What’s to do in Melbourne?

Every time someone comes to visit Melbourne, they ask this question… and then you’re left scrambling, trying to think of things off the top of your head. So this is a laundry list for my own benefit, but may be useful to you too :P

Inner City:

Suburbs:

Outer / Day Trips:

25.May.09 Holiday Comments (0) 

The Japan Adventure.. Part 6

Tuesday, 10th March

Last night I set my alarm, so I woke up early enough to eat breakfast today. After eating and doing some web browsing (multitasking!), I set off to the subway station and hopped on a train destined to Tamagawa.

What’s there you ask? I had no idea either, but my friend had mentioned the Sakura trees were in flower (or bloom?) there. Unfortunately when I arrived, I couldn’t find any of the aforementioned sakura flowers.. anywhere. So I had no idea where he was talking about?! So I thought whilst I was here, i’d just walk around and see what suburban Tokyo life looks like. I found a shrine on the top of a hill, it had an interesting contrast view of country-meeting-city, as well as a cool drinking thingy.

       

After walking around the streets, (which were surprisingly very quiet), I ended up back at the train station again. I caught the train back into the heart of Tokyo, and got off in a fairly well-to-do area called Roppongi.

              

I consulted my map and made my way to the National Art Gallery, where I was greeted by a locked gate and a sign which said “Closed on Tuesdays”. Arrrh fuck. Well at least I tried to do something cultural, so sue me.

I looked up and saw Tokyo Tower not so far away (or so I thought), so I started off in that direction.

Some time later, I finally reached it. Aahh.. Tokyo Tower.

Standing there, looking up, it just didn’t seem as majestic as it does when you’re watching Anime and they’re doing their kick ass fight scenes tearing up the place. :D

I’d already been up the Tokyo Metro Govt Bldg for free, so I didn’t bother paying to see pretty much the same view from here.


(One way to get around, though i’d be scared i’d get squashed by a truck.)

I started walking in a random direction, hoping to find a subway station. I passed by a “Freshness Burger”, and realised I hadn’t had lunch! So I went in and ordered something which looked decent. Then I entered the fishbowl, aka the separate glass area for us rude antisocial nonsmokers. :D

After I finished lunch and located a subway station, I decided to head to Akihabara – otherwise known as “Electric Town”.

Some Oji-san (Old guy) started a conversation with me on the subway, he could speak really good English. I also noticed how in touch with technology he was, he was using one of their funky touch screen phones. (It played HD tv!)

Once I arrived, I headed for the main street – it wasn’t hard to find. (But way easier at night, you just follow all the neon lights!)

              

Electronics, computers, comics/anime shops… everywhere! Talk about a kid in a candystore.
I found something called a Docomo SH-04, which is what the guy on the train had.. but the store wouldn’t sell it to me even outright! I had to go on a plan (Which I couldn’t do).

I wandered around a bit more, in and out of shops, until I saw her.. Yep, one of the famous maid-cafe-chics! Hahahaha! She was nice enough to pose for a photo for me. But just as I was going to hit the shutter button, the battery died. So I had to do a quick swap… so embarrassing… Snap again, lots of smiles and thankyous. Then exit… stage left…

              

I took a couple more night shots as it got darker.. neons everywhere. Scooters everywhere. People everywhere. I couldn’t find anywhere that looked good to eat, so I headed back to Asakusa and had Izakaya on the way.

Then off to bed. Big day tomorrow…

11.Mar.09 Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

The Japan Adventure.. Part 5

Monday, 9th March

My futon was so comfy and snuggly, I only woke up at 9.30am. So I missed my free breakfast (served until 9am). Oh well.

I decided to give my legs (and specifically my right knee) a rest today, as all the walking from the past few days was a bit of a shock to them. I think it’s more the steps up and down to all the subways, shrines, shopping centres, etc that caused it – but it was hurting like hell! I’d managed to find some Deep Heat at a chemist, so I put that on as well.

I showered and got dressed, and thought i’d just wander around Asakusa, at a leisurely pace. Out I went.

As I was walking around, I realised Asakusa felt more homely than when I was in Shinjuku – less daunting, less isolating.. I dunno. Or maybe I was getting used to the language difficulties a bit.

As I walked along the main street, a guy with a scruffy little dog walked past. In an attempt to be friendly, I smiled, and said “Kawaii”, (cute!) which he replied to with a smile and a nod. He said something to the dog, who stopped in the middle of the footpath, posing for a photograph. So I took one, out of courtesy – I still think the dog looks demented, but obviously it has some brains somewhere.

       

Venturing further, I discovered Asakusa had a minature theme park – complete with a rollercoaster and rides which would make you hurl. I hadn’t eaten breakfast, so was looking for something to fill my stomach rather than empty it.

I passed some little shop which was advertising what looked like donut buns. Being half recognisable, I decided to try one. I was surprised that the girl actually made it on request, so it was really yummy and fresh. You know when you get donuts that have just come out of the machine? Yummmmm.

I wandered around some more, taking pictures of the gardens around the Senso-ji Kannon Temple, and the streets beyond.

              

I embarrassed myself by walking into what I thought was a little lunch place and sitting down expectantly, then discovering it was a bar – they didn’t have a food menu, and didn’t speak English. Red faced, I issued a “Sumimasen” (Sorry / Excuse me) and left hurriedly.

I saw some kind of ‘Art’ sculpture atop one of the buildings across the river, and later learnt it was the Asahi Brewery. I would have gone over to see if they had brewery tours, except i’m not that fond of beer. Those Chu Hai’s on the other hand…. yummmm.

Japan loves its’ gambling. There are little places everywhere, filled with these Pachinko machines, which are the equivalent of our ‘Pokies’, or ‘Dollar Slots’. But playing on how big Anime is in Japan – for people of all ages – they make Anime themed gambling machines. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion – which I originally watched on SBS back in 1997 – is still very popular here. Below is an advert for a Pachinko machine with the NGE theme, so you can spend all day sticking things in their slots… hur hur hur.

              

There are also people who REALLY love their anime, so much so that they’ll airbrush their car in tribute. I didn’t see as much car modding as I would have liked though, but I never found out where or when the modders ‘hung out’. Maybe next time.

Space is of a premium in Japan. Houses and apartments are super compact, and that goes for car parking too. I didn’t get to see this one in action, but it’s a good idea. But maybe not if your car is on top, and you’re in a hurry…

Back near the Senso-ji Temple, I found a store selling very expensive knives. Evidently he’s some master swordsman or knife maker or something, and has pictures of himself with famous people all over the shop, including that weird Michael Jackson wannabe off Iron Chef!

              

I did a bit of souvenir shopping too, but just a little something for everyone – not enough room to bring back a lot of stuff! (Plus, I have to lug it around with me otherwise!)

On my way back to the Ryokan to offload my souvenirs, I passed by some kind of school or college. You’ve gotta love the uniforms they wear.. so funky..

It seems like a big part of Japanese culture is the dinner time meal, and associated interaction. My friend met me again for dinner, and we went to a different Izakaya – although in the same building as last time.

I was enjoying not only the food, but his attempts at conversing in English, during which i was picking up a few words / phrases of Japanese in the process. He had a really funky phone – some spiffy Docomo thing, which could even pick up HD TV! It also had some applications, one of which was a Kanji to English dictionary. So during our conversations, sometimes he’d hit a word I couldn’t understand, and would look it up. That’s what I needed on my iPhone!? Maybe next time.

Oh yeah, I lurrrrrve those Lime Chu-Hai’s… Kampai!

10.Mar.09 Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

The Japan Adventure.. Part 4

Sunday, 8th March

Last night was my last night staying in Shinjuku, so I got up around 9am, showered, got ready and packed up all my stuff by the 10am Check-Out time. I returned my key on my way out, and stepped outside.

Rain.

With my umbrella over my head and North Face duffel bag on my back, I made my way along the two blocks to the subway station. Luckily I could just get on one train and ride all the way to the end of the line, which was Asakusa – where i’d be staying for the rest of my time in Tokyo.

I was going to be staying in a traditional Japanese Ryokan, which means a futon on the floor and dressing up in a funky gown (Yukata).

Once I exited the subway station in Asakusa, Ryokan Kamogawa was quite easy to find. Follow the throngs of tourists heading toward the Senso-ji Kannon Temple, then veer left onto one of the side streets.. and tadaa! You’re there.

Kamogawa is a family run Ryokan, and they were all very friendly. They didn’t speak much English, but for the most part we were able to understand eachother. (Charades!) I was obviously too early to check in, so I left my bags in their care and headed out again.

Armed with my camera, I joined the mass of bodies making their way toward the Senso-ji Temple. We all took our pictures of the same things, then followed the people in front of us to the temple. We inhaled some healing smoke (oxymoron!), we threw some money (1 Yen coins, it’s all they’re good for!), we prayed – or pretended to – then headed out again. This process was repeated by the people behind us, and those behind them. From a height, we probably looked like ants.

              

On the way back to the main street I looked in a few of the souvenir shops/stalls, but the crowds were starting to get annoying. Just too many people in too little a space. And no one seemed to adhere to any rule, whether it be ‘keep to the left’ or ‘keep to the right’. So speed was halved once again, with every second person (me) having to dodge the masses coming toward them.

Back on the subway again. Today is Sunday. What happens on Sundays? Evidently a lot of Japanese teenagers venture out to Yoyogi Park (in Harajuku) in their Cos-play outfits and parade around. Photo opportunities abound, I hoped.

When I arrived at Yoyogi Park, there weren’t many Cosplay people around. But it was still fairly early, but also it was FREEZING. I had 4 layers on, but was still cold. I regret scoffing at my Mum’s advice to buy some thermal underwear. Cmon.. it’s Spring, how cold could could it be!? (Famous last words…)

Anyway I thought i’d fill in time by doing some sightseeing, and come back later on when the crowds had gathered a bit more. I followed some other tourists down a gravel road, which would lead us to the Meiji Jingu Shrine.

              

On the way I saw some Sake barrels, and also some wine casks. Not sure what for.. I read the sign, but I forget. I loved the huge Torii Gates. If I had a big property, I think i’d build one over the driveway.

When I arrived, there was a procession of some sort going on at once side, a wedding on the other, and uncertain tourists stuck in the middle. I joined them, taking pictures, but unsure what of.

The shrine was a bit underwhelming really, you couldn’t see the actual shrine – it was hidden behind closed doors, across a courtyard. Boo. But the big Shinto Prayer Tree was pretty funky. Heading out again, I managed to snap a photo of the Bride and Groom who were stopping me from seeing the other half of the Shrine complex, due to it being roped off for their wedding.

              

Passing through Yoyogi Park again, two girls were braving the cold, holding up signs with “Free Hugs”, and giving… free hugs. Duh. They posed for a photo, but I didn’t feel like hugging.. them.

I followed some people along the sidewalk, which led me into the heart of Harajuku. There was some person in a cute-pink-thing suit, evidently advertising donuts. So I bought some. They were crap.

              

I ventured down a (main) side street. There were crowds and boutiques everywhere! Though a lot of the stores were aimed at the female (or trannie?) demographic, there was still plenty of browsing for the guys too.

              

I was excited to find some things I liked, IN MY SIZE! I noted which stores they were in, cautious not to buy the first thing I saw.

I did find a faux leather jacket I liked a lot though (5,900 Yen), which I decided to buy after the (cute) sales guy urged me try it on. Hahahaha.

I also found some funky jeans I liked in a store called “WoodenDoll” (?), but one size was too tight in certain areas, ahem, even though it was my size. The next size up was too big everywhere, so i gave them a miss.

After a bit more browsing, I walked back to Yoyogi Park, where a few more cosplay people had turned up, but the turnout was rather disappointing. I managed a couple of pictures, bit I guess it was too cold for most of them.

I walked on a bit further, and discovered a group of Elvis impersonators ‘doing their thing’ in the park beyond. Elvis music, boots, leather jackets, and the HAIR! Oh my god, the hair. Crazy funsters.

              

I was getting a bit hungry, and there was a Hot Dog stall nearby. I decided to buy one, for 500 yen ($8.50 OMG!) The two sauces, the vendor told me, were ‘tomato’ and ‘mustard’. I covered the hot dog in plenty of both. Upon taking the first bite, I discovered that in Japan, when someone says ‘mustard’, they actually mean WASABI MUSTARD. Oh my god, it was feral. Way. Too. Much. But I wasn’t about to waste my money, so I ate it. Ahem.

My friend msg’d me, wondering if I wanted to catch up for dinner again. So we arranged to meet back in Asakusa at about 8pm. I wandered around Shibuya until it was time to catch the train back.

We met at the station, and then walked along the main street in Asakusa. In Japan, shops aren’t just on street level. Some of the best ones are way up on whatever floor – it’s almost like 3D shopping. X, Y and Z.

We found (well, my friend did) an Izakaya on the 7th floor of some building with illuminated signs in Japanese on the front, so we squeezed into the small lift and headed up. It probably would have been quicker to use the stairs.

The interior was again quite funky, but this time our booth had a touch screen! So I had fun doing the ordering, using my newly developed ‘point at the picture’ method. I let my friend order the drinks, they didn’t have pictures to point at. :P

Our food arrived quickly again, and I couldn’t fault the quality. Soooo damn good. We ate too much, but didn’t care. I’m actually glad we don’t have these types of restaurants back in Melbourne, or I think i’d risk becoming fat. But I guess it’d be just like ordering Yum Cha every day, after awhile it’d lose its appeal. Then again…

Slightly inebriated, (ok I was 3/4 pissed) we paid our bill and left, before my friend caught the last train home. I happily walked the two blocks back to Kamogawa, where I changed into my Yukata and settled into bed. Sooo nice, curling up on the cold night under the big, fluffy dooner. I want one.

       

09.Mar.09 Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

The Japan Adventure.. Part 3

Saturday, 7th March

I decided to start the day off on a high point, so I walked to the nearest subway station and caught the train to the Nishi Shinjuku Station. From there, it was quite a walk but I followed all the signs on the underground walkways and eventually arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings.

I originally thought it was closed, but I guess Govt buildings aren’t really busy on a weekend. I saw someone go in, so I followed. A couple of security guards asked me to take off my backpack and inspected the contents, then I was allowed to continue onto the lift. 37 floors later (I think), and wow, what a view. All for free, too, as opposed to paying for almost the same view from Tokyo Tower!

              

For as far as the eye could see, you saw city buildings, packed in together. Except for one part – the imperial palace. A vast pool of greenery in the concrete jungle. Pretty cool.

After heading back down to ground, I wandered around a bit. There was some festival/exhibition thing going on nearby, advertising the joys of snow boarding/skiing. There was a jump ramp too, but no one was doing anything so I couldn’t be bothered waiting around.

I walked back to central Shinjuku, and did some browsing in some random stores. I somehow ended up near Yoyogi Station, so I wandered around the little streets near there too. Then I heard a familiar sound.. the railway crossing bells you hear out of so many Animes! I ran toward the sound, just to see a train crossing the tracks. So I snapped a couple of pictures… yeah I know, tourist. Sue me.

       

My stomach reminded me it wanted some food, so I walked a bit further down some neighbourhood street and saw a place called “Coco Curry House”. No matter where you go for Japanese Curry, it always tastes the same – a bit weird, and a bit instant. Maybe they all use the same packet curry mix? :P I went in, anyway.

       

I balanced the tonkatsu / rice / curry dish out with a crispy fresh salad, which had a scoop of chilled mashed potato in the middle of it. Sounds weird, but it was actually quite yummy. It’s also hard to ask for a “Lemonade” or any other drink, but universally everyone understands when you say “Coke”. (Or was that “Cock”?)

After lunch I retraced my steps back to Yoyogi station, then took the train back to Shinjuku station (Oops, 1 stop!? lol) where I decided to venture into Isetan.

I’d been to a few Isetans in Singapore and Malaysia before, but this one seemed even bigger. The trouble was… where was the Men’s section? I eventually found it, by going up a couple of floors and discovering a kind of disjointed walkway from the end of the Women’s section which led to a separate Men’s section beyond. Weird.

I did see a few things I liked, but they were just a little bit overpriced. (At this point in time, 1 AUD = only 60 Yen. It used to 1 AUD = 96 Yen.. stupid financial crisis.. *sob*). So anyway back to the Subway, and then I headed over to Shibuya, a supposed shopping Mecca for the young and trendy.

I took the main exit from Shibuya Station, and immediately spotted a shopping tower called “109″. This is one of the main trendy shopping spots, with many floors of little boutique stores selling anything and everything that is in fashion. Kind of like a condensed but sometimes more expensive Harajuku! (This one I saw is actually the 2nd ‘109′ tower, the original one is a block away and consists entirely of chic stuff!)

I think the first 4 levels (6 if you include the two basement floors) were chic clothing, then finally on level 5 I found the Guy’s stuff. Each shop was small, and packed full of stuff. Once you add a couple of salesmen and a few customers, they get pretty packed and you end up squeezing past people while you’re browsing. Not that I overly minded, most of the sales guys (and customers) were kinda cute. Lol. But I was having a hard time spotting the difference between metrosexual and homosexual.. :D

In typical Japanese fashion, you’re allowed to walk around the store with your shoes on. But the minute you head for the changerooms – which they’ve thoughtfully carpeted, you need to take your shoes off before you go on. Not that I was worried about anyone stealing them, it’s just a pain in the butt to take shoes on off on off when you’re only trying on tops, anyway.

I did find a few items I really liked, but much to my dismay most things only came in two sizes. Which equates to XS and XXS (Anorexic). I doubt even the average solid Japanese guy, let alone a Sumo, could shop around here.

It was much the same story with each store on the next two levels, as well. Funky stuff, not my size.

After I finished shopping there, I wandered around the streets, until I ended up in an area that had quite a few love motels – all with their little signs out the front advertising their rates. A few thousand yen for a ‘nap’, and a bit more if you want a ’sleep’. Basically hourly rate or all night rate. Depends if you need to get home to the wife or you’re ‘working late’, I suppose. :P

Walking along the streets again; actually I should say shuffle. Because there were so many people, you couldn’t walk normally. Besides being insanely busy, it was also cold. So everyone was wearing something chunky, whether it be an overcoat, a puffy jacket, or pretty much everything i’d brought with me. This made squeezing through the throngs even more difficult. “Sumimasen” aplenty, I got back to the Subway Station. Finally.

I paused for a moment, and thought ‘What fucking recession?’, because just seeing all that, all the people, all the labels, all the excess… you wonder if anyone’s thought to tell them that.

It was getting on toward about 8pm, so I took the train back to central Shinjuku. I met up with a friend for dinner, and he took me to a place called an Izakaya.

What’s an Izakaya? I had no idea, but I knew they served food, coz that’s where we were going for dinner. But I found out that they’re basically drinking establishments (which are also open until late), which serve food as well. The easiest explanation i’ve used on friends is that they’re like late night Dim-Sum / Yum-Cha places which serve alcohol and Japanese type nibbly foods.

So we entered this particular Izakaya, put our shoes in one of the pigeonholes, then followed the kimono-clad waitress to our booth / room.

Each ‘room’ is partially separated from the others, giving each group a little bit of privacy, as well as helping to lower the ambient noise level – which can get quite rowdy as the patrons get increasingly inebriated!

In your room there is either a Call bell, or a touchscreen. This one just had the call bell, so we looked through the menu (yes, I looked at the pictures) and we selected a bunch of things that looked delicious.

I then ordered a drink called a Chu-Hai, which are collectively known as “Sours”. Chu-Hai is like a Japanese Vodka, and is flavoured with whatever you choose off the list – I ordered the Lime – (450 Yen). When it arrived, it was as big as a German Beer Stein, and damn strong – but sooo Sugoi!

It was a big place – and it was packed, but our food arrived impressively fast. They must have an army out in the kitchen or something.

Not only was the food quick, but it was delicious! Apart from the KFC, I don’t think i’d had a bad meal since, so wondered if this trend would continue..

After we had our fill and were questionably sober, we walked to some coffee shop in Ni Chome which was evidently popular with the gay crowd.

When we arrived, I didn’t have to ask why – The only way to make the place any gayer would be to paint it pink and add feather boas everywhere. And that went for some of the patrons, too.

I ordered an overpriced coffee, and my friend ordered a tea, and a slice of cake. We chatted for a good hour or so, until we decided it was late enough to visit a couple of the clubs.

I didn’t realise we were so close – Across the road and down one of the side streets, and I regained my bearings. I mentioned i’d already been to Arty Farty and didn’t think much of it, so we went to a place called “Dragon” in the next street instead.

Even though I wasn’t alone this time, the atmosphere wasn’t any better. It still felt tired, uninspired, boring. There were plenty of people, but.. big deal. It’s as if there’s this collective assumption that if you just paint ‘Gay’ on the front door and do a half assed setup inside then it’ll be a success. Maybe that is true though, coz there wasn’t anything any better around.

After all my adventures during the day, I decided to call it a night at about 1am. My friend was going to party on until whatever hour of the morning, so I left him to it.

08.Mar.09 Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

The Japan Adventure.. Part 2

Friday, 6th March – Exploring Tokyo

I woke up at about 9am, Tokyo time. I set up my computer, and hooked it up to the free in-room internet. Just for fun, I did a speed test, and almost fell off the bed. Not 150kbps (my ADSL1 speed at home), it was fucking 2100kbps (2.1mbps!) Damn, i’m loving this place already. But internet is internet, and Japan has much more to offer than that. So I showered and got dressed, and headed out to explore.

I bought a subway day ticket for 1000 Yen, which gave me unlimited use of the subway system for the day.

I hopped on, not really knowing where I was going, then studied my tourist map to figure out a good spot to start my sightseeing.

I got off at Marunouchi Station, which is underneath the Marunouchi Buildings.

          

From the moment you step out of the subway, you realise you’re in an upmarket area. The shops are just so clean and well presented, with smiling staff wherever you look. Even the small convenience/food stores look upmarket.

One thing surprised me though; Buying alcohol seems to be cheaper than in Australia, even with our $1 AUD = 60 Yen. (We were at about 96 Yen before the ‘crisis’). A 1 litre bottle of Absolut Vodka would have only cost me $21.00 (It cost me $26 duty free @ GC on the way back to Australia!). But on the other side of the coin, I saw a pack of TimTams for 450 Yen. That’s $7.70!

Most of the stores in Marunouchi were women’s stuff, so I headed back to the Subway and took a train to Ginza. After coming out of the subway there, I quickly found my umbrella and opened it up as I hit the street. Trying to take pictures of everything whilst hiding under an umbrella, trying not to get the lens wet, was getting annoying.

          

I went into a few department stores, and in one I found a jacket I liked. But I put it back quickly when I converted the price tag – over $7000 AUD. For a jacket. OMG. It wasn’t that nice.

My stomach started to remind me that it was past 2pm and I hadn’t yet had lunch, ironically right in front of a Yoshinoya. I’d been there before in SG and KL, so I went in. Weirdly enough, Yoshinoya in Japan doesn’t have half the menu I was used to. All you can get is the gyu-don (the shaved beef) meal in a few different forms. But I got one anyway, food is food. And it was probably the cheapest thing in Ginza.

I wandered up and down a bit more, browsing in stores, etc. There’s no way you’d think there’s a recession looming – with all the people spending spending spending.

One thing i’d started to notice about Japan: Where are all the bins? They’re very few and far between, so you end up carrying your little bag of rubbish for you almost all day until you finally find one somewhere.

I headed back to Shinjuku and wandered around there a little bit, (mainly until I found my way out again) and went back to the hotel for an afternoon nap.

     

A friend i’d been chatting to on MSN rang a bit later, as he finished work, so we met up for coffee and he showed me around Shinjuku a bit more. Then he showed me how to order Ramen at one of the ramen places which had no English signage, so my menu options for the rest of the trip would be increased. :P

The ramen was good too, as you’d expect. By the time we finished our ramen and chatting, he had to head off to go back to work. The joys of working in a job with split shifts, I guess.

I went back to the hotel room for awhile, planning how i’d go where, and when for the next few days. Another friend msg’d me, arranging to take me out clubbing to Arty Farty, one of Ni-Chome’s better gay clubs.

We arranged to meet at 10.30pm outside Arty Farty, so I arrived right on time. I waited. It was freezing. I msg’d him to find out where he was, and received a reply that he was ‘in a resaurant with frenz’. There was no way I was hanging around in the cold for some flake who can’t live up to plans he made, so I went into Arty by myself.

Inside, it was… nothing special. It reminded me of Star / Opium Den back in Melbourne, which is certainly no compliment. Simply, I thought it was pretty shit. I paid 500 yen for my plastic disposable cup of beer, which then entitles you to go dance on the (small) dancefloor with all the ugly people. Yeah, there were no cute guys there for the whole hour I stayed.

You can smoke almost anywhere in Japan. Restaurants, shopping centres, and of course, clubs. So after an hour I reeked of cigarette smoke, and i’d had enough anyway. I went back to the hotel room, and hung all my clothes on hangers in the shower. Then I left the extraction fan on and closed the door. Hopefully they’d air off overnight.

I fell asleep about 1.30am, and woke up to a message an hour later, from my ‘friend’ wondering where I was. Like WTF? So I just replied with a BAKA! (Idiot!), and he didn’t reply. Some Japanese people are weird. Like the guy who offered for me to stay with him whilst in Tokyo – luckily I didn’t count on his offer, because he didn’t even answer the phone when I tried to contact him upon my arrival. Don’t tell me it’s to do with cultural differences, that’s bullshit. Some people are just useless. Geez.

07.Mar.09 Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

The Japan Adventure.. Part 1

Thursday, 5th March. – Getting There!

After finally getting to sleep around 1am, I was awoken by my alarm at the ungodly hour of 4am. I showered, got dressed in some comfy clothes, packed some last minute things and left home by 5am.

Henry dropped me off in front of the Jetstar terminal, so I checked in my luggage and headed to the gate lounge to wait. Just as I sat down, there was a P.A. Announcement: Gate change. No sooner did I stand up, and there were another two announcements/changes! I wish they’d make up their minds, seriously. 6am is too early to be mucking people around!

Sitting in the final gate lounge before we boarded, I saw 5 people with ‘Tokyo’ Lonely Planet books in hand. I hid mine in my bag…

There were a couple of feral people in the lounge too. Oversize pants falling down, hat on diagonally, with a Vicky Pollard in tow. Precisely the reason you sometimes wish travel wasn’t so affordable.

Then at 6.30 it was time to board. I found my seat, then waited for everyone else to board. An Asian woman sat in the seat in front of me, and I couldn’t help noticing she had strange nonsensical writing on her sweater… Woo! first Engrish of the trip! But I couldn’t get a pic.

I also saw one cute guy on board, with a girl. Sister or gf? Hmm.

Once everyone was strapped in, the doors were sealed and we taxied to the runway. Takeoff was fairly smooth, nothing interesting there. Safety demonstration… Zzzzz.

Once in the air, I napped a bit, with my iPod playing. About 2 hrs later we landed at the Gold Coast, where I picked up my luggage ready for the next leg.

I checked my watch: 3 hrs until the Tokyo flight. I spotted a power point near a cafe seat, so set up my laptop to waste some time surfing the net. The coffee I ordered was foul (they burnt the milk, badly), and I could feel it making its presence known.

I ‘netted for about an hour, then decided it was time to check in again. (Plus, the coffee wanted out already.) Half an hour standing in the check-in queue, then had to go through security again. I got picked out for a pat-down.. does that mean i’m looking fat, or maybe they thought I was packing something? ;) (hur hur hur)

The post-security waiting room was SMALL. Worse than Darwin (and I thought that was pretty poor) but at least the loos were clean. But there was no food places to buy anything. When it was time to board, we had to walk out along the tarmac to get to the plane.

After a bit of a wait, we boarded. I got a window seat, just forward of the wing. A Japanese girl from Nagoya sat next to me. Her English was as bad as my Japanese was/is. Actually, not quite.

9 1/2 hr flight. Oh. my. god. Day flights are torture, I couldn’t really sleep even though I only had 3 hrs the night before. Even though I WANTED to, and TRIED to. Really need drugs next time.

One movie and one episode of Dexter later, my laptop battery died. I swapped to the small battery, and watched one more episode – sans the last 5 minutes.. the battery died too quickly.

Then I listened to my ipod, played dope wars for awhile, dozed, read the Jetstar magazine 5 times.. stared at the seat tray in front of me. I think somewhere along the line I did fall asleep for a while, probably out of sheer boredom.

Day turned to night, and we finally started our descent into Tokyo. On the way down I saw some city lights that were pretty, but the plane was banking so didn’t see as much as people on the other side. Plus, it wasn’t really Tokyo lights – Narita isn’t really that near Tokyo.

First surprise… travellators – for the lazy people. I for one, was glad to be able to use my legs again after that monstrous flight. Second surprise, a mini monorail thingy which took us to the main terminal.

As we all went through customs, any aliens (non-Japanese citizens) were digitally fingerprinted and photographed. That didn’t really bother me, though i’m sure some people would kick up a fuss about invasion of privacy and all that shit.

Surprise number 3: Our luggage was already waiting at the carousel by the time we got there! How efficient!

After picking up my bag, I wandered upstairs and collected my rental phone from the post office Rentafone had sent it to.

Then I headed downstairs again and sorted out my JR Train Pass (for use when I head across to Mt Fuji, Kyoto, Nagoya and back) and also a Suica+NEX discount ticket for the journey into Tokyo.

I booked myself on the 8.45pm NEX Express and made my way down to the platform. En route, I met 3 guys from the Gold Coast (Two Caucasians and one Singapore-born, Aussie-bred Asian guy. Kinda cute.. lol) who looked equally as lost as I did, so we teamed up. (The blind leading the blind!)

At 8.43pm a train pulled up on our platform. I knew the Japanese were known for their timely train system, so we all assumed it was the right one. We got on, then started looking for our allocated seat numbers. The train left.

As we pulled into the next station, some cleaners got onboard. I asked one, “Sumimasen!?” (Excuse me) and showed him my ticket. He pointed across to the next platform where a red train with NEX painted on the side was waiting! “Arigato!” (Thank you) I said, and took off. Then I paused, ran down the platform to the carriage where the other guys were, but by the time they hopped off too, the NEX was just leaving. Damn.

We all waited on the platform for the next hour, chatting. 9.45pm came, and so did the train – right on the dot. Lesson learnt. We boarded for the 90 minute journey to into the heart of Tokyo.

When the ticket inspector came through to check our tickets, he charged us an extra 510 Yen for being on the wrong train. Baka! (Idiot)… Howabout some signage in English next time, or at least tell us what kind of train to expect!

The other guys were staying at Ueno, so they hopped off at Tokyo station. I continued onto Shinjuku. In hindsight this was sort of a bad idea, as I found out Shinjuku is a HUGE station. Once I disembarked, I spent the next 45 minutes wandering around in circles, looking for the East Exit. There’s no better initiation than to jump in headfirst, I guess…

I finally found the east exit, then the “How to find us” directions – including pictures – I printed from my hotel’s website kicked in.

Once I checked in and offloaded my luggage in the room, I looked at the clock – it was midnight.. Tokyo time. I’d been awake for 22 hours, with only a fun size Mars bar, two muesli bars and a ‘cleansing’ coffee to sustain me. I needed sleep. But I also needed food. But top priority, I needed a shower. Yieee. So with that over with, I went out in search of food.

There were lots of neon signs, all in Japanese, so I had no idea what they were saying. Hesitating to enter somewhere without any English signage, I saw the familiar glow of a KFC sign halfway up the street. I went in, and ordered something. It wasn’t too hard, I just pointed to a picture on the menu – although it was different to what they serve here – and said “Hai” (Yes).

I was given a number, so I sat at a nearby table and waited. When my food arrived a minute later (is that what they call waiting?) I was quite disappointed.

Ok so KFC is never going be a feast (Nah, the McFeast is at Maccas.. hur hur). I wasn’t expecting that, but… Ok: Firstly, there was no chicken salt on the chips. People only buy KFC chips because of the salt! Next, the burger made a Maccas cheeseburger look big. Yep, it was that small. Oh well, I was too tired to care. Regardless of whether it tasted good or bad, my brain didn’t register. It was food, and it went down. End of story.

     

Afterward, I wandered around a bit and took a couple of street photos while letting my dinner settle. I discovered Kabukicho, only realising where I was when all the Oji-san (Old men) started approaching me, showing me pictures of the girls their particular establishment had on offer. Iiiie! (No!). I quickly headed back to the main road before the Yakuza got me, then made my way down toward Ni-Chome / 2Chome (the gay area).

Being Thursday night, there seemed to be nothing going on. Things were open, but hardly any people around. I had a quick look in a porn shop, which had almost every type of porn you can think of. Bears, bondage, twinks, groups, Caucasian, Asian.. and then I saw some I had to look twice at – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing… the boys on the cover looked 10 yr old! And they were! (Or near enough). And there was a whole bunch of titles, displayed at eye height on the shelf. That’s just too wrong.

Then I walked back to my room at the hotel and fell asleep – probably the second my head touched the pillow.

06.Mar.09 Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

Greetings from Tokyo…

I’m tired, i’m hungry. More posts later, after food and sleep.

06.Mar.09 Holiday Comment (1) 

日本

Yep, i’m off to Japan very soon. And i’m hella excited about it.

Only 2 more days to go…

03.Mar.09 Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

Sydney: Sunshine and Lollipops, well, sorta.

Work’s put me up in Sydney for 3 weeks to do knowledge transfer on one of their products.

The accommodation booking lady booked me into Carrington Apartments in York St, which if you look up the pics on Tripadvisor is just disgusting.

Well it’s not that it’s bad.. ok it is bad. But at least it’s not filthy. It’s just OLD. It would have been a nice place 30 years ago, but I think everything IN it is still FROM 30 years ago.

My main gripe was the bed. The bed too, was 30 years old. I think. As soon as you lay on it, it would sag. If there were springs in the matress, they’ve long been sprung. Try and sleep in a hammock and wake up without a sore neck. This was pretty much the same.

As soon as I checked in I told our accommodation lady to get me out of there, and find me somewhere decent. Unfortunately I had to spend the first 3 nights there, and my neck is still hating me for the experience.

The replacement place was somewhere a co worker was placed previously… so why didn’t they book that in the beginning! Argh!

Apart from the accommodation, everything’s pretty good. Even the weather, for the most part. I’ve only required the use of my umbrella once, which was on Sunday. I’ve also even worn tshirts, it’s been that warm on some days.

On Friday night I went clubbing at the Midnight Shift, which was kinda fun. More fun than I would’ve had in Melbourne anywhere, anyway.

Saturday night a friend took me to Stonewall, where some queen managed to spill beer all over my leg. He then proceeded to pat my leg, as if that was going to dry it off. If anything, it rubbed the beer in more. I’m not quite sure what the look in my eye was at that moment, but they sure fucked off quick. I went upstairs to the toilets, to unsuccessfully rid myself of the beer smell. At least my hands weren’t beer-sticky.

After we left there, we went to some hideous place called The Palms. If you’re into Campy Bottoms who love all music prior to 1900 1987, this is the place to go. Unfortunately I do not. I lasted a total of 7 songs in there, during which I sat at a table. The music wasn’t danceworthy. As he went past, some old queen barguy (this place can’t even get decent barboys) told me to get up and dance and get off my best asset (arse), and probably received a scorning look in return.

Then we headed upto Shift. I got asked for ID, so I think the bouncer was bored, rather than me looking a youthful twinkish 17. As much as the locals pay Shift out as being dodgy, it’s funny how they still come along. I really can’t see how it’s that bad. If all they had was the Peel, Market and Exchange – then they can whinge. Loudly.

Apart from the ’straight’ asian club down the road, there’s no other club in Oxford St which can boast a large populous of asian bodies in one place. (I use the word ’straight’ coz i’ve heard rumours of some of those boys nicking down to the gay sauna while their girlfriends continue dancing inside… heh.)

Of course anywhere you have a club full of asians, you also have old men (as well as the occasional asian admirer. :D ). It’s like Salt and Pepper – very rarely you see one without the other. But for the most part they’re reasonably behaved, and the ones that aren’t soon get told where to go. Of course i’m talking pre-4am here. Post 4am is another story – the freaks just seem to come out of the woodwork. So if your hunger hasn’t taken you to The Rocks for pancakes by 4am, (or you haven’t picked up and left already), you may as well just call it a night. Unless you’re into freaks. :D

Sunday was spent sleeping until early afternoon, at which time I got up and went in search of food. I met up with a friend and we had Thai for (late) lunch, which was pretty good. We wandered around everywhere until our feet started getting sore, then we settled into a Starbucks sofa to drink their mediocre beverages and talk crap for awhile.

Dinner was at a place called “Mamak” near chinatown. I’d been past a few times and noticed a queue out the door, so I wanted to see if it was any good. In short, it was. Although missing the signature Rendang Curry, they still had good Rotis and other Malaysian staples like Chicken Curry, Teh Tarik and Cendol on the menu.

After we waddled out of there, we walked around a bit more, then to the bus stop. The bus took ages to come along, but finally it did. I guess tardy public transport isn’t just a Melbourne thing.

Last night was washing night. Coin operated machines in the basement, at $4 a load. Powder was $2, so instead I went to a nearby Coles and got some decent liquid. On the way back I got a McFeast Deluxe meal for dinner, simply because there’s not much else around me – hence why I walk down to Chinatown most nights for dinner.

While the machine was rumbling I surfed with my dial-up internet (GAH!) and ate my burger. Clothes finished. Hung them up to dry – screw paying $4 for the dryer as well.

Now i’m not drawing any conclusions in that I was served by Indians at the Maccas, but I started getting a bit of indigestion. That kept up all night, as well as my voice getting croaky. Which was weird, it’s like an onset of the flu except I didn’t have the headcold. Food poisoning? Who knows. I’ve been chowing down on vitamin C today, and my voice has gone from Barry White back to normal me.. almost. No more maccas. Nuh uh.

Tonight my co workers are taking me to Ichiban Boshi, a place i’ve reviewed on Candid Cuisine previously.

Should be fun.

16.Sep.08 Food, Holiday, Random, Work Comments (0) 

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