Tokyo

The excitement began at Nagoya station as the shinkansen train rolled in ready to take us to Tokyo in 1hour 40 minutes. It feels fast. A week of blue skies had dawned hazily and I gave up on a chance at glimpsing Mount Fuji expecting it to be drowned by cloud in the distance. As we exited a tunnel I rummaged around for something in my bag and when I glanced back out of the window there it was; Fuji-San. I grabbed Mike's arm and we both stared astonished. What we'd expected to be a speck on the horizon sat majestically and gigantically in our vision for the next ten minutes. I couldn't really believe I was seeing it having been told how rare it was to catch a view. There was no doubting it though and I had time to snap away. None of the pictures capture how close it appeared or how breathtakingly important it felt to be in its presence. 

Like London Tokyo is hard to classify as one city, where you go depends on what you get. Our hotel was a towering skyscraper in the Asakusa area. Famous for the newest and oldest landmarks of Japan; the Tokyo sky tree and Sensoji Temple. Our view from the 23rd floor was terrifying and stunning in about equal measure. 

We tried to get around as much of the city as possible but are little feet were not playing the game and are feeling as if I made them run the circumference of Tokyo shoe-less! We spent the first afternoon strolling around Asakusa's rather strange mix of shops and restaurants. Some areas felt decidedly seedy and yet there were the big tourist sights just metres away. 


The next day we went to Harajuku-my desired destination. It was great in the morning, strolling around the shops and watching all the crazy, cheap fashions. But by afternoon you were just part of one big crowd. We glimpsed the big, designer streets but turned our backs on Dior and Channel in favour of a tiny terrace serving the best cheese burgers and chips from a silver caravan. 

That afternoon took us to Akihabara where the neon lights and tinny music of Electronic Town were overwhelming. Girls in maids costumes handed out flyers for their cafes on every corner and the sensation of unreality became disjointing. We sought refuge in a small cafe but were still assailed by repetitive retro gaming soundtracks from the open door. We took refuge back in the safety of our twenty three floors and enjoyed the classic Tokyo view.


Today we set off for Ochanomizu to search for guitars. We found a whole street of them hanging shinily from walls like heavily ripe orchards but none was perfect so we escaped without purchase. We found a building with three floors of restaurants next to Akiharbara station and ate korean bbq which was really tasty before heading back to take the Shinkansen home.