Back to the bright lights…..

We got rid of the van today. I wasn’t overly disappointed, it had served it’s purpose. We had decided to finish our last few days in Tokyo at a hotel. It worked out more reasonable than parking up on the outskirts and traveling in.

The camper people gave us a lift back to Narita Station. He was from Poznan, in Poland. He was really surprised that we knew where it was and had been on holiday there. He commented that many of his Polish friends in the UK are now seriously debating about whether to stay…. So yet again the spectre of Brexit loomed. I think he was quite touched that we liked Poland, as well as remembering the goats in the towns clock tower.

It was great traveling back to Tokyo with the prospect of having a proper base, with a shower and toilet right next to us. No pulling on clothes in the early hours to tramp to the loos. We are staying in the Comfact Hotel near Ueno Station, which is a great location for looking round. As the national holiday ends today we have been very fortunate in getting somewhere at a reasonable price.
But…… Comfact, is a mix of comfort and compactness. It doesn’t roll off the tongue, it doesn’t have a comfy sound. But it’s lovely and that is all that matters. Especially as for some inexplicable reason it has two sets of stuffed dogs on two tables in the foyer. Also yet again near a shrine, one opposite and one round the corner.

It always seems odd to be walking round the big cities in Japan where skyscrapers dominate the landscape, but then a little shrine is dotted here and there.

Despite the heat, the toilet in our room has a heated seat, haven’t found how to change it but in a perverse way it is quite comforting. Not as high tech as the loo at the michi last night, that had a function I had never seen before, the magic wand function. Another thing which I don’t know if I have mentioned is that you can change the volume and speed of the water flow. It can at times just feel like an enema. Deeply odd! Yesterday in the michi I had to buckle my sandal up and had to lean on the toilet seat. As I did this a white recorder like thing with holes slowly came out of the toilet bowl, interesting to see the ‘magic wand’ close up.

I know I have mentioned loos quite a bit but I really think the Japanese obsession with them is rubbing off on me! Toto the favourite toilet manufacturer in Japan has built a 60 million dollar museum dedicated to toilets on the island of Kita-Kyushu, such is their interest in all things linked to bathrooms. There is also a god of toilets kawaya kami, who is also a god of fertility. It links in with the past with human poo was collected for agricultural purposes. There is also a multi-million pound industry linked to teaching kanji, the Japanese characters in their writing system. Primary children need to know 1000 kanji characters before they leave to go to secondary school, Professor Poop, a poo like character helps them with the arduous task. There’s also toilet ghosts, like Akaname, aka the filth – licker who licks up poo with his long tongue. So whilst I have been taking an inordinate interest in Japanese loos I don’t think I will match the heady heights of the Japanese obsession.

The hotel has a sky lounge at the top. We ventured up but it was really windy and added to that my knees felt quite weak when I looked down. Then the wind whipped up even more and there was a deluge of rain. Don’t know if this is the tail end of the typhoon, Typhoon Krosa, they are experiencing in the south. But on the plus, the gentle breeze makes for a cooler night, so much better for sightseeing.

The view from the window makes it feel like the metropolis it is.

Despite having spent a few days here earlier in our holiday, being back is very disorientating, so far we haven’t quite got into the swing of things.

We were early to the hotel and weren’t allowed in as they were still cleaning. So we had a curry and naan (shared) round the corner. It came with a salad. When we get back to the UK I think I will just munch through salad and fruit all day everyday, as there has been a distinct lack of it in our diets thus far here.

Walking round before we could get into the room Pete got very excited to see aseismic design for earthquake proofing buildings.

I was reliably informed by my resident Geography teacher that this is an example of triangulation which is rare to see as mostly the buildings have things like special foundations that you wouldn’t see. But again it makes us realise that this is a country that is very much at the mercy of it’s position on the tectonic plates. Pete has also pointed out in detail where is best to take cover if there is an earthquake here. That’s a comfort or as they say in this hotel that’s a comfact!

The plan is to go back to some areas we probably skimmed last time and then try to also add a few new things. The Time Out guide is invaluable as it highlights free events daily, of which there are surprisingly plenty of. Also we haven’t bought any presents, so heading towards the Shimbuya area seemed a good place to start to shop properly.

There were practicalities to sort, like getting a 48 travel pass. It is really good value, 1200 yen and unlimited movement on the subway. Now before we left the hotel I did tell him that we needed our passports to be able to buy them…… Ah but what fo I know! When we got to Ueno station it took a while to find where we could buy the passes from, it wasn’t on any of the main concourses, tucked away down one of the many labyrinthic passages. The place was closing at 8 and we had managed to get there by 7.35, so good going. When we got there the man explained as it is a pass for tourists you need to prove you are a tourist by having….. A PASSPORT! So, Pete had to run all the way back to the hotel, which was now quite a distance away, then manage to find the place again. He got back at 7.58…… Phew!

Tokyo at night is like a light show, neon signs everywhere, all gigantic and vying for attention and no more so than in the Shibuya area.
We read in a guide that the best view of the famous Shibuya crossing was going up a level in a nearby Starbucks. We decided to do this without buying one of their drinks. I have been reflecting for some time that as you get older you become in some ways more invisible, like you a wearing a Harry Potter, invisibility cloak. But this invisibility is great because you can get to do things without being challenged. So up we went to Starbucks to get a better shot of the Shibuya crossing, with the safe knowledge we wouldn’t need to buy a double frappe latte with sprinkles.

It’s not quite as impressive at night, as the volumes during office hours reach the thousands. But from Starbucks we definitely got the best viewpoint.

We did some shopping,it was I think successful but can’t say what I bought, but it was good.

We visited Tower Records, a 9 storey building dedicated to all things music. Although originally linked the the American company, they became independent in the early 2000s,which was a good idea as the company went bust and the Shibuya store went on from strength to strength and is open until 11 at night.

Pete wanted his photo taken with Ed Sheeran. While traveling round Japan we seem to have come across an inordinate number of these cardboard cutout things, all of which Pete has wanted to gurn through!

While at Tower Records we promised a friend that we would take photos of any displays linked to one of her favourite bands, Kat-Tun. Obviously I had b never heard of them. But have subsequently found out they are a boy band but not much more. Sorry if I have spoilt the photos Hazel by having my mug on them!