Cold Fact (Japan - Tokyo)

The moment you've been waiting for gentle reader ... we're back!  This time a school exchange program has brought us to Japan. My apology for not getting this entry completed last night, but it was a long day and we spent the few moments we had before sleep on skype to the family at home. 

Patrick complete with sumo hairstyle

The title? Well it's not a song, but the name of an album by Rodriguez. He only released two albums with marginal success here and none at all in the US.  I stumbled upon a documentary on IQ TV on the plane. It was brilliant, as was Rodriguez.  He is a Leonard Cohen type, better than Dylan. I had a copy of Cold Fact on cassette (that dates me), but have just downloaded a copy from iTunes.  Magic.

Anyway, back to the beginning ... we all assembled at the airport, 18 students and 4 teachers, everyone was on time and there was remarkably little crowd.  Bags checked, goodbyes done, we headed for immigration; another smooth passage.  

The tourists and Brett

Then, the dreaded metal detector, bomb residue check and body scan. To my absolute surprise I made it through without removing my belt or shoes.  For once Jayne was body scanned and not checked for bomb residue - she must look like a terrorist type. The kids were through and were waiting with Kayo, but Brett was nowhere to be seen. We looked back at the security people and there was Brett, at the metal detector, deep in conversation.  What contraband was he carrying?  In his pencil case (well, he is a Math teacher) Brett was carrying a pair of scissors.  Maybe they were concerned he was going to make daisy-chains on the plane and start singing 60s songs.

Ready for sleep on the plane

It was good to be back with Qantas after the China Southern experiment.  The service is significantly better and the general experience was a more comfortable one - even though we flew cattle class, although we did pop into the Qantas lounge for dinner while the kids were sourcing various styles of fast food.  The night flight is the best way to get to Japan and we arrived at 6:30am.  Of course the craze for onsies commenced in Japan, so a couple of our girls didn't look at all out of place wearing theirs on the plane.  While it wasn't a great night's sleep, there was quite a lot of turbulence, we were rested enough to tackle Tokyo.

After breezing through customs Kayo sorted our train passes while the kids explored the airport shops, then it was a bus to our hotel in Shinagawa.  After a quick change of clothes for some, but no showers - it was too early to book in - we caught the train to Asakusa Temple.  Cleverly, before leaving Sydney I loaded our money onto a debit card.  My first failed attempt to use it was to buy train tickets.  Luckily Kayo had cash.  No problem, I'll just find an ATM (and this entry could've been called "a needle in a haystack").  Asakusa is a great tourist spot, a temple, shops rickshaw rides, but no ATM that accepts Mastercard.

The gate to Asakusa 

Shops on the way to the Temple

The Temple gate

Then back on the train to Akihabara: train station and shopping centre.  It's been 6 years since I last visited and the consumer culture seems to be even stronger.  Akihabara is 9 storeys tall and has everything from a dedicated food floor to electronics, clothes, books, stationery ... you name it and you can probably buy it here.  The search for my GoPro was successful but unfulfilled, the price was more expensive than Sydney duty free.  Brett was more successful with a shirt purchase.  Lunch was the highlight of this trip rendering airplane food a memory.  The search for an ATM continued.  I found 3, only 1 accepted MC and that didn't accept cards with micro-chips.

At 3:30pm we all gathered outside the station after our lunch/shopping expeditions.  After the head count it was back into the station, another train and Sumo wrestling at Ryoguko.  Before we left Australia we had been talking to a friend who had lived in Japan.  When we told him we were going to see the wrestling he became most excited. Apparently it is getting close to finals time. The Sumo season lasts only a little over two weeks, so we were really fortunate that Kayo was able to secure tickets.

We had no idea who he was ... but he looked the part

While the stadium wasn't a sell-out, it was quite full and we saw some of the Sumo on the way in.  Photo opportunity.  

This match brought to buy ...

And it begins

Touch, pause, engage

Over and out

It was quite a spectacle and as the afternoon wore on we moved through the skill levels.  Some rounds were sponsored by 1 or 2 companies, some were not sponsored at all and the final bout was sponsored by 14 different companies.  The sponsors have a pennant that is walked around the outside of sumo ring prior to the event.  The final bout of our session proved to be the most skilful.  At it's conclusion, the people in the expensive seats threw their cushions onto the ring. It was quite fascinating to watch, but the couple of hours we spent there was enough for me.

Crowd shot

The journey back to Ryogoku station proved to be a little more challenging than anticipated, 22 of us moving through the crowd and staying together wasn't easy, but we did it.  

Lights from the station

From there it was a side trip to the Pokemon shop.  *sigh*  Well, I can tick that box, and it is not something that ever needs to be repeated.  I won't embarrass the 17 year olds who were excited by this side venture, but it did allow Kayo time to organise the Shinkansen tickets to Hiroshima.  Still no ATM that accepts my card.

No comment needed

It was now after 7pm and we had really been on the go since yesterday with little rest, so fatigue was beginning to set in.  One last train trip back to Shinagawa and then a walk to a sushi shop that proved successful - to a point.  The shop was too crowded for us all to get in, so we opted for take-away, part of the group staying to collect the meal and the other part walking back to the hotel to collect their bags and shower before dinner.  So by 9pm we back safely with sustenance for the evening.

ATM?  No luck, yet, but I am determined.  It is curious that in a country that supplies the world with much of it's technology, we are more technologically advanced.  Most of the ATMs only read the magnetic strip and don't accept the microchip.  The other curiousity is public phones - they are everywhere, although I've yet to see anyone use one.

Tomorrow is Disneyland.  Yay.  Yes, gentle reader, I am being sarcastic.  I don't do rides, or crowds.  Guess I'm in the wrong place, eh?  

Until next time...