It's the 1st January 2011 and I'm currently sat in Narita International airport, Tokyo. This is honestly the first opportunity I've had to sit at my computer for more than 5 minutes since I last blogged over a week ago.
Let me start with Christmas in Tokyo. The guesthouse was pretty empty over Christmas, since I suppose most travellers aim to be home for Christmas in order to be able to spend it with their families and loved ones. Having never celebrated Christmas, I wasn't sure how to occupy my time. Fortunately, the guesthouse organised a party on Christmas day. In Japan they tend to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve in an opposite fashion to the Western World. Christmas is spent with friends, while New Year's Eve is more of a family occasion involving visiting a temple.
The party was really enjoyable. We made our own takoyaki (a traditional Japanese celebratory food) and I turned out to be quite an apt takoyaki chef. The Japanese guests present even suggested I should open my own store in London! We toasted the holiday with some saki and spent the evening chatting and joking.
The next day was the eagerly awaited arrival of Hazel from the Philippines. Up to now, I'd not done a huge amount of site seeing. I'd visited Kyoto and seen the Tokyo Imperial Palace grounds on the Emperor's birthday, but other than that most of my time was occupied by karate training. It made sense to wait until Hazel came to do all the tourist excursions so the next few days were completely jam packed.
On our first morning we headed to Harajuku to check out the almost cult-like teen fashion scene. Harajuku is basically a big funky town and felt like a slightly more eccentric version of Camden Town. We next headed to Meiji Shrine, a famous Shinto shrine located in the middle of a small forest. We performed the ceremonial cleansing procedure before visiting the temple itself. The next stop was Omotesando, a huge boulevard filled with high class fashion stores. We ended the day by seeing Shibuya at night fall, Tokyo's answer to Times Square - lots of bright lights and video screens and a huge traffic intersection!
The next day we began at Tsukiji, visiting the largest open fish market in the world. We were unable to see the famous tuna auctions that take place early in the mornings, but we did mull around and try out a few free samples at various stalls. We then headed to Ginza, a large commercial shopping district with a famous clock tower from the Second World War. Here, we ventured around the Sony Centre: 8 floors containing all the latest Sony technology. Our next stop was Akihabara, Tokyo's geek paradise! Akihabara has a whole host of gadget shops with technology that the rest of the world won't see for another 1-2 years. It also has a large number of retro gaming stores with all the great consoles and games from the 80's and 90's. We ended our day in Shinjuku where we visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which has a free observatory on the 50-something floor. Since it was now dark outside, it provided a wondrous panoramic view of the Tokyo night sky. We ended that evening with dinner at a restaurant in Shinjuku.
The next day, we took a trip to Iidabashi, where Hazel got to see the JKA Honbu where I spent my days practising karate. We had planned on visiting a tea garden nearby, however, it was closed over the new year period. We then visited the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Otemachi briefly before heading to Ueno. Ueno park is beautiful and so peaceful to wander around. It hosts a number of museums and galleries as well as many shrines and temples so we spent a bit of time checking these out. We ended our day by visiting Asakusa and Sensoji temple, probably the most famous Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Next to the temple is a five story pagoda which at night time is lit up and incredible to view. That evening we cooked dinner at the guesthouse and made friends with a rather remarkable Polish man named Daniel. We spent the entire evening talking to him and I couldn't even begin to explain to you now just how insightful he was!
The next day we visited Roppongi, the fancy rich district of Tokyo. We spent some time in Mori Tower looking around an arts store before heading to Okura Hotel to participate in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The tea ceremony was something I always wanted to experience after the first time I saw it referenced on TV or in a movie. It's grace and precision for me sums up everything I love about Japanese culture. We sat and learned about the origins of the tea ceremony and its symbolic elements. We then watched our host perform the ceremony meticulously, after which we were able to enjoy the matcha green tea itself.
Our final full day in Tokyo was New Year's Eve. We spent the day in Nakano buying gifts as well as some mountain gear for my Everest trek. That evening, we headed to Shibuya and found a Japanese restaurant to have dinner in. We then walked around the busy city centre before choosing a bar to see in the New Year. Of course it was an Irish pub! At midnight, the streets of Shibuya became crazy with pedestrians dancing the streets and rejoicing over the New Year. It was a perfect way to close 2010 and welcome 2011.
Today, I saw Hazel off at the airport and am now waiting for my flight to Singapore, where I will spend the night. Tomorrow, I fly to Kathmandu, Nepal to embark on my trek to Mount Everest Base Camp - I'm very excited!
I'd like to wish all my family and friends a very happy and healthy new year. May you succeed at everything you set out to achieve in 2011! On a separate note, let me wish Hazel a very happy birthday for the 3rd January as well as an equally happy birthday to my niece Talia who will turn 3 on the 4th January. Lots of love from Uncle Sam, I look forward to some cuddles soon!
Much love!
Sam
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