東京

Tokyo

The nation’s capital. This crazy town is home to 12 million, and the metropolitan area houses more than 35 million people! We went down for the weekend – the 160 odd km trip takes only about 90 minutes by shinkansen (bullet train).

People are crammed into Tokyo, but it also covers a massive area. The place is H U G E, and the subway map is freaky and intimidating.

On Saturday, after wandering around Ueno park, and observing some of the homeless guys that most Japanese people will tell you don’t exist, we went to Harajuku – a funky place that kinda reminds me of Camden markets in the UK, but with a little less of the gothic look and a bit more self-conscious style. Right nearby is the Meiji shrine with a tall torii gate at its entrance. We didn’t go in, but it looks amazing.

That night we stumbled around looking for somewhere to drink in Roppongi – supposedly a foreigners area – and failed. It didn’t seem to have much appeal to us. We headed back to Shibuya, and found a bar, where they told us that we could come in, but only if we stayed for a minimum of two hours, in a small room that was something like a broom closet. We agreed, and then found out that we were also required to order food, and had to pay a table charge. Despite this, it was quite an atmospheric place.

We stayed the night at a capsule hotel. This weird, Japanese invention is primarily intended for salarymen who stay out too late and miss the last train home. You dump all your stuff in a locker and after having a communal bath, you sleep in a “capsule”, which is essentially a coffin sized plastic box with a mattress in it. Its also equipped with a TV, radio and a handy blind that you can pull down to give you a little privacy from your neighbours. It was an interesting experience, but I think I’d be fine if I never stayed in another capsule hotel again.

On Sunday, after visiting Akihabara (“electric town”) with its thousands of electrical shops, I headed to the Imperial Palace gardens. It was such a beautiful day, and the open space was fantastic after the crush of the crowds. It probably seems strange to visit the world's largest metropolis from a country town and then spend time in a park, but even in Shirakawa, with its open spaces, there are very few parks.

Watch out Tokyo - I'll be back...