I'm really enjoying myself so far, probably more than I expected to be honest. My first day in Tokyo proper was mostly spent around the Asakusa area, where the hostel was located. I wandered out with some others from the hostel but didn't see much so I had an early night.
The next day, though - oh boy. After grabbing some breakfast, I wandered back up to the big temple in Asakusa to look at it properly. I don't exactly know what was going on there, I'll have to do a spot of reading up on the place when I get some time! The shopping arcade was very pretty - lined with fake cherry blossoms - but most of the stuff on sale seemed to be touristy souvenir things.
Next I caught the train into Akihabara, the electronics district. I have to admit, although it was pretty cool (many, many shops lined up - almost all multiple levels), most of the stuff for sale was a bit... ordinary? Some of it reminded me of the markets in Sydney.
Shibuya was my next stop - wow, this place was phenomenal! This is where the classic neon Tokyo image comes from: the big traffic intersection with lights, signs and moving billboards. It's an assault on the senses and I loved it.
I wandered around here for a couple of hours just admiring it all. The streets are so clean, there are so many shops and restaurants and people and cars - it was so enjoyable just to wander around, ducking into different shops. I'll admit, I was on a CD hunt, but I also came across this MASSIVE instrument shop that had hundreds and hundreds of guitars - I just wanted to pick them up and play (I'm really missing my guitar right now).
I'd been told by one of the girls I met the previous day I should head up the big tower in Yokohama so I can see the city sprawl from up high, but another guy at the hostel told me I should do it at Shinjuku as I should be able to see Mt. Fuji from there - so that was my next stop. I wandered around looking for an observation tower but couldn't figure out where to go, so I picked a nice tall-looking building and asked the girl at the front desk if I could go up top and peer out. She seemed okay with it, so peer I did.
It was one hell of a view - Tokyo literally goes on as far as you can see, all around. This comes at a price, though: pollution. In the end I didn't get to see Mt. Fuji because the not-so-distant horizon was obscured by a thick dirty cloud of smog. It made the sunset quite impressive, though!
Planning has never been my strong point (ask any of my friends, family, ex-girlfriends, people on the street, etc.) and, sadly, my lack of foresight really bit me in the bum today. After I'd booked all my accommodation and flights, only then did I find out about the cosplay that goes on in Harajuku on Sundays.
If you don't know what this is, basically lots and lots and lots of girls and guys get dressed up in all sorts of weird and magnificent costumes and parade around the big park, playing up to the onlookers and posing for pictures. The idea of getting a look at dozens and dozens of sexy young japanese girls in skimpy outfits fills me with all sorts of feelings, so the fact that I'm going to be in Kyoto when this is all going on has bummed me out a little. Just something else to look forward to next time, I guess.
Nevertheless, I decided to stop off and have a quick look through Harajuku anyway - but not for very long. I wandered down one arcade that was lined with clothes shops (some of which made me wish for an adventurous girl to try them on for me - don't judge me, you'd think the same if you saw this stuff!), but it was getting dark and I wanted to head back to Shibuya to see the place lit up at night.
Back on the train and back in Shibuya, by now it was dark and I saw everything lit up. If you've ever seen Blade Runner, you know what I'm talking about when I say the entire place was alive with people and light. I was there for about 30 minutes and, I kid you not, not once did the steady stream of people ever let up or thin out. There are so many people this place!
I needed to change trains at Akihabara in order to get back to the hostel, so I thought I'd stop by and have a look at the lights here too. It was good, but Shibuya was just so dazzling that anything else loses its lustre, really.
Anyway, after being on my feet for a good eight or nine hours, I was very glad for a seat and to take my shoes off! After an hour or two sitting on the nice comfy lounge, this nice French guy staying at the hostel and I wandered down the road to a bar and proceeded to chat and get drunk until 1am. Which would have been okay except I needed to take an early train to move on to Kyoto...
Which is where I am now. I went for a bit of an exploratory wander through the city this afternoon (if Tokyo reminded me of Sydney, Kyoto definitely reminds me of Melbourne!) but I thought I might take it easy tonight as I have a huge day ahead of me tomorrow.
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