Shibuya

Famous Shibuya, it's crowded, it's expensive and not all that great if you aren't going there to shop or / and meet with someone. Myself, I didn't know that the statue of Hachiko was that small. I blame this on all the manga I've read:P. Actually, there was something more interesting very close by.

I still don't know what's in it, though if I had to guess, I'd say it's some kind of bar / restaurant. It was at least as popular as Hachiko in terms of meeting places.

Shibuya alone puts Warsaw to shame. I felt like I'm from some small town, first time arriving in the big city.

That's one of the main streets but the smaller ones aren't much different.

What one can find there, then? There's Starbucks ( it's quite popular here, actually ), a game center with 4 levels, a karaoke place with La Bamba subtitled in katakana and a shop that looks much smaller on the outside than it really is. It also stocks pretty much everything - from female panties with a fake penis, schoolgirl or catholic nun ( and a lot more! ) cosplay sex outfits to hygiene products and fake eyelashes. Food too, if you want to know. The game center was an eye opener as to the real state of the arcade industry. While it's almost gone in Poland, here it's going strong. Newest Tekken? Not a problem. A game based on Neon Genesis Evangelion? Here, have a full experience sitting in a cockpit with an angled screen from side to side. First floor contained mostly photo machines ( purikuri ) and we tried one in a group of five. It's fun in a way, though these really weren't meant to be used by guys ;).

There was also a Disney Store which you can see a part of. When you enter, you feel like Alice in Wonderland. It's really like stepping into another world. Prices are in a different league, too, though. A reasonably nice Pirates of the Carribean t-shirt will set you back 3,240 yen ( 41$ ).

Here's a shot of a karaoke room. We went in for only 30 mins and wasted it mostly on learning that it's very hard to find songs with English subtitles ( duh! ). Good thing that kanji have furigana written above them! On the screen, the only song that we more or less "did" - Ai Nante ( it's not too bad, actually ).

Lastly, something to show that the Japanese aren't always law-respecting ( certainly a sense of humor ) ;)

Right, the famous street crossing in Shibuya. It's not all that impressive, really.

Sightseeing in Tokyo - Harajuku

Yesterday we've started sightseeing for real and headed for Harajuku. Supposedly known for cosplayers, cheap shops and if you're more interested in traditional Japan, there's a big temple dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. We didn't see many cosplayers, probably due to our late arrival there ( near noon ) or high temperatures. They ( temperatures ) didn't stop people from shopping along the main roads near the train station, though.

 The above is a photo of Takeshita street. Shops everywhere, lots of shop employees yelling special offers, trying to garner attention toward their store. Lots of people of all ages and appearances, too.

Myself, I haven't been all that impressed with modern attractions. Fact is, prices are generally higher than in Poland, sometimes by quite a bit. Another thing is how much Japanese people love baubles and the like. There are tons of useless things you can buy and they often aren't all that cheap. One thing the shops are good for is AC. Every 15-30 mins you go into one to cool down a little. It's funny how they're supposedly conserving electricity right now due to shortages when all shops inside of buildings run AC at such levels that it's actually comfortably cool in them ( and that's often with open doors ). Can't say I'm complaining, though. Talking about survivng the heat, some restaurants offer free cold water when you order something ( the one we've been to had unlimited refills, too ). 

Interesting fact:

While smoking generally isn't very restricted in Japan, there are areas where you aren't allowed to smoke in public ( transportation is also smoke-free ). That means it's allowed only in buildings ( as in restaurants and such ) or in special areas:

Photo of a "Smoking Area" near Harajuku station.

Meiji Shrine is a rather big place that you enter through a huge torii.

Unfortunately it's been destroyed during WWII and then rebuilt in 1953 so it's the same but not the same. Reminded me how much was lost to that man-made disaster. Walking towards the temple we've had our first taste on how generally left-sided traffic can change due to lack of shadow on one side, etc. The shrine itself is kind of a tourist trap. If you want to buy any gifts, be prepared to spend a good deal more than they're worth. There's also a lot of situations where you're expected to give an offering. Doesn't change the fact that it was pretty great. I've had a chance to see two weddings there, too. One more thing about temples in Japan is that before entering the grounds you should cleanse yourself. You do that by cleaning your hands and mouth with water ( there is a special place for this ).

I've also had a chance to pray. It was somewhat hard to figure out the right way of  doing it. People prayed in several different ways. In the end, I went with bowing twice then clapping twice. I sure hope I haven't angered any gods!

Lastly, toilets in Japan are, indeed, complicated at times. If you don't know some kanji you're in even more trouble:P.

Here are some more photos from yesterday:

 
Tokyo metro, I'm still very impressed by their transportation. Doesn't change the fact that navigating metro / train lines in Tokyo is quite intimidating, especially without knowing the language well.

Some people from our group invading a vending machine which are found in abundance in Tokyo. They're great in summer as the drinks are kept very cool. I can also agree that the famous Pocari Sweat is tasty.

Inside of a train, no it's not rush hour ;)

Prayer tablets, 500 yen and you can add one of your own.

One of the weddings. You can see the wedding procession, official photographers and some temple guards keeping tourists at bay ;).

Here's a not so small temple near our hostel.

Hot in Tokyo

The above was unfortunately very true as it was ~30C by the time we arrived. First, let me tell you that over 10hrs on a plane sucks. Not being able to sleep, mostly due to lack of space, sucks even more. So it were sleep deprived travelers ( the Japanese ones much less so as they seem capable of sleeping anywhere ) and stewardesses that braved Japan's summertime weather. I have to say that the transformation the outside scenery undergoes as you make that 80min trip from Narita to Tokyo is quite dramatic. It starts all rural villages and forests to end as tons of concrete in underground tunnels. I've also experienced that uniquely Japanese ability to sleep or do your whole make-up on the train. An adaptation of sorts, I suppose, when you consider that in Tokyo you can easily travel for 2hrs+ one way. What surprised me is that female school uniforms have this kind of sweater without sleeves ( I have no idea what's the proper name here, I'm no fashion specialist:P ) even with these temperatures. On the other hand, I've seen people here dressed anything from very lightly to almost winter wear. As far as I'm concerned, thank God for AC in ( almost ) all buildings and in all kinds of transportation. It's a life saver!

Once the sun went down temperatures got a smidge more bearable and I decided to go for a walk in the neighbourhood. There are several things about Tokyo that just jump out at you. There's lots of bicycles, especially parked in front of stations. I've even seen a parking spot with 2 levels of parking space, one above the other. Talking about interesting ideas, there are rotating car parks ( one entrance/exit and cars are rotated around ). Secondly, people aren't afraid to walk / ride anywhere in the evening ( or during nighttime ). Children, elderly, lone women, mothers with children, you can see them everywhere. Talking about children, school clubs are truly great. 8 PM and  you'll still see lots of kids either heading home from some kind of practice or training in some kind of sport. Myself I've been quite startled when I heard kendoists shouting from across the street ( from inside an impressive looking PE building to boot ). Lastly, it's the impressive state of roads ( haven't seen a single hole yet ) and just as awe-inspiring cleanliness of the city.

Travel not without problems

First off, there'll be 2 posts today. I wanted to throw in a photo from Japan but it turns out I can't process RAW files on my netbook. You'll have to wait a while longer for those.

Without further ado, let us begin!

To start, on my way to the airport on Friday morning I learned that my flight's cancelled. Instead we flew through Munich a few hours later. There were 2 positive points to this as we got a 14$ voucher to use for dinner at the airport. Secondly, with this we arrived in Japan at 10 AM instead of 8 which meant somewhat lower traffic. Let's go back to the airport in Warsaw, though. We had some more surprises waiting for us. First of all, we ended up pressed for time, because we hadn't anticipated such big queues for international flights. After that, some guy in the queue fainted in front of us. That voucher kind of backfired as it was probably the most expensive meal in my life and certainly had the worst price/value ratio. The grand total was 31$ for a very average meal.

photo of the queue:

photo of the infamous meal, 1/4 gone:

P.S. That coke in the background cost 3$. That's for a 0,5l bottle, folks!

Day 0 ( or is it ground zero? )

Let's start off topic - I apologize in advance for any ( and that likely means many ) mistakes as English isn't my first language. Aside from that, I'll try to post every 2-3 days at least, so drop by often.

I really should be sleeping by now but who cares about that when you're about to go on the trip of your life. Good thing we'll be on the plane for 12 hrs. I can only hope for the sake of fellow travelers that I won't snore;). I've been packing the entire day and the weather seems to think I'm in Japan already as it's hot and humid, alright! Like the title hints at, the place looks like a bomb got detonated here. I still have to solve a hand baggage issue. 8 kg is very little when you have some camera equipment to pack, let me tell you. Let's leave it at that for today, I gotta go and work on my luggage some more ( fight-o! ). Next post should include a photo or 2 and hopefully won't be so terribly boring:P.