Today was my last day in Tokyo, tomorrow we fly to London! L and I were planning on going to the fish market and the beach but we slept in and it just didn't happen. Its so hot, too hot for the beach. We both don't have uch yen left so we are having a stingy day. Its really bizzare, Japan has a cash based currency- everything is paid for in cash so we haven't used our cards for a week. Its good because you keep track of your $ more easily. 

Anyway, I thought the best way to see a bit more of Tokyo without spending money would be to go for a walk. In the morning I went down by the Sumida river in Asakusabashi and followed it along until I got to Humacho park. I was surprised to see these little structures as I walked along the riverside. From a distance I assumed them to be stalls of some kind that were yet to be opened- they were covered in tarp.  On closer inspection Irealised they were little humpies housed by homeless people. 

For the first few days of our time in Tokyo L & I were surprised at the quality of the people we saw and that generally there were no bums, no dags, no homies, no ghetto bitches. It wasn't until yesterday at Ueno park that we really saw any bona fide bums. as my mum said to me at the airport "There are poor people everywhere, Adele". She sounded like a massive snob, but what she means is, no mater where you go there are down and outs, hobo's and homeless people. Some places are just better at hiding it. 

Here in Tokyo there are about 30, 000 homeless people- although the government estimates it at much less according to my lonely planet. Like most homeless people they seem to be displaces, pushed to the outside of society. there is quite a large population in Ueno park and in the park near the river where I was today.  Unlicke Adelaide bums (or as my mum would say "swampies') Tokyo bums aren't drunk & disorderly. On the most part they seem to keep their distance and they don't even smell. 

Down by the banks of the sumida the little shacks were quite well built, certainly more permanent that the backpack i am living out of. What bothers me, as an outsider, is that the government must find it difficult to aid these people if it hasn't/won't accurately account for all of them. I guess its not really my business or my place to judge. 

YEAH> 

Tokyo street art. 

ART! 29/7

29/7

Capsule bed is the japanese word for coffin sauna. 

This morning I woke up in my capsule bed, mega sweaty and needing some air that had not been circulated through my body several times over. My neck is a bit sore, by legs hurt from walking so much and my feet are killing me. Such is life for the backpacker. Hopefully all the walking, eating japanese food and climbing soooo many steps will mean that my ass will be amazing by the time we get to London. 

Today is date yourself wednesday, so L and I decided that we would go to Ueno together and then split up for  while so we could do our own thing. I think its really important for our friendship to make sure that we do things apart, otherwise we will end up with nothing to talk about and an underlying level of resentment. While Lauren went off to the Zoo, I decided to hit the Art museums. 

I was fairly certain that in Japan, the second biggest economy in the world, would have an art collection was amazing. I was really looking forward to seeing some of the rich cultural history of Japan through its art, and also seeing how that translates in to their modern and contemporary collections. I started off at the Tokyo museum of Modern art which contained several exhibits of Japanese calligraphy. Everything was in Japanese so i didn't get any particular cultural insight into the practice of Calligraphy, I was however struck by several things. Some of the larger pieces had such a momentum to them, you couldn't help but imagine the calligrapher standing and using their entire body (and mind) to produce such a work. There were also smaller pieces that felt like intimate scrawlings, where the artist had felt an overwhelming desire to expel a movement that was shared between themselves and the paper. 

Next I moved on to the National Museum where I found collections ranging from early Buddhist sculpture through to military uniform, ceramics, ritual objects, costume and block prints. It was really great to be able to read about the objects and also to see things that were very very old. 

The Tokyo museum of Western art was next on my list and strangely L and I ran in to each other on the way in. We walked along together for a while but ended up splitting up. I was pretty impressed with the collection they had, ranging from 17th C through to late Modernity. It was really nice to see some of the impressionist pieces, especially considering the influence that traditional Japanese Aesthetics had on the movement. I was completely dumbstruck when i entered into the Monet room. For me, this trip is a way of extending knowledge of the world, through experience but also through art. I have dedicated the past 5 years to furthering my knowledge of art and its not easy to do when the closest you get to most of the work is through a computer or a book. It was a full circle moment when I could physically see the works in front of me. Some favourites were Renoir's In the Woods, Monet's On the Boat and also the Water lillies. The collection of 20th century works was also great, i was particually struck by Albert Gleizes Harvest Threshing and always feel humbled around works by Picasso, Miro and Ernst. 

Capsule of death

Aleks: this is for you!

Japanese military uniform (built for guns in the 16th c)

view from the Tokyo National Museum

After Ueno we went to Rappongi "the clubbing district" which was full of crazy clubs like Hang-over (you'll be hang over in morning). It is also the home of the Mori Art Museum which we didn't go to cos we are running out of Yen. We did take photo's with the giant spider out the front which is called maman (french for mum).  It also had a pretty spectacular view of the city. 

View from Rappongi hills (like Beverly Hills but in Tokyo)

Novelty

NINJA!!!!!!!!!!

Traveling is a novel experience> every day brings me in to contact with exciting and brand new things. Meeting new people, eating different food, speaking a new language. Over the last few days I have been thinking about how ridiculously ethnocentric I am. I have come in to this country armed with basically one word: Arigato, thankyou. Somehow, thanks to the kindness of the people here in Tokyo and with a whole lot of pointing, I have got through. Tonight L and I realised that in some sense, we are probably a bit of a novelty as well. We went out to dinner in Shibuya at a Standing Sushi Bar. We have been getting pretty used to being the only caucasians but realised we were totally out of our depth as the menu was written on the wall in japanese text. After standing for a few minutes with our eyes wide and confused one of the Chefs brought us a menu in English. He was so hilarious and found it quite amusing that we didn't speak much Japanese. After a few minutes the chef, the couple next to us, L and I were all laughing at how hopeless we were! The couple poured us some powdered green tea and L & I chose sushi off of the english menu by pointing and saying arigato lots of times. We had raw salmon, prawns, avocado, some cooked salmon and cucumber rolls. All of it was made right in front of us using the hand pressed rice method. Delicious! 

After that we went and sat in the Starbucks above the famous Shibuya scramble crossing, we were so amazed at the number of people who were still out and about at 11:30 pm on a Tuesday. We were also amazed when it came time to go home at how many people were on the train line. On the Sobu train the people sitting next to us said hello and Lauren and I again realised that we were a bit of a novelty. In Adelaide we are so used to seeing a multitude of nationalities (even if they are all driven to assimilate with our culture or else face eviction). Here in Tokyo I stick out like a sore thumb. Not to say that there aren't many caucasians, its just more that there are a fairly low ratio and mostly concentrated at tourist hot spots. 

When we changed trains to get back to Asakusabashi  there were at least 250 people waiting for the same train which was basically full when it arrived. We waited for the next train but within a few minutes the crowd had swollen to the same size again. AHH! at least we only had to go one stop. Now we are back at our novelty hostel Khaosan Tokyo NINJA  getting ready for a good nights sleep in our novelty capsule beds! 

scramble crossing, Shibuya
Midnight JR train

Other novel experiences from the past few days:

tasting new things: I read an article in Nylon about the guy from Of Montreal who said that while he was in Osaka for a show he tried Octopus balls and they were great. I mentioned it to L and so we decided to give it a go. Most of the time its good to try things once. 

Result: These were not my favourite things. 

Asakusa street walker

amazing eel in street front aquarium, Ginza

Harajuku and Shinjuku 26/7

Yesterday L and I went to Harajuku and Shinjuku. It was such a contrast to the "old town" Asakusa, there were large buildings, department stores and UK & USA brands we don't have in Adelaide. We also went for a walk in the Meiji shrine and gardens. It was really beautiful. There were so many people down the shopping strip Takeshita  dori and I got really crowd sick. It is also BLAZINGLY HOT and ultra humid. After Harajuku we went to Shinjuku which seemed to come alive after it got dark. We felt like we were really in Tokyo, bright lights/big city. We had dinner in a building that was covered in jigsaw pieces and sat in booths that were like little huts. It was delicious. Then we had to navigate through the Shinjuku railway station> busiest in the world, and made our way back to the hostel for a good nights sleep. Traveling is totally exhausting. 

Condomania, Harajuku. If its not on, its not on. 

Meiji Shrine was like an Oasis in he middle of the city. I was surrounded by a large forest and it felt like you were a million miles away for civilisation. 

Takeshita Dori, Harajuku

Everyone rides bikes!

Our delicious dinner: furry soy beans, Tofu, some pickled stuff, Sushi that we ate before we took the photo, and a salad that came after. 

FIREWORKS 25/7

The night we arrived in Tokyo there was  fireworks festival, the biggest one for the year. We were warned that there would be more people than you can ever imagine. Luckily, the rooftop of our hostel had the most amazing view. At about 7 we went up there with some Japanese snacks and amazing vending machine cokes. I have never seen so many fireworks!

This is me drinking Sake from a square vessel on the rooftop. One of the other hostel guests offered it to lauren and I, it was really nice. Everyone here has been so lovely to us!

Tokyo

Today was our first day in Japan. We Landed at Narita Airport at 630 am and struggled through the airport with our ridiculously heavy bags and lethargic bodies from lack of sleep. Who ever said you could get a good nights sleep on a plane was very wrong. We arrived at the hostel which we managed to find even though we just wondered down some street. IT IS SOOOOOOOO HOT. My skin doesn't like hot. And then we took a walk around Asakusa. 

The view from our hostel window, Shaved Ice with strawberry, Buddha, 5 story Pagoda and the Asahi Beer factory. 

Tonight is the fireworks festival YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sydney Airport

OMG. Im on my way to see the world. LC and I are in Sydney Airport waiting for our connecting flight for Tokyo. Saying goodbye at the Airport was horrible. I am so sorry for everyone who had to see me crying, I will miss you all heaps. I have managed to spend $$$$ already and bought the amazing Nixon headphones that I have been coveting for ages. At the moment I am sitting in the international terminal watching all of the planes land and take off (its my turn soon). We ate Krispy Kreme's and now i feel sick. Tomorrow we will be in TOKYO JAPAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!