Things I learned whilst in Japan

1. You will learn to become engrossed in the advertising on trains
2. For a flat city, you're always walking up stairs
3. Bikes are not your friend... they are the true Ninjas of the city
4. Where there's a shadow, it's freaking cold
5. Hot means hot
6. As polite as the culture may seem, the locals will still laugh at you when you say words in their complete and formal way
7. Japanese love the French - they haven't realised why the rest of the world hates the French, obviously
8. Taxi's will make you think you're in a 1960's timewarp
9. You're never too young to wear false eyelashes
10. For a country which makes things smaller and smaller for the rest of the world, they all still use large flip mobile phones
11. This country is permanently buzzing on caffeine
12. Push your way through
13. Even old people get told to sit their arses down in Disneyland
14. You shouldn't worry about a warm toilet seat
15. You can congregate wherever you like, even if it's in the middle of the road
16. Cigarettes are horrid - they smoke worse than a clapped out '79 Torana here, especially in restaurants, but not while walking down the street
17. You will always feel like you're going against the crowd
18. There's no such thing as the ground floor.. it all starts at 1

Day 10 summary

Tuesday 10 November:
Quiet, easy day. Spent it in Ginza, not quite resisting the shopping! Caught up on some of the food delights in Matsuya that I've been eyeing off for days. Went back to the quaint chopstick shop from last night to treat myself to a specia pair just for myself - I realised I'd bought beautiful sets for everyone else but not myself! Discovered more of the back streets, lined with bars and restaurants and who-knows-whats hidden behind frosted glass and japanese character painted curtains.

I've packed everything away, ready for checkout tomorrow. My bag isn't overflowing, surprisingly, and once again will not be near the weight limit for luggage. Off to the pub for dinner soon, then contemplating a long night of sleep tonight because we have to check out of the hotel at 10am tomorrow, and bumble around until 3:30pm when we get the airport limousine bus back to Narita airport. It's a 90 minute journey. Our flight leaves at 8:25pm and I'm hoping I'll be able to get some sleep on the plane at least - I have a strip of nurofen plus at the ready to help me pass out! Land back on the Gold Coast at 7am Thursday.

Day 9 summary

Monday 9th November:
Quick trip back up to Asakusa for last minute souvenir and gift purchases from the markets. I concluded that melted plastic style cheese slices on top of crumbed fried pork is a really bad thing, especially with rice and egg in the same bowl!

Train ride out to Odaiba - on the driverless train - with the promise of a magificent experience at Palette Town and the Venus Fort shopping centre, which is meant to resemble Venice with the interior walls all painted like stone buildings and a cloud painted roof and numerous statues lining the walkways, not to mention the large water fountain in the middle of the centre. Big disappointment - I don't think we passed more than 100 people walking around the whole area. The most thriving part was the big Toyota show/play room. Odaiba is where the onsen with the fish which eat the dead skin off your feet are - I had planned to visit, but it seemed a little financially unviable in the end, just to stand in a puddle of hot water! Had it been slightly later in the day too, we would have seen the bridge all illuminated too, but since there was little to do to pass another couple of hours away in the region, we just came back to Ginza.

Walk through Ginza at night again marvelling at the lights everywhere, discovered some of the little boutique shops on the back streets including the most quaint little hand made chopstick shop. Stopped in at Matsuya's food court and got more fresh foods for dinner - rice, buns, chicken sticks, salad, soba.

Day 8 summary

Sunday 8th November:
Train ride out to Harajuku for a look around the shopping district/temple/freakshow bridge. Its like walking around a mass of cheap shit junky teeny clothing shops for the most part... that was until I discovered the main through road with a Dolce Gabbana store! I refrained from the red frame and swarovski crystal glasses and the leopard fur barrel bag!

The walk to the temple would have been more 'serene' and idyllic had their been no little kids kicking gravel everywhere... kinda ruined the atmosphere, but considering there must have been about three hundred people just in the eye's view around us walking towards the site it would have been difficult to eliminate people! A wedding procession passed through the temple just as we arrived. Lots of little girls and their mothers and grandmothers all in traditional dress around the place. Shame the temple didn't outline the name/wish card protocol in English though; I missed out on doing that.

No freak gathering on the bridge either. Have to admit the whole region didn't live up to expectations.

Walked through all the gardens, past the new Cirque du Soleil tent on the way to Shibuya. More tall buildings with flashing lights, screaming billboards, shops and alleyways. Then back to Ginza.

Another night time walk around Ginza looking at all the Christmas lights and masses of people. Nice long walk over to Daimaru shops again.

By now, my joints are all aching from constantly walking and moving. At least the weather is still pleasant.