Tokyo and Nikko

Ok so far Japan has been pretty cool. Tokyo is an absolutely massive city. I got into town Friday night, and after using a variety of communication methods such as gesturing, speaking very slowly in English, and pointing to where I need to go on a map, I managed to navigate the crazy Tokyo subway/train combo to find my hostel with the help of some friendly Japanese people. Even though I was ridiculously tired, it was only 8pm and so I know that if I went to bed then I would be screwed the next day, most likely waking up at 4am wondering what the hell to do as the 7 other people in my room snored away. Some cool English guys invited me to join in on their pregame session and to hit up some “massive club” with them, but I knew I wasn’t ready for that kind of night just yet. I took a raincheck for Saturday night with them. So I decided to hit up Shibuya on my own. Shibuya basically summarizes Tokyo. It’s swarming with seas of people, most of the people are dressed up to the nines, talking on their cell phones as they navigate the crowds effortlessly, while I do my best to not run anyone over while walking fast (in an attempt to appear poised and confident of my whereabouts) and looking down at my map simultaneously (somewhat offsetting the poise thing). Oh and the neon lights…they’re everywhere! Huge flashing neon lights, jumbo screens playing eerie ads on the side of buildings…definitely sensory overload for my jet lagged brain. I decided it was high time I find a retreat from the flood of people on the streets, and low and behold I walked by a little pub where I could see there were quite a few “Westerners” standing around with pints of beer. I was sold. Normally I would feel pretty awkward just walking into a strange and packed bar by myself, but the alternative of roaming around Shibuya like a lost soul was worse. Within one minute of entering the bar I befriended an American guy and his Japanese girlfriend, after Chuck (American guy) heard my pathetic attempt to order a Sapporo beer. “They only serve Asahi here man, dark or white”, he informed me after ordering me a dark one. This guy knew the way to my heart. 4 beers later and we were good buddies, but I realized it was already after midnight, and the temporary buzz of meeting new people (and the 4 beers on an empty stomach) started to give way to my body’s yearning for sleep. I said bye to my new random friends, and went back to the hostel and fell asleep instantly.
The first half of Saturday was spent strolling through Ueno Park with another new buddy, David, that I met at the hostel. Saw some cool temples, a couple random monks, and otherwise just beautiful trees and rivers spilling over with Carp Fish. Then Dave and I split up, and I checked out Akhibara, where they have all the latest electronics gadgets, many of which haven’t made it to the North American market. My favorite was the cleaning robot that they had on display. It wheeled around the floor, using it’s camera to figure out the layout of the floor, and to search and destroy all dirt. I’m totally getting one of those when I get settled again. Then I went over to Asakusa for some more temple viewing and cool markets. On my way there I met two girls from California that were gazing at the subway maps just as awkwardly as me. I’m finding it’s easy to meet other westerners anyways, since we stand out like a sore thumb here, and so we naturally gravitate to each other. Anyways, the girls and I had a great afternoon, and after checking out the sites, we had some beer on a patio and were offered some interesting challenges by the locals. The first was totally random and basically involved some Japanese guy carrying this huge contraption up to our table, and challenging me to lift it. I thought the whole thing was pretty silly and said no thanks. But then our waitress started egging me on, and then the girls joined in….I had no choice but to accept the challenge. Now, as many of you know, I am no stranger to the gymnasium, and when I’m not embarrassing my bros Rob and Kell on the badminton courts, I enjoy throwing around the weights. Therefore it was no surprise when I successfully lifted this weird thing, to the delight and applause of everyone around. Thank god I’m so huge. Then the next challenge came. “You sing karaoke”, said our waitress, in a strange tone somewhere between a question and a demand. After some more back and forth similar to the lifting thing, we were talked into it, and within 5 mins we were up in front of the crowd signing “Eight Days A Week” by the Beatles. I’ve never been much of a singer, preferring to let other, more talented singers take care of it. The girls seemed equally hesitant. But we wanted to be good sports so we did our best, and got a hearty applause afterwards. I was shocked to hear the girls later tell me how good of a singer they thought I was. I’m sure they were just being nice, but they may have now unleashed a singing machine! We’ll see. I definitely love Japanese Karaoke. Steve, if you’re reading this, you have to go to Japan. I know how you love the Japanese Karaoke as well. It’s everywhere here! I said bye to the girls, and then spent the night barhopping in the Rappongi district with Oliver, Nick (the 2 English guys) and Dave. A pretty good night but it was somewhat soured by the hundreds of low lifes on every corner aggressively trying to get you to go to their bar, sometimes following us for blocks despite being blatantly told to piss off. All in all though, Saturday was my highlight reel day so far.
Sunday was fairly low key. Checked out Harajuku, where a ton of teenagers go hang out, dressed up in a variety of costumes, with lots and lots of Goths. Had fish in chips with the English guys in an English pub while listening to Caribbean music. Quite the cultural experience. Then later that evening I met up with Esstee and Rene, my two climbing partners for the big Fuji expedition. Both are great people, and I was delighted to hear that Esstee is a doctor, so that if I slip and lodge a rock into my face, I know it’ll all be taken care of. She’s even invited me to her home in Malaysia after I leave Japan, which I may take her up on at some point in my travels.
Monday and Tuesday have been spent in Nikko, which is a beautiful historic park, with lots of shrines and temples, and beautiful mountains and lakes. This was more of a visual thing, so I won’t write much about it. Although one item of note occurred today, when I was attacked by an irate monkey. This monkey and her baby were just roaming through this little town, and actually crossed the road at a crosswalk to go over to this ice cream store. The owner of the store quickly shoed them out but I was finding the whole scene hysterical and was following along taking pictures. Well today I learned monkey lesson No. 1 – Never get too close to a mother and her baby. The mom got pissed big time when I took one step too close to them. She showed me her teeth, so I figured it was about time I hit the ol’ dusty trail, and started to walk away. Not satisfied by this, the mom took a charge at me, and I swung my daypack at her to keep her at arm’s length, and from lodging her teeth into my exposed legs. She finally gave up after realizing she owned me on this day, and proudly hobbled back to her baby. I walked away, dejected and humiliated, as a crowd of onlookers observed the comical scene.
I’m on the train back from Nikko now. Got a new hostel to go to now. It looks to be the cheapest one in Tokyo (did I mention it’s ridiculously expensive here), so I’m sure it’ll be a treat. Stay tuned for more!