audience to clap and sing chants of encouragement. These lanterns are usually lit with candles, but it is the middle of the day, so perhaps this is just a practice for a performance later tonight.

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After the festival has finished and the performers have left, I head back to the hostel for a beer and a short rest.

A few beers later and I need food. I think about risking the hot food vending machine, but it only sells ‘Casual Hot Foods.’ Instead I head back out into the burning hot streets of Asakusa, and take the ten minute walk to a one Michelin starred sushi restaurant. It is closed. I think about waiting for two hours for it to open, instead, I decide that I will come back here another day, and to see what else is in this area.

The next street from the restaurant features a market selling plants and shrubberies. The market is huge and spans far off into the distance. There are even people in uniforms specifically here to direct the traffic. There are not many restaurants though, so I head back towards the middle of Asakusa, and I am so glad that I did.

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I get to see this guy. A random mime promoting Pantomime Week here in Tokyo. His show is in Japanese, but is easy to understand as it is mostly body language. I stay and watch the whole fifteen minute show and find it hilariously funny. After he is done, I throw some money in his hat before heading off to finally get food.

I decide on a little Italian restaurant. I know it isn’t Japanese food and I’m not in Rome, but I am longing for something familiar after a crazy few days. I decide on a tuna, eggplant, and oregano pizza. It costs ¥1450, and tastes somewhat average. The restaurant also sells small bottles of Asahi for ¥600, which is far too expensive. After food I head back to the hostel to sleep off a very busy day.