A taste of Tokyo

"Please discover your own Tokyo and take it home with you as a precious souvenir," said the tourist brochure we picked up at our 84-bed mixed dorm capsule hostel in Akebonobashi. It was New Year's Eve and we were a Irish lass, a Scotswoman and a South African. We had no idea what Tokyo had in store for us. It proved to be a highly entertaining trip of many a fall, fail and fantastic discovery.

Japan, and especially Tokyo, is a very expensive place. Before departing, we'd decided to "see" rather than to "eat". Marian, the Irish lass and our resident Japan expert, stressed, however, that we needed to try one specific dish called okonomiyaki; a Japanese savoury pancake containing various ingredients. With our main goal in mind, we drank a highly classy can of beer in the departure lounge and hopped on an airplane with the least amount of seating space in the world.

Day 1:
We arrived in Tokyo on New Year's Eve, which was of course very exciting; the idea of bringing in the new year in a foreign land. It had to be better than the overrated, try-and-glue-your-eyes-open-'til-midnight New Year's experiences we've all had in the past. The hilarity started early on when Kerry, the sober Scotswoman, fell and rolled four times across the road parallel to our hostel, leaving bottles of Sprite in her wake.
And it got better because as soon as we had arrived in our 84-bed mixed dormitory, we made a few new friends; some Australians passing through Tokyo on the way to the ski slopes. With them, we headed to Shibuya, an area which is famous for its "scramble crossing". It is located right in front of Shibuya Station and it stops vehicles from all directions to allow pedestrians to take over the entire intersection. What did we do when the clock struck twelve? We followed the rest of the thousands and crossed the intersection several times; it was a sea of people running, skipping, New Year's kissing and bumping into policemen. It was just so much fun. We also gave numerous hugs and had photos with many a Japanese person. It was an apt start to our Tokyo adventure, some would say it was the best New Year's Eve to date.

Needless to say, we did not eat okonomiyaki on our first day. Instead, we brought in 2013 with what I thought, at the time, was the best pizza I'd ever tasted.

Happy New Year from a Scotswoman, a South African and an Irish lass!

Shibuya's "scramble intersection" on New Year's Eve. 

Japanese love and New Year's wishes.

Day 2: 

The start of 2013 did not impress all of us as much as we'd hoped. Eventually, the Irish lass, the Scotswoman, the South African and the Australians managed to head out to explore the sights and sounds of Tokyo city. Not long after leaving the hostel, we were crossing a rather intimidating main road, when we heard some hooting and shouting. The man on a scooter was pointing to something on the road behind us. It was none other than Marian's cellular device in the middle of the pedestrian crossing. 

After the fortunate rescue of the phone, we headed to Shinguku to purchase a One Day Tokunai Pass which would allow us to travel to all the tourist spots by train. Yoyogi Park, open from dawn to dusk, is beautiful and one of the few open spaces for people to meet. We came across much street food here and we even saw okonomiyaki for sale but we decided to save it as a treat for another day.

The line for Tokyo Tower was particularly long being New Year's Day. We made the decision to climb the stairs, one I still regret, as our layers of winter clothing came quickly off and we arrived, sweaty messes, at the top of the 150 metre climb to a most average daytime view and a very full, stuffy room. We also managed a brief walk through the famous Harajuku shopping street, catching a glimpse of a few women dressed in "lolita" fashion (a Japanese subculture fashion based on Victorian-era clothing).

New friends.

Marian and I at Tokyo Tower.

Day 3:

Our third day took us to a new hostel in a more cultural part of the city, Asakusa. Before heading to see the sights, we stopped at a small vending machine restaurant. We were particularly fond of these establishments as we could look at the picture, see the price and simply buy a ticket to hand into the kitchen. Absolutely no Japanese language necessary. Each meal tray came with noodles in soup as a side dish. There was little space on Level 1 of the restaurant and so we traipsed up the windy stairs to Level 2. Marian was the last of us to get her meal. I could hear her behind me saying, "I am so proud of myself. I haven't tripped." Well, she didn't trip until the very last step. The noodles and soup went flying all over the floor. I stand to be corrected but I believe the staff member who had to mop up her mess was the only really unfriendly/unhappy Japanese person we came across on our trip.

We spent a good long time in line to see Sensoji, an magnificent, ancient Buddhist temple. In fact, it is the oldest in Tokyo and today, one of the most significant.  It was particularly busy because it was still the New Year's holidays but it was worth the wait to see.

Sensoji Temple.

The crowds of Japanese and tourists alike waiting to visit Sensoji Temple. 

Asakusa also offers a great view of the Tokyo Skytree the tallest tower in the world, and is home to one of Tokyo's most recognisable modern structures; Asahi Breweries headquarters (the famous Japanese beer brand). The building boasts a giant golden flame. We all thought it looked more like a root vegetable.

Tokyo Skytree and Asahi Breweries.

In the late afternoon, we ventured to Akihabara district to wander around Electric City and the plethora of adult shops very much in open sight.

We were desperate to try okonimiyaki for dinner but had to settle for a delicious Japanese curry instead for lack of available restaurants serving it.

Day 4:
We arrived at the very well-known Tsukijishijo, home to Tsukiji fish market, just in time for a lunch of the best sushi any of us had tasted. The market is the biggest wholesale seafood and fish market in the world. Many tourists flock there to see the tuna auctions, held in the early morning. Sadly, because of the time of the year, the market was not open to the public while we were there.

The best and freshest sushi in the world served right here.

Tsujiki Market.

After our rather disappointing experience at Tokyo Tower, we headed to Roppongi, a district famous for the rich Roppongi Hills area and an active night scene. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower offers a brilliant view from the Sky Deck, far better and higher up than Tokyo Tower.

The view from Roppongi Hills Sky Deck.

A highlight was the Mori Art Museum, where Aida Makota's artworks are being exhibited. The museum brochure hails him as "one of the most noted contemporary artists in Japan today". Although much of his art is "grotesque and erotic in style, Aida's work displays an incisive critical faculty when it comes to political and historical issues" (Mori Art Museum brochure). From my very short time in Tokyo, it seems he projects much of modern Japanese society, a chaotic clash between the conservative and the 'out-there' sides of Japanese culture.

No time to even look for okonimiyaki on this day.

Day 5:
Our last day was reserved for the big trip to Fugi-Q amusement park. The Irish lass and the Scotswoman really wanted to go to the scariest haunted hospital in the world. The South African was a little hesitant and rightly so. It was frightening and it was also, sadly, the better part of the day. From then on, it went steadily downhill. We stood in a mightily long queue for two hours and fifteen minutes to participate in a Fortress challenge, only to be kicked out after 5 minutes because we didn't pass the first stage. Never mind that everything was in Japanese! The amusement park food was awful and the beer even worse. The day's saving grace was the first-class view of a snowy Mt Fuji from the park's grounds.

Mt Fuji.

We were flying very early morning, so had planned to spend the night in Narita Airport. Upon our 9pm arrival, however, we were told that Narita (an international airport for one of the busiest and biggest cities in the world) is not a 24 hour airport and no shops or restaurants were open. It seemed our dreams of an okonimiyaki last meal were lost forever. We promptly turned back and slouched on another train ride to find a hotel; our most expensive accommodation for the shortest number of hours. We found a McDonald's at 11pm and returned to the hotel to bring in midnight with mini bottles of wine, which Marian and Kerry had kindly birthday-surprised me with. 

The same Tokyo tourist brochure (which we collected at our 84-bed mixed dorm capsule hostel on the first day) also offered insight about the people of Japan which was immediately evident upon arrival: "Japan has a culture of hospitality. Offering fine service and showing consideration allow guests to enjoy safe and comfortable trip. There is neither showiness not intrusiveness; only thoughtfulness that makes guests thankful." If you have the money to make the trip, I cannot recommend Tokyo enough. The people are hospitable, the streets and buildings clean and the entertainment plentiful.

We arrived back in Pohang exhausted, no okonimiyaki eaten and a host of terrific memories; our own Tokyo discovered and a "precious souvenir" brought home.