Have you ever laughed at pictures of Japanese people falling asleep on the underground trains?
Well tis no wonder as this city saps stamina by the bucket load. In fact you DO see many people asleep on the underground here as it is plausibly the only quiet moment they get where they are not dashing about. The seats in the carriages of the trains also possibly allow them more space than they have to chill at home such is the crammed nature of Tokyo.
After 4 days and nights here, I am ready for a holiday. The pace of the city is relentless and totally fascinating. From Capsule hotels (which you slide yourself into) to internet cafes that offer showers and a place to have a lie down, the citizens of Tokyo have a number of options for escape and a moment of quiet in this bustling megatropolis.
On the topic of internet cafes it is thought that around 20,000 people in Tokyo live in them full time. Like I say they offer shower facilities and private little cushioned curtained off areas along with coffee and food machines and enough Japanese animie on DVD to last any Jap-Geek a lifetime. All very bizarre.
I have seen a lot of Tokyo but by no means all; if you ever find yourself here, I can recommend the services of the free guide service (http://www.tokyofreeguide.com/). Get in touch as soon as you know you are going, tell them what you like and they will lay on a free English speaking guide that will take you to cool spots in the city that match your interest - "Genki" as they would say here!
Some of the highlights were:
Awesome design gallery in the ultra cool Haranjuku area
The Meiji Shrine (where they bury all of the emperors)
Animie/Manga Geek watching and shopping in Electric Town - Akihabara
Chilling out in ultra traditional Asakusa
Getting totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people and bright lights in Shinjuku
Soaking in the cool and funky vibes in Shibuya
Great city, super friendly people and very very weird food (they gave me pigs intestines in one small eat at the bar restaurant and proceeded to pee themselves at my disgusted face)...
If you get the chance...Go but be ready for a real test of your stamina!
Sayonara
さようなら
