Shinkansen

I’m on a bullet train yo! I just left Tokyo and I’m
on my way to Hiroshima, which takes about 5
hours, plus a change in Shin-Osaka.

It’s the nicest train I’ve ever been on, and it
makes me wonder what the people in first
class get! It’s dead weird, because the train
is super quiet, and it feels like you’re just
going a normal speed until you look out of the
window, and almost have a seizure. You know how
you’re eyes dart from side to side when you look
out of a car or train window? Well I worry that
my eyes will literally start vibrating and
eventually burst, so that’s why I’m writing
this rather than watching Japan go by.

I can’t wait for Hiroshima, I’ve heard lots of
good things about it, and I’m especially glad
that the weather is on the up, I checked the BBC
forecast and it looks like sunshine for the 3 days
I’m there! Hurrah.

I just read through my last few blog entries and
realised my writing ability has begun to dwindle.
I think part of my problem is I didn’t write a single
thing the whole time I was in India, and when I leave
it so long I find it really difficult to start back up.

Plus for the last couple of weeks I’ve felt like my
head is full of mush, which is probably partly true
because I’ve had a cold since my 3rd day in New
Delhi. I have no idea what’s going on there, and it
makes me feel like a fraud for all the times I’ve
claimed I never get sick.

Anyways, Tokyo was completely amazing, although
I didn’t do half the things I wanted to do, mainly
the early morning fish market, which is meant to
be insane. I guess it’s a good job I’m going back
for another 3 nights before I leave.

Yesterday the weather was rubbish, grey and chilly
with drizzly rain. I headed for Tokyo Tower, which
is Japan’s slightly larger version of the Eiffel
Tower. What is with that? If I was France, I’d be
pretty pissed off about that.

I took some pictures from below and sat in the
lobby with a hot chocolate trying to decide whether
I wanted to fork out 800 yen to go up to the
observation deck. I decided it probably wasn’t
worth it, what with the weather being rubbish and
all, so I headed back to the metro and instead went
to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings,
or something like that, where you can go up to the
observation rooms on the 45th floor for free.

It was pretty cool, although to be honest there
was nothing particularly spectacular about the
view over Tokyo, to say it’s such an incredible
city. In New York, you can easily spend ages
pouring over the view from the Empire State
building, pointing out all the buildings you
recognise and just generally soaking it up, but
there’s something a little less romantic, or
magical, or something, about Tokyo’s skyline.

It’s way better being down there, where you can
see the contrast of the modern skyscrapers rubbing
shoulders, or maybe banging hips, with the intricate
wooden roofs of the temples.

By the way, I can see Mount Fuji from the train
window!!

Afterwards, I walked to some park or another, I
forget the name, getting ridiculously lost along
the way. I knew it was going to be a bit of a trek,
but I suddenly realised just how much I’ve been
spending on the metro. The only public transport
I’m used to is in Thailand and I guess India, where
you can get around on the skytrain and metro for
pennies. Here, I’ve been paying about £1.50 per
journey, it’s slightly depressing!

The park was cute, with loads of cherry blossom
trees and little lakes brimming with sparkly koi
carp. I started getting cold though, and the rain
came back heavier, so I decided to go back to the
hostel for a warm! I got talking to a girl from
Holland called Meta and we headed out to a nearby
100 yen shop, which is similar to Poundland or
99cent stores, only much, much better! You can
buy all sorts of tack there, and tonnes of Hello
Kitty stuff! I’m definitely planning a mass
shopping spree there before I come home. I bought
a pair of warm fuzzy socks and an umbrella, which
I’ve just realised I left in the hostel this
morning.

On the way back we stopped at a sushi restaurant,
which was amazingly delicious! Then back to the
hostel for tea and biscuits. Meta was in Japan
as part of a personal project, which sounded
incredibly interesting but I didn’t fully
understand what it was. She told me that her
father had been imprisoned in Indonesia by the
Japanese in World War II, and that she was trying
to find a comparable Japanese father/daughter to
interview, and was eventually planning on getting
the whole project published. But I probably missed
a vital element somewhere, so I’m sure it’s much
more complex and inspiring than it sounds!

Anyways, I’m quite glad to be leaving Tokyo, even
though I really enjoyed it; normally my first
impressions of big cities are that they’re horrible
and stinky and lifeless, but Tokyo wasn’t like that
at all. It was clean and efficient without being
clinical. The people were polite and law abiding
without being characterless (nobody in Japan
crosses a road until the green man says so,
even if it’s a tiny road with no traffic in
sight).

I felt safe, and didn’t once feel intimidated like
I did in New Delhi, or have to breathe through my
sleeve like I do in Bangkok! People ride around on
bicycles without being worried about thoughtless
drivers. The public transport is great, the food
is great, the people are great. Tokyo has it
figured.