Toilets and Tourists

 

That might be close to the longest non stop flight I have done, was due to be 14 hrs but captain put his foot down and we got to Haneda in 12.5 Configuration on the flight mean the rest of the clan had a middle block of 3 and I was in an adjacent aisle.  My other travelling companions were a couple of lovely older ladies from Japan who did not speak much English but there was a lot of bowing and thankyous at regular intervals when toilet trips were required.

In between toilet trips got to watch the Whitney Houston film for the first time and tried to get a bit of shut eye to the Star is Born which I have seen before. Managed to read half a book and eat anything that was offered to me including welsh butter, menyn cymraeg, warms my heart of the international world. Sleeping wasn't much of a feature.  There will be a crash and burn to come.

The adrenalin of a new airport, one of the 2 in Tokyo, boosted the mood.  And off the ramp and into the first exciting part of this city, the toilets.  Now we can get in to what would be a reasonable time to spend on any toilet but so many buttons and options in the public toilets out here to ensure you leave very much refreshed!  Just a note on Haneda (beyond toilets) it is nearer the city centre and has a history of domestic flights but seems to share the international stuff more equitably with Narita these days.

Highly quick and efficient service extended beyond the toilets into the passport control and baggage area. Picked up one of these charge card travel passes Pasmo  everyone had advised us to do in the airport foyer and then onto a prebooked (cheap) bus directly to our first hotel the Shinjuku Washington.  Check in there was pretty smart, and whilst the rooms are essentially cupboards, they furnish you with all manner of amenities, Ross from Friends would have a field day.

Drew on my inner endurance athlete today and made it about pacing and not sleeping. Chrissi, Bryn and I took an immediate sweep of the location, finding a few shops and restaurants. Wanting to throw ourselves straight into the latter we dipped into a number of small dishes including creamed crab in batter and some raw fish.  When in Rome eat Pizza, when in Japan.... well that!

First taste of the local beer too, Super Dry lager seems to be the nectar of choice out here and I think it fuelled me perfectly over the course of the day to make up for the nights sleep that will now sit firmly in the history books.

Feel like we were rotating the youngsters whilst Chrissi and I showed what hard core travellers we really are. There is something about the sights, smells and buzz of a new city that means we find renewed energy when real life says we should be out of gas.  Carys joined us to stretch the boundaries of Shinjuku; some of my advisors before the trip had pointed out the bars, the little allies, the big tourist shops that make this area a must see in Tokyo.  We certainly availed ourselves of all of that later, but our first trip was entirely focused on a Godzilla hunt. No sign of Godzuky but we found the big fella, King Kong style, on a local skyscraper/hotel. The New York similarities in our first encounter in this city were too strong not to notice, its modern, concrete jungle feel very much the vibe in the daylight hours.

As darkness fell, and the lights came on, we could see them shining on a much more eastern feel.  Having worn Carys out, Bryn joined us off the bench, and we found a few backpackery back alleys, along with some more mainstream tourist rip off joints to sample the culture and local beverages.  Could have sworn we passed the shop where Gizmo (of the Gremlins movies) first exchanged hands.  They felt a little more realistic than the more circus feel of some of the mainstream tourist traps, with Samurais and Ninjas beckoning you into bars at every junction.  Not sure what wind we were on by this stage, but was way past second, I felt we had done a reasonable amount of justice to this area of Tokyo whilst running on empty.

Carys -

Well I can certainly say that flight has taken it out of me. After boarding we all got comfy and to be honest the first few hours went by very quickly. I’m not a big fan of aeroplane food so tasted a bit of my vegan meal but resorted to snacks we’d brought on board, and then tried to relax a little and pass the time. Mum and I watched ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ on the screens at the same time (a rewatch for both of us but a very good film still). Then as they dimmed the lights it was harder to make the journey go quickly - I did about 5 hours or half sleeping whilst listening to music and when the lights came back on started to feel the grogginess that was expected. Didn’t touch my breakfast unfortunately, I just can’t really stomach it, but felt fine and enjoyed the descent into Japan. 

Feeling very excited we exited the plane and immediately felt the heat hit us, which never gets old when stepping off a plane. Then are excitement escalated as we discovered our first Japanese toilets (something I’d been curious about, despite being a bit of a weird topic). Having various buttons for flushing, washing and heating, among other options, made the toilets somewhat of a novelty to us, but by the end of the day I’ve realised, clearly not a novelty here in Japan. We pretty much breezed through the airport which seemed very nice and clean and picked up our Oyster-card equivalents for public transport, before catching our bus to the hotel. 

At this point I think the effect travel and lack of sleep began to hit me, and I was not feeling too hot (well, temperature-wise we were all feeling hot of course. Thank goodness for air con.) We made it to the hotel and all I needed by then was a nap, which I attempted whilst the rest went out for an explore. Later on I joined mum and dad for an explore of my own, trying to make the most of feeling quite unwell on our first day. We had a wander into the city and from what I can see, Tokyo is a beautiful place. Very busy and bright but so much to see and do and I’m excited for our next couple of days. (Apologies for the half hearted blog as I’m still not feeling the best - I’m absolutely fine but hoping for a good night’s sleep to catch me up.)