What I really wanted was a hedgehog

Day 2

We all woke up at 10am. We were so tired and lacking of proper rest that we slept through the ambulances/police that kept gracing the street at regular intervals during the night. We clearly did not pick a quiet location.

We are staying at Wise Owl Hostels Tokyo. Our 2 bunk beds room is smallish but beds are very comfy, facilities are great and staff is very friendly and accommodating. Location is central.

Will and Jorge flew their bikes in these massive bags but they cannot take them in trains and they do not fit the car we will rent tomorrow. So they are leaving them at the hostel until we return in a couple of weeks. Somewhere in Tokyo today they are buying small, foldable bags.

Me and Manuel went out on town. Manuel had no plans so he tagged along with me. He was warned in advance that there would be some shopping!

We entered the train station just outside our hostel, Hotchobori, just to find out that the train lines map was all in Japanese and the ticket counter employee did not speak English. We then decided to walk to Tokyo station, being a bigger station it should be easier. That is, if we could find the station. 

We walked for half an hour and should have arrived to the station by then but it was no where to be seen. We asked a lady to confirm our suspisions that we were walking on the opposite direction. We were!! Before we arrived at our first destination of the day we also managed to get in 2 trains going the wrong direction! The day wasn't starting well...

Ryogoku is the mecca for sumo. The Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall) is just outside the tube station but you need not go that far to find out some sumo related pictures. Just in front of the tube station ticket counter you can find momentos to old sumo wrestlers and pictures of 3 of them.

We saw a few sumo wrestlers walking the streets but it was just as we got to the Kokugikan entrance and saw the lines of fans cheering them that I remembered that today was the 1st day of the May tournament. I had tried to get some tickets way back just to find out they sell out quite fast. The only available tickets were from travel agents at a jaw dropping £250 per person!!

Sumo wrestlers are indeed an impressive view. Tall, very big on the middle region and they walk in this duck like manner, like pregnant women at the end of the pregnancy, feet turned out and pushing their tummys forward. Very funny! All wearing yukatas and with brilliantly combed hairs. They seem to be very used to fans and some posed for pictures.

By the side of the Kokugikan is the Edo-Tokyo Museum, an interesting building by itself erected on pilars and making you feel like you are entering through the basement and not the main door. It shows the story of Tokyo (called Edo until 1868) through small replica models. They have such detail!

House of nobleman (main gate):

Main street:

Shop entrance:

There are also some 'hands on' displays which are very popular and perfect for pictures:

On the 20th century section there is an interesting comparison of school lunches between the decades of 1960 and 1990. It's clear to see that as the country got richer, lunches included more items, more variety and fresher ingredients.

1960's:

1970's:

1980's:

1990's:

We walked around the block and discovered a garden, Kyu-Yasuda Teien Garden. Small but quiet in the middle of the concrete jungle and with a view to the Skytree, Tokyo's tallest tower.

We bumped upon a temple and 'Monument in memory of victims of the Tokyo air raids and in the persuit of peace' at Yokoamicho Park. The temple has a quiet feel which is not easy considering it's covered in pictures of bombed out places. We found some prayers in English and Spanish inside. 

The monument is round shaped and depicts a child's drawing of a house drawn with flowers. There is a door in the middle and inside are the names of all that perished during the air raids. Isn't it beautiful?

Harajuku was our afternoon destination. The neighbourhood of dress-up and be seen and shopping. I was hoping to see some cool fashion and do some sock shopping. Yes, my shopping list was quite specific: socks and kinky (japanese style) underwear. Unfortunately I couldn't find any of the underwear I wanted. I did however went over the top with the amount of socks I bought... Where else can you find such cute and original socks? At a bargain as well, 3 pairs for ¥1000 (£7, €8, $9)!

At the same time I was shopping I was sightseeing some of Harajuku's most popular shops:

Daiso Harajuku (¥100 shop, the equivalent to a £1 shop), a very busy shop, in the popular Takeshita dori, a VERY busy street.

Ragtag, a second hand designer shop with some very interesting stock. I bought a white dress but as I was going into the changing room the shop employee handed me over a tissue like bag. I did not understand what it was for and she said 'For your face'. My initial reaction was to think she was calling me ugly and that my reflexion would break it. Two seconds later it dawned on me: it was to protect the dress from my make-up!! Oh, these japanese are so clean and find practical ways for everything! 

Omotesando, a very long avenue, the name literally meaning 'the main road leading to the shrine' but known for the shopping centres and expensive shops.

We went into a few shopping centres and realised in the end that we were going up in glamour and price tag from one to the other. No wonder I did not find any kinky underwear!

Their architecture is also interesting.

LaForet:

'Lolitas' shop at La Foret!

Most popular shop at La Foret!

Tokyo Plaza (with its unusual entrance):

Omotesando Hills:

Most popular shop at Omotesando Hills: an expensive chocolate store, with queue and security at the door!

Before starting any shopping I was hoping to go into a cat café. Do you know what it is? Japanese are a bit crazy about animals. In Tokyo you can find cafes with cats, bunnies, birds and hedgehogs. The idea is that you go in to have a drink and enjoy cuddling or being around animals. I suppose it can be a relaxing experience for the stressed out Tokyo people. There is a fee to enter of course. 

My main concern however is for the wealfare of the animals. Bunnies and headgehogs are kept in cages and you pay a fee to handle them for a limited time. You can even buy baby headgehogs! Jorge's cousin posted a facebook picture cuddling a headgehog and I was so smitten I wanted to do the same. Headgehogs are soooo cute!! However I couldn't make myself do that, I did not want to contribute to this kind of trade.

Cats however are a different cup of tea. You cannot make them being cuddled, they are independente animals and are not caged. The idea is that you go in the cafe and hope one of them fances you and lets you cuddle them. There is still the issue of so many cats in a small indoor space but it doesn't seem so cruel.

So we got to Cat Café MoCHA in Harajuku and prepared for the experience. You can see the cats from outside on high stands through the 1st floor window. The website said ¥200/10min and I had no intentions to stay much longer but when the receptionist said a minimum of 30min Manuel wasn't keen. The website mentioned nothing about a minimum time and we deslike deceiving marketing. I tried to ask whether I could pay the ¥600 and stay 10min but she did not understand me so I decided to go shopping first and return later if I had time. In the end I actually forgot to return. The truth is that I have a cat at home, what I really wanted was to pet a hedgehog...

Flying doesn't agree with me!

Day 1

Flying London to Paris was quick: 40min. There was a snack which I missed because I was asleep. Manuel bagged it for later, just in case. I was far from knowing I wouldn't really need it.

We were late getting into Paris so we went straight to the next gate, boarding had already begun.

Boing 777 was taking us to Tokyo. First class looked very good, pity we are not travelling with such luxury.

The flight was very quiet, everyone was very keen on sleeping.

This time we flew Air France. The toiletries bags provided have ear phones and an eye mask. No ear plugs and tooth brush like KLM. Again, blanket and pillow. Pillow usually not very good but one cannot expect to be very comfortable when sleeping on a seat!

In a way I was very lucky to have slept 2/3 of the 12h flight. Jorge woke me up for dinner and I forced myself to eat half of it as I was afraid to be hungry later.

Unfortunately I spent the other third of the flight very sick. The long hours and the turbulence were a pain. Manuel kept saying  we were flying over Russia, what else could one expect?

I tried to watch a movie but it made me even more nauseated. I managed to persist and watched 'Florence Foster Jenkins' but by breakfast time I was feeling really sick and the smell of food  killed it for me. For the first time in my life I used the sick bag I had joked about so many times before. The boys continued with their breakfast, nothing distracting them from the food. I felt better and managed the landing.

Headache, nausea, tiredness and one stop at the toilet was enough to tell me I was dehydrating. I had had almost nothing to drink in a bid to avoid airplane toilets. Have I mentioned I have a slight phobia of them?

Flying doesn't agree with me!

I turned to Manuel's beloved 'Pokari Sweat', a rebydrating drink, a bit like a still 'Fanta'. Not my cup of tea at all but I had to force myself. I was finally in Japan again and instead of joy I was feeling rubbish.

I must also admit that the thought of having to go to hospital for some anti-sickness and IV fluids was quite daunting. Not that I am afraid of hospitals, it would have actually been an educational and 'sightseeing' activity for me (I am a nurse). But the thought of having to alter my plan. My beloved plan! Oh, what an anguish!

I managed half of it during the train ride to the accommodation. It all came out, or I thought, on arrival. I discovered that whilst I am incapable of vomiting in toilets in the West, I found myself vomiting in one in Japan. It's that idea that a Japanese toilet is cleaner (it is indeed!) and that I don't have my face close to crap.

Feeling better, as one does after voiding the contents of ones stomach, I headed off with the boys to the nearest Japanese fast food joint, meaning noodles, rice dishes, gyosas and the likes.

Before the food arrived I was out of the restaurant getting a bit of fresh air. It didn't help much. It was right there, on a bed of flowers by the side of the road partially covered by the darkness of the night, that it happened again. I'm sure that if it was during the day I would get plenty of disapproving looks from the Japanese passers-by. All I had drunk was water and Pokari Sweat, so I'm going to say I was graciously watering the plants for the benefit of Tokyo's air quality.

A bowl of white rice and a small vegetable broth, I think I managed alright. Before feeling sick again I quickly prepared to go to bed and left a water bottle by my bedside.

The nasty think about jetleg and sleeping too much during the flight is that you get a couple hours of sleep and that's it. It took me 3-4h to fall asleep again. The good thing is that my nausea was gone, I drunk plenty and when I got up in the morning I was back to normal.

We're in Japan. Sugoi (fantastic!)!!!

On our way again!

Yep, that's right! We're off to Japan for more.

This time however we are heading off the beaten track for 2 weeks.

We are spending a week in Shikoku island and another week in the Kii Peninsula. We are expecting less Westeners and less English.

Me and Manuel are driving and Jorge and his friend Will are cycling. We are kind of having separate holidays and meeting up at the end of the day for dinner and catch-up. Could work quite nicely!

Currently at Heathrow boarding a plane to Paris and then a night flight to Tokyo.

Japan, here we go again!