Neon Dreams

Mar 1, 2017
12 min read

Location:

Tokyo, Japan

Saying goodbye is always hard to do. We will miss our little Auckland family! Hopefully we will all meet again. Valda insisted on driving us to the airport, and with all our heavy luggage, how could we refuse! At the airport, after a bit of a queue at the check in desk, it was such a relief to be able to drop our bags off and know we didn’t have to worry about them until we reached our final-destination!

With a stop-off for 70 minutes in the Gold Coast, Australia and then another stop off at KL, Malaysia for 10 hours, it is something the inexperienced traveller would not be able to cope with. Mix that in with around 15 hours’ worth of air miles! Fun times! I think the 10-hour layover in KL bothered Jason more than me. I thought it was fine. Surprisingly, I thought it went very quick.

After over a whole day’s worth of travelling, we finally made it to Tokyo, Japan. How very exciting! A new country to add to our list. Would it live up to our expectations? Are the people as nice as we think? Is the food going to wow us? What about the Japanese culture? Can Japan touch our hearts? So far, so good! As we arrived in late, we had to catch a couple of trains to our hostel, ‘Space Hostel’ as there is no direct service after a certain time. It can be hard arriving in a new country especially when you don’t know how to get somewhere. Everybody we asked for help, were more than helpful, even the ones we didn’t ask. All of them went out of their way to help us. When we got off our last stop, a local approached us to ask if we needed any help. He ended up walking down with us to help us find our hostel. We then bumped into some young police officers who were more than willing to help us when the first guy couldn’t find our hostel. Eventually, with all our heavy luggage and our police escort, (We are very important, you know!) we arrived at our destination! All I wanted was my laba! I think it must have been the best night’s sleep I have had in a long time!

I woke up after an amazing sleep to find Jason who had already had a shower, was waiting and rearing to go! I don’t know where he gets his energy! It is very exciting! A new country! So much to see and explore! First things first, we both need some food. Time to check out the amazing Japanese cuisine. Since being in Australia, we have both developed a love for Sushi. If you asked me at home to try some, I probably would have hesitated. Now, with any food I am unsure off, I am always up for a challenge. Life is too short! The weirder, the better! When it comes to Japanese food, apart from Sushi, it’s a whole new world!

While we may be just a few weeks too early for Japans world famous ‘Cherry Blossom Season,’ we were pleasantly surprised when we saw stunning trees covered in these beautiful, delicate pink flowers. I can see why the event attracts so many people every single year. Who doesn’t want to see rows and rows of these stunning trees covered in the most beautiful, delicate pink flowers? Something tells me that it will become more of a pink blanket with the wind so violently blowing them all off. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also have to contend with the many ‘Amazon Parrots’ who spend their time simply plucking the flowers off the trees. With their beautiful green bodies against a backdrop of the blossoms, it is an impressive sight, especially as they ever so gently bite into these delicate little flowers with their beaks! Simply breath-taking! As we made our way through ‘Ueno Park,’ we stopped off at an old temple before walking down the water front where a young couple were surrounded by lots and lots of hungry little birds. When they went off, a kind, elderly Japanese man told Jason to put his hand out. Before Jason could even blink, he had the birds ever so gently eating off the palm of his hand! Amazing to watch! Isn’t nature just remarkable!

If there is one thing Japan is famous for, and no, I don’t mean food, it must be its temples. Even if you are not religious, even if your religion is different, you cannot ignore these influential, religious sites. They are up there with Sushi, Udon Noodles and Mount Fuji! Close by to where we are staying is one of the city’s most iconic shrines, ‘Sensoji Temple.’ At the entrance to a Japanese ‘Shinto’ shrine, you will always find a traditional Japanese gate, or ‘Torii’ as it is more commonly known. A torii is the entrance into the sacred world. Like most tourist sites around the world, if there is one thing you are guaranteed to find, it has to be a market stall. And here is no exception. As soon as we passed through the torii, a long avenue to another gate was lined with stalls on either side selling an array of items including very tasty snacks. We stopped off at one stall where a man facing retirement greeted us. After we made our purchase, I asked if I could take a photo. The man said OK and moved out of my way so I was able to get a good shot of the kitchen area. I asked again if I could take a photo, not of the kitchen but of the man in front of me. Honestly, I think it was probably the best thing he heard all day! ‘A photo of me?’ he said with a big smile on his face. It was lovely! As we eventually reached the second gate, we were greeted with this beautiful orange temple. We were lucky that we made it in good time as we were able to have a quick look inside before it closed. What a beautiful, peaceful place. Amazed by the young locals in traditional ‘Kimono’ outfits, I asked two girls if I could take their picture. Of course, how could they refuse the charm of an Irish man?

In Japan, there is lots of amazing food on offer. It’s only day one, but already I am beginning to look forward to meal times. Our first evening meal in ‘The Land of The Rising Sun’ consisted of small savoury treats including fish and noodle dishes which we had to cook ourselves over a miniature BBQ. I kind of enjoyed having to cook my own food. Something different is always good. Cooking a soup dish wrapped in tin foil was certainly interesting to say the least.

There are many things this wonderful country is famous for, including computer games. With Japan being home to one of the world’s most iconic video game companies, Sega, video games are not only fun, it is part of their DNA! You cannot come to Japan without entering one of their gaming arcades. From the minute you enter, what an experience it is! Usually these arcades are spread over a series of floors, with each level jam-packed with people from all walks of life including professionals who are totally engrossed with the challenge of the game in front of them. This is no place for chit chat, this is serious stuff! It goes a long way to explaining the mind-set of just how innocent the Japanese people really are!

To say I enjoyed my night’s sleep is an understatement! Being able to pull my curtain over and close my eyes was amazing. I am still tired from all this travelling, and being in a new city that has so much to see, there is simply no rest for the wicked. Even today we are up early, and for a good cause, as we want to get to the ‘Tsukiji Fish Market.’ I say early, but not 4AM early. I don’t care how much you love tuna, it’s a bit early, even for the world famous ‘Tuna Auction.’ It would have been an amazing experience, but having to get up in the middle of the night for something that you might not get into as they only let a certain amount in, didn’t really appeal to me. Our trip to the famous market began with a bowl of ‘Ramen,’ a traditional Japanese noodle soup dish served by an elderly couple at their stall. They have probably served the one dish for the last thirty-forty years! On a cold morning, a hearty, warm dish is just what we needed. It certainly warmed me up for our walk around the market. Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the only treat my belly was going to have this morning.

Back to the train station we go. This time to ‘Meiji Jingu,’ a shrine set in acres upon acres of park land. Thankfully, when we exited the train station, we didn’t have far to walk. Even though we are in still in the city, it feels as though we have swapped the hustle and bustle for the countryside and are in the middle of nowhere. With such a large population comes a lot of noise. For some reason in Tokyo, there is not as much chaos as one might expect to find! Instead, not too far from the city, we found somewhere peaceful where one can spend a few hours walking along pathways in the middle of a large open forest with huge trees that sit on a bed of beautiful green moss, that spring out of the ground and almost touches the sky. After a peaceful walk around, we eventually came to the main shrine where we got to enjoy a traditional Japanese wedding. It’s always great to be able to experience a country’s culture at first hand as it creates a more authentic experience!

From peace and tranquillity to bang, slap, right in the middle of what is said to be the world’s busiest pedestrian intersection. It is the beating heart of the Japanese capital, it is the ‘Shibuya Crossing!’ As the lights turn red, hundreds of people spill out onto the road from all sides! It’s as if someone just opened the flood gates to the Liffey! During peak time, it is estimated that over one thousand people pass through this busy intersection at any one time. While it is nice during the day, it’s the night sky with the neon lights that create a truly Tokyo experience.

Remember that nice movie starring ‘Richard Gere’ about a dog named ‘Hachikō’ who goes every day to the train station to greet his owner as he comes home from? Long after his owner dies, the poor, loyal, faithful dog continues to return to the same spot, at the exact same time for many more years to come. It is a movie that sets in stone the strong bond we have with ‘Man’s best friend!’ The scene of a man and his dog set in the early 1900’s is a far cry from the sleepy town depicted in the movie. Almost a hundred years later, a statue of the dog at the exact meeting point finds itself next to the world’s busiest pedestrian crossings. A constant reminder of the bond we share with our faithful companion!

After our walk across the famous intersection, it was time was time for a look around! We couldn’t simply pass by an ice cream crepe place, could we? While there was a little queue, it didn’t put us off! At nearly all food outlets in Japan, every dish, savoury or sweet sits in the front window as a near identical plastic form. Having a few minutes to wait, confused us even more. What do we order? They all look amazing. In the end, we settled for an ice cream cone made entirely of a soft crepe, filled with whipped cream and strawberries. While the crepe was amazing, I would have preferred some ice cream inside. Further down the street, we discovered another food outlet, this time serving fresh candy floss. I’m not sure if it is just Jason’s love for this sugary treat or the sight of an eccentric rainbow floss on a stick that made us go in! It was probably a bit of both. As we left with our little creation, we were quickly pushed away from the premises as I tried to take a photo of this colourful, Jason-proofed treat. If Jason had hair, it would look like this!

What a busy day! There is so much to see and do, but so little time. To make things worse, we are still fighting the jet lag! Oh well! We can’t really complain. How many people from home get to visit this incredible country? Myself and Jason are both very lucky! Having been advised to check out the observation deck in ‘The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building,’ we made our way over to Sinjuku. Before going over to the building, we had a quick look around a quaint little park as we were far too early for the sunset. As we arrived at the imposing government building, there was a bit of a queue for the lift. I’m sure we could have taken the stairs, but having to climb over 200 metres to the 45th floor just seemed like way too much effort. Before we knew it, we were in the lift with our ears popping as it brought us effortlessly to the observation deck. What views we had! We could see as far as the ever impressive ‘Mount Fuji.’ Being able to watch the sun set over this incredible city, was simply breath-taking! I don’t think words can describe it!

After such a hectic day trying to see everything, we finished off at the ‘Tokyo Tower.’ I’m not sure if it is a coincidence or a deliberate choice of architecture, or maybe its designers were simply inspired by the ‘Eiffel Tower’ in Paris. Nevertheless, at night time, when it is lit up, it is certainly just as impressive as it’s more famous counterpart. A few pictures later, we headed back to our hostel for a good night’s sleep before we leave the city in the morning.

It’s hard to believe our Japanese trip is coming to an end soon. But not before one final return to Tokyo! What an amazing time we have had! We didn’t get back to the city until evening time, and by the time we did, we were both starving. With so many places to choose from, finding somewhere nice is never an issue! The Japanese are quite revolutionary. From toilet seats that keep you warm and massage you, to restaurants that that have a vending machine where you place your order. How clever the Japanese are! Standing in a queue, an Asian couple with North American accents asked for our help with the vending machine! Did must have thought we were masters of this clever device! Before we knew it, all four of us were sitting down together enjoying some very tasty food, chatting away. Our new travel friends are Fiona and Louis. They are married and live in Canada. Fiona left her home of Vietnam as a refugee when she was very small and Louis who was born in Hong Kong, decided to leave his home in search of something new! After a nice, unexpected meal together, we went for a stroll across the river to the ‘Tokyo Skytree’ before agreeing to meet up again the next day!

Even though I was the first one up, I was the last one out! I must make sure I look nice! Despite Jason’s moans, we still made it down to Sensoji Temple where we were meeting our new Canadian friends, in good time. You want to hear the abuse I got off my other half for not being ready on time! As you can imagine, I got some satisfaction when we arrived at our meeting spot with five minutes to spare. At the train station, we were all a bit confused on how to get to ‘Ryogoku’ which has become famous over the years for being the home of ‘Sumo Wrestling,’ you know the sport where two hugely overweight men wearing only a small bit of cloth to cover their jewels, jump into a ring together! Looking confused, two elderly staff members who didn’t have very good English, approached us asking if we needed any help. Trying to assist us, the two men tried to find where we needed to go by discussing it with each other. They were like an old married couple as they tried to figure out what train we should get. It was cute to watching them! At long last we arrived in ‘Sumo Town’ where we had a quick look around the famous museum before wandering over to Chiyoda for a free tour of ‘The Tokyo Imperial Palace,’ which is the chief home of the Emperor of Japan. As the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1868, the palace is not as historic and grand as one mind imagine. For me, it is a bit to modern! Let’s be real, while the tour may have been free, it was the most boring thing I have ever done! I think watching paint dry would be more interesting. There was too much waiting around and when we went to get an audio guide, we were told there was none left which meant we had to listen to the guide talking Japanese, not having a clue what was going on. To make things worse, we weren’t even brought inside any of the buildings. Thankfully it was free!

There are so many things that you should do and try on a holiday to Japan. After seeing the big long queues a new Japanese cheese cake bakery in Sydney’s CBD attracted no matter what time of day, I was always intrigued to try this rather sweet delicacy. Unlike the rest of Asia, Japan not only does savoury to perfection, but its rather sweeter dishes are just as good, if not better! I may have waited until our final day in this amazing country, but WOW, it is one of the nicest cakes I have ever tried. I’m sorry, but I never thought a cheese cake could taste so good. On our last evening in Japan, all four of us headed over to Shinjuku for our final meal and some ‘Neon Dreaming!’

When myself and Jason set about planning ‘The Big Adventure,’ Japan wasn’t somewhere that was on our list, but the more people we met who raved about the country, the more we knew we had to see for ourselves just how amazing this country really is! And boy, it is one of the most remarkable territories I have ever visited. Not only do they have some delicious dishes, but they know how to cook everything to perfection! As for their pork, words cannot describe it! The Japanese themselves are probably the most kind and genuine people we have met so far. I love how they go out of their way to help you, even though most of them have not got much English, it won’t stop them offering you some friendly help when you need it. As for how beautiful the country is, well, you better add it to your bucket list!

By Andrew