First night in Japan….

Managed to find the hotel, the Grand Central Hotel near Kanda Station. The subway system in Tokyo is supposed to be the most complicated in the world, not only because of the number of lines but also the fact the ownership of the lines is split between different providers. Sounds like the UK only to make it easier for visitors the subway card you get covers all of them.

Looking back at this first photo I look pretty manic. Think the feeling of exhilaration had set in that we had made it had set in.

Getting from A to B took longer as I wanted to take lots of photos and so did Pete. I love the plastic replicas of the food in the windows – leaving no doubt about what you will get…..hopefully.

Peter’s tablet had broken on route so we went to Asakusa – an area known for IT. Although late everything was open and it was good to have an escape from the overwhelming heat and have some respite in the air conditioned shops. We weren’t lucky. Pete showed them the tablet hoping the screen could be repaired. Despite the incredibly politeness of the staff I am sure they found it hard to suppress their giggles at such a relic of a device.

We headed to a Korean bar. There are about 322,000 ethnic Koreans known as Zainichi in Japan. Arriving during Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea. Laws only recently changing to give permanent residency. The Zainichi have and some say still do experience discrimination. The bar was great, with photos of Marx and The Smiths etc. Some guide books tell tourists to resist going to small bars like this but it was fine.

Next to the bar was a shop that I imagined I would find in Japan. Niche and odd all wrapped up in one.

Who wouldn’t want leather crafted strawberry purses etc!

On the way back to the subway we got waylaid by a Karaoke bar. Japan is the home of karaoke so it seemed fitting. Luckily for the people of Tokyo we decided to frequent a more modern version of the karaoke bar. The older ones are places where you sing in front of everyone – in my head I would like to think that everyone in the bar would give me a standing ovation. The reality I think would be I would be doling out compensation money for bleeding ears!

Luckily the modern ones have multiple private rooms. There was the option of fancy dress – Pete fancied a leopard suit.

We booked it for 30 minutes. We belted out The Passenger, How soon is now, Gigantic, Heart of Glass and I can’t help falling in love. You get a phone call when your time is nearly up. It was actually very exciting…. Hence the stupid grins on our faces.

Going past the other rooms and hearing a few snatches of others singing I would say our attempts were poor. People here take it really seriously to the point where there sing alone ‘hitokara’ meaning one person or alone. Practising before they join a group. I am happy just to sing badly.

Next we headed to Shibuya crossing. This is supposed to be the most iconic place in Japan, likened to the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty etc. With around 2.4 million people using the Shibuya Station nearby dealing this intersection outside it becomes very busy, with between 2-3 thousand people crossing at any one point. Crossing it felt far from chaotic and typically very well organised.

The Shibuya area is really vibrant at night and is a place for ‘youngsters’ but we managed to just about pull it off.

Neon signs everywhere made the place seem even livelier.

One sign caught my eye Don Quijote, which I remembered from reading one of our many guide books was a must go to shop to visit.

Multiple floors piled high with all sorts in every corner of the shop meant we spent quite a bit of time browsing. From the sublime to the ridiculous literally. The lobster hat was particularly fetching but by far not the oddest thing on sale.

The roll up piano was a hit…. Although possibly I shouldn’t have played the funeral march.

Strange flavoured kit kats – whatever next!

But the Japanese packaging is far more eye catching.

Some things I would try but others I couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to. Crunchy baby crabs????

Down in the basement food Hall was also an eye opener with eye watering prices for melons.

Around 30 quid for a melon and I am not certain if that is per kilo. Fruit including melons are considered a luxury item in Japan with prices going up to £20,000. Melons form part of Japan’s gift giving culture so the price tag matters as it reflects what you think of the recipient. I wonder what the students think about how cheap they are when they visit our local Tesco.

After this is finally felt cool enough to eat. You can’t visit Japan and certainly not the Shibuya area without tasting the national dish, ramen. We found ‘cheap’ looking place with lots of locals, which is always a good sign. Ordered two lots of spring onion ramen which looked beautiful and tasted even better!

So my attempt to use chopsticks, despite a bit of practice still did not come up to muster. The bemused owner smiled as he handed me…

A FORK!!

Pete was better than me. He looked like a seasoned pro.

There are 24,000 ramen cafes across Japan so I guess we will have more practice!