Culture Shock

Ok, so it's 1 sleep till take off! It seems that I have gotten used to town living in Hervey Bay as coming to Brisbane even feels like a fast pace of life. So, I'm dreading what I'm going to feel like when I hit Tokyo.

So, everything was going really well. The flight was smooth; customs fine; luggage; train. Then I get to Shinjuku Station, and I'm like it`s fine I have a printout that I hastily did before my last trip to Brisbane. Sooo, it`s in Japanese and I have no idea which side my little route line leaves the station, and no one speaks English (Weird! Given I'm in a different country ha) and strangely enough, everything is written in Japanese. This is what greets me!



Anyhow, I decide that hailing a cab and seeing if they can read my shitty map and get me to where I needed to be, and luckily he could. So we drive for a little bit, and the place is becoming more and more bright with neon signage and a buzz of people everywhere. Here are some pics to see what I was getting into...


and then the taxi drops you off...
It was a strange sensation of not being worried but knowing you really should be. It was like a kind of numb calm... I`d liken it to the calm before dying you hear about so often. So, I'm dropped off, and he just points to a side alley and then lets me out. I wander around aimlessly trying very hard to match up the geometry of my map to my surroundings (it didn't work). Thank god for a random Brit seeing me confused, and he pointed literally right in front of us and said up the elevator. If it was not for him. I seriously would not have found it. See if you can spot it... Yup in there amongst all that neon

Ok, well after checking in (Fella spoke English, which made things easier), I decided to go and get something to eat from the in-house restaurant. But as I entered, I realise everyone is in a Kimono. I order a meal, but am not sure what it is, just that I am certain it has chicken. I head back and I change into the kimono (not wanting to stand out) like that is going to trick them ha! I eat the meal which turns out better than I had thought. I start thinking that I`m doing ok with the first time out of the country. But this crumbles that night when it hits me hard where I am, and how I failed at being able to do anything when I came out of the station, getting there by just luck really. This realisation I'm in a different country knowing only two words of the native tongue and definitely not able to read any... it was not a good night!

Here are some pics of the capsule.

Well, it seems places don`t look as daunting in the day as they do at night and I`d say for the busiest area of Tokyo, this could be more so than most! And over the last three days I have become more familiar with the way things are laid out and done. I have ridden the train system; bathed in the public baths; walked the parks; seen the shrines and other assorted sites. The capsules themselves are not bad once you're used to the routine. The 10am checkout can be annoying, as every day you have to check out, then check back in at 2pm. I only realised on the last day that I could have been leaving bags in my locker... gah! Another thing I learned on the last day was how to change channels (the band knob) up until then it was stuck on porn as a default, lol. I'm glad to be leaving Shinjuku though. As exciting as it is, without knowing the language, it's a bit full-on. Plus, I got hassled on my way into the hotel last night by an English-speaking guy by making the mistake of him wanting to chat, but he just wanted me to go into a bar, which I'm sure as soon as I get in would result in me losing all my money or some other scam.

I also visited Shibuya Crossing the other night. It is supposed to be the busiest intersection in the world from what I'm told. So where else would I bump into the only person I know in Japan?!?! The guy I sat next to on the plane and had a brief conversation with of course! He comes up and taps me on the shoulder in the intersection... uncanny! I have a lot of photos of everything, but my gear is not talking to each other

Now I'm in Taito, eastern Tokyo. It is amazing how much can change from just going across the city. It's a much more relaxed pace here and the shops and layout seem to make more sense. There are, from what I saw, almost endless permanent market-style lanes/corridors full of all kinds of things (I found Katanas! Also tracked down the sword museum but it was closed till the start of Jan, I was gutted) Japanese. The hostel seems clean and it has free wifi, which works for me!! I'm finding it quite strange being around non-Japanese as I seemed to of quickly climatised to the quiet laid-back atmosphere of Japanese businessmen, and now I have boisterous travellers.

So tomorrow will involve Akihabara (Tech/Gadget mecca), Asahi Breweries, and Tokyo national museum. Let's hope I can get a cheap netbook with English software

Here are some new pics of Shinjuku, Tokyo