Rambling in Japan and Cruising Across the Pacific 2005

Tokyo - Wednesday

We woke to hear there's a new pope, a German from Munich - Joseph Ratzinger who's 78 years old and an extreme conservative. He's Benedictus XVI. I can't feel the relevance of it at all.

A cool and cloudy morning and we noticed the locals all carrying rolled umbrellas, a clue to an anticipated change of weather. We always tote our tiny travel umbrellas so no worries and we carried on with our plans. We took the subway to Shinbashi and transferred to a new line the "Yurikamome" line. It took us across the Rainbow Bridge to Tokyo Bay; the views enroute of the skyline, the futuristic skyscrapers, and the port are spectacular even though it was all veiled by the suffocating smog. I've been feeling 'deja-vu' since arriving in Tokyo with the multi-level center-of-the-city highways criss-crossing in a tangle of concrete - it must have been the backdrop for the film "Blade Runner"

Boarding the subway at our Aoyama-Itchome station at 8:30am was something of an adventure. I've read many times of this but nothing really prepares you. The train pulled in absolutely full and we, first in line, would have waited for the next one, but the mass of flesh behind us just pushed us aboard. The metaphor "like a can of sardines" is not apt in this case - those little fish reside in comfort comparatively. We were amid an impersonal, asexual orgy of humanity - an oxymoron I suppose. There was no air space between bodies and there was no need to hold on even if you could because the surrounding mound of flesh held you in place. I'd heard that this can lead to some sexual groping but at my age obviously not a worry. I kept my hand firmly on my money belt. Just when we thought we couldn't possibly move an inch another huge push like a powerful wave, compacted us even more. Throughout all this not a word was spoken, not a grunt nor a complaint could be heard except for Fernie audibly fighting off his claustrophobia and me giggling, as usual.

Tolyo Bay / Odaiba is an entertainment complex built on reclaimed land. There are two posh hotels, the Meridien and the Nikko, the Fuji TV building - unusually designed, a Statue of Liberty knock-off, several huge shopping and dining complexes surrounded by promenades, museums, a humungous ferris wheel, a beach and miles of walking paths. Other than some packs of school children, we were the only ones there; it was dead. It makes me wonder why anyone would want to stay in the hotels there when they could be in the center of town?

We took the JR train back to Tokyo Station - love that rail pass - and found a restaurant in the vicinity where I could have my sushi and Fernie his noodles. The rain held off until after lunch and then let loose, so we dropped the idea of taking a boat tour of the harbour and river, choosing instead to go to the department stores of Ikebukuro. The food floors fascinated us once again and we sampled some 'green tea' cookies that locals were lining up for.

The rain didn't abate, so at 3 pm we went back to our hotel for an early nap and to rest our weary feet. A couple of hours later, the rain had stopped and we ventured over to Shibuya where a mass of flashing neon reflected like strobe lights in the wet pavements. Gangs of ultra fashionable youth jammed the narrow winding alleyways laughing and jostling playfully in a non-threatening manner as we shouldered our way through them. We sauntered up to "Love Hotel Hill" where small gaudy theme hotels offer rooms for 'rest' or to 'stay'. To 'rest' was often about 4000 yen while to 'stay' about 7500 yen. I would love to have seen some of the rooms which are apparently even more exotic in decor than the exterior of the hotels. Sex shops, strip shows and gentlemens' clubs share Dogen-Zaka hill.

Shibuya is on the JR Yamanote line, so we hopped aboard to Shinjuku Station which is the busiest in the world, with about two million people going through there every day. There are a mass of huge awe-inspiring skyscrapers on the west side of the station many of them government offices. But the east side with its colourful neon, shops, restaurants, theatres and clubs drew us more. It's a maze of narrow alleys with lanterns designating Japanese restaurants, flashing lights and hordes of people. There's a red-light district complete with peep shows, sex shops and more love hotels. Shinjuku was what I expected Ginza to be and it is now considered the secondary heart of the city. All in all Shinjuku is a most stimulating area. Back on the circular Yamanote route south to Ginza but it was a let down after the lights and action of Shinjuku.

We had dinner in snack breaks tonight - we shared a seafood pizza and beer in Shinjuku and took Subway sandwiches back to our hotel which we washed down with chilled sake.

posted by O'Leary @ 11:59 PM