Big in Japan

So after China, we had a few days to spend in Tokyo, Japan. We have heard some mad things about Tokyo and they are all true! This is the country where technology is king! Even the toilets have about 10 buttons to press which do various things (want a heated toilet seat? No problem.) And the toilet humour didn't end there, as you'll see.

The hostel we were staying at was near the Asahi brewery, which is a well known Japanese beer.

It is noted for the Asahi Flame, an enormous golden structure at the top, said to represent both the 'burning heart of Asahi beer' and a frothy head. It is better known by the locals as 'The Golden Turd'.

Our hostel itself was fine - if a little compact. But that's to be expected in Tokyo. Did I say a little compact?

Our room was like a broom closet with bunk beds. I must have banged my head 10 times while there.

Walking the streets of Tokyo is something completely different as well. There are rules you have to follow:

And the great thing is that everyone obeys the rules - which makes things more pleasant for everyone!

You smoke in the smoking area (even outside), you only cross the road when you have the green man, you don't talk on your phone on the train - really whatever it takes to make it easier on others.

Although English isn't spoken by many, it's still easy to get around and about. Also, heading out for food isn't a problem. A lot of restaurants will have English menus and if they don't, a lot of them will have a display case with a plastic version of what they serve presented outside:

One of things on our list of things to do in Tokyo was to head to the Shinjuku district at night and see the bright lights:

Shinjuku has department stores, specialist electronic and camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels AND the busiest train station in the world is also located here.

Another thing on the list was to head to the Harajuku area of Tokyo which is known for it's gothic and cyber punk street style. Basically kids get dressed up in outrageous clothing and hang around - you could see everything from rockabilly's, goths, and teens dressed up as cartoon characters! Bizarre! Unfortunately for us, it was raining on the day we chose to go there and the kids were indoors in case their hair flopped. We did take a walk down one of the two main streets in Harajuku called Takeshita street where we saw a procession in the rain. Here's a photo to prove that we saw a procession and another photo to prove that there is street called Takeshita:

We have no idea what the procession was in aid of - everyone looked like they were wearing mini skirts though.

Next we took a walk to Shibuya which is famous for its scramble crossing. It is located in front of the Hachiko station exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing. The Starbucks coffee shop overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world. This photo is taken from there:

So that's it really. It rained for a lot of our time in Tokyo so the photos don't really do it justice, but hopefully you'll get an idea of what it was like. We highly recommend Tokyo! There's hardly any crime, people are friendly, there are great restaurants, you can get cans of cold beer from vending machines, the metro goes everywhere you need to go, and believe it or not, it's probably cheaper than Dublin. You can't go wrong!