Sons of Loki

The quake. What is there to say? What coherent thoughts can anyone offer other than an outpouring of grief and a sick horror at the photos, videos and stories that have emerged over the past few days?

Some of my friends have been drumming up fundraising efforts. Others sifted through news sources to try and get a grip on what was going on. Others worried about loved ones in Japan (I’ve never visited Sendai or Tohoku and I don’t know anyone in the area, but a close friend of mine very sadly lost a dear friend in the disaster, and that really brought the tragedy home to me.) Yet others – thankfully no one I know – have been saying it’s karma or divine retribution, and all I can tell myself is that those deluded folks are just trying to come up with a reason to explain such an incomprehensible tragedy. I didn’t know how to respond. I still don’t.

Like the rest of the world, I’ve been following the events at Fukushima with interest. At first, I was shocked that such an event could occur – how could two backup power systems fail? The Guardian was talking of explosions and fires. The authorities were saying everything was under control. I didn’t know who to believe.

And I still don’t. The Guardian seems to have an agenda to push, with a nice big graphic about the current level of doom and various flimsy opinion pieces decrying nuclear power. But I don’t trust the Japanese government to give just the facts, and I certainly don’t trust a corporation like TEPCO (remember the Chisso Corporation at Minamata, or Showa Denko in Niigata?). And everyone on the internet has an opinion, although the people I trust (i.e. skeptics and scientists) seem to agree that it’s not a worse-case scenario by any means.

I wouldn’t call myself pro-nuclear power. I was very anti- as a teenager, but as I’ve learned more about the subject and the physics I’ve come to think it may be beneficial overall, despite the (very real) risks involved. Ironically, to me at least, Fukushima proves that the safety features put into place for a reason do actually work, even in a worse case scenario. There was an earthquake – then a tsunami – then the power failed twice – then fires – then explosions – then more fires – and still there hasn’t been a catastrophic explosion or expulsion of radiation or apocalyptic deaths. It’s hard to imagine what else could have gone wrong, but Fukushima is still barely hanging together – and this is an old, almost obsolete design. Big mistakes were made – it’s idiotic to have your backup generators positioned where a tsunami can wipe them out, for example – but it is not the end of the world.

It still could go all tits-up, of course. I’m not disputing that this could become a radioactive disaster, and it’s a very scary (and real) prospect. Nuclear power has some terrifying risks (and that’s not even taking the issue of nuclear waste into account). What bothers me is the amount of scaremongering and downright bad science going around. It bothers me that the media keeps speaking of “the next Chernobyl” (which is technically impossible – Chernobyl was basically the worst possible design for a reactor and no one in their right mind would do that again) or “catastrophic failure” (“safety features working as planned in exceptional circumstances” does not equal “catastrophe”).

Tokyo may have a reputation as one of the most expensive cities in the world, but even backpackers on a budget can scrape by with a few tips.

In its 1,400 year history, the Japanese capital of Tokyo has faced catastrophic earthquakes, annihilation by numerous great fires, and massive Allied bombardment
in WW2; surviving these to rebuild as the biggest city in the world.

Over 30 million people, a quarter of the entire population of Japan, live in the Chiba-Tokyo-Yokohama conurbation, a sprawl of architecture which stretches as far as the eye can see. Every year, millions of tourists from around the world flock to this unique Asian gem, an exotic, blazing and ever-exciting fusion of East and West. It has been more than 150 years since American Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay with his fleet of US Navy steamships, forcing the isolationist Tokugawa government to open up trade with the west. These days, there’s no need to make as dramatic an entrance: and not even a lack of funds need stop you from experiencing the best that Japan’s dazzling capital city has to offer.

The best place to immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of modern Tokyo – without spending a single yen – is the area around Shinjuku Station. The station sees a whopping 3.6 million passengers every day, making it the busiest station in the world. At rush hour, it certainly feels like it.

A raucous and motley swarm of Tokyoites hurry to-and-fro between platforms: grey-suited, stern-faced “salarymen”; impeccably made-up “OLs”, or “office ladies”; the occasional older figure in a kimono; schoolchildren in immaculate uniforms; and, if you’re lucky like I was on my first day, the unmistakable sight of a rikishi , or sumo wrestler, in traditional dress. Outside, enormous crowds surge to work or play across one of Tokyo’s hectic six-way pedestrian crossings.

Shinjuku lies on the west side of Tokyo’s 23 core divisions, or wards. The western districts of Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro, previously the upper-class area of Yamanote, today comprise a contiguous series of huge commercial and entertainment hubs, whereas Taito and Bunkyo, the quieter areas east of the Imperial Palace (Shitamachi, or “low city”) enshrine a great deal of Tokyo’s historic areas, including ancient Buddhist temples and beautiful areas of parkland.

West of Shinjuku, the major Tokyo business district of Nishi-Shinjuku features wide-open and airy streets surrounding the slender, elegant skyscrapers of the biggest Japanese companies and exclusive Western-style luxury hotels. The angular twin towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, opened in 1991, feature twin observation decks on the 45^th floor and offer breathtaking views of Shinjuku, Tokyo and beyond: on exceptionally clear days, you may be lucky enough to glimpse the white dome of Mount Fuji, 60 miles distant.

Be sure to go at dusk and enjoy a coffee while the sun sets and Tokyo lights up, notably around the lavishly-illuminated Tokyo Tower, a 332m tourist trap built in 1958. Tokyo’s enormous sprawl, glittering from horizon to horizon with the light of 30 million inhabitants, is a spectacle difficult to forget.

From there, you can continue for a drink at the New York Bar, located on the 52^nd floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel. Prominently featured in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 Lost in Translation , the bar’s sumptuous atmosphere of high-class luxury complements the equally stunning views from the enormous two-story windows and the nightly live music from accomplished jazz acts. While the cover charge of 2,000 yen after 8pm (7pm on Sundays) may seem rather steep especially considering the pricey drinks, it’s worth it to enjoy a hour or two of the jet-setting lifestyle of Tokyo’s elite without shelling out a whopping 60,000 yen for a single night in the hotel.

Unfortunately, for the most part, Tokyo’s nightlife can do a very good job of separating foreigners from their money. The Roppongi district, a hotbed of bars and clubs popular with the ex-pat community, has a great deal of perfectly respectable and popular drinking establishments; but stories abound of hapless tourists coerced by hustlers into seedy Yakuza-run bars where the bill can quickly run into the tens of thousands of yen and where things can get very ugly if you try to dispute the cost.Even the more respectable clubs have exorbitant cover charges and are generally quite small and cramped. Instead, for a club that really lives up to Tokyo’s reputation of ultra-hip nightlife, try WOMB in fashionable Shibuya. A low-key exterior conceals the enormous dance hall inside, a cavernous hangar-like space three stories high. On the dance floor, hundreds of sweaty Tokyo youths gyrate to house and techno served up by a host of international DJs.

After a night of Tokyo’s charms, free entertainment can be found in Harajuku. A district between Shibuya and Shinjuku in western Tokyo, this is where flamboyant Japanese youth culture reigns supreme. The clothing in Harajuku is not so much fashion as fancy-dress: elaborate frilly dresses are the hallmark of Gothic Lolitas, while for other Tokyo youngsters it’s like punk rock never died. Take a deep breath and dive into the crush of Takeshita Street directly across from Harajuku Station, where shops with names like Sexy Dynamite are the
norm. If you’re lucky, you might catch a busker or two on the road outside the station, eager to be noticed.

For a more sedate experience, visiting Tokyo’s parks is an inspired way to unwind. Ueno Park is a great way to waste an afternoon strolling along the wide paths, mingling with the crowds, and watching performers near the towering fountains of water. For a different experience, visit the beautiful Japanese-style gardens at Rikugien. For a paltry 300 yen, you can visit quaint little teahouses hidden under towering trees, marvel at meticulously manicured lawns, and enjoy 88 scenes from famous poems recreated in miniature around a serene central pond.

While Tokyo may not be able to beat the sheer number of temples and shrines in Japan’s historic capital Kyoto, the ancient Senso-ji temple in Asakusa is a fine example of Buddhist grandeur, having been around as long as Tokyo itself – and it’s free. Beyond the enormous Kaminarimon(“Thunder Gate”) with its giant red paper lantern, a crowded avenue of souvenir shops bustles with tourists in the daytime and early evening. Return late at night, however, and you’ll find a very different experience. In an empty courtyard, under the bleached night sky, the temple buildings loom ominously, yet serenely.

For more materialistic concerns, head to the Ginza shopping district: the home of upmarket department stores like Wako and Matsuya, as well as big name fashion boutiques. The high prices, however, mean Ginza has little to offer except window shopping for those on a budget.

For electronics, Akihabara is the undisputed capital. Though
the big name stores like Laox offer duty-free shopping for foreigners, the real bargains are to be had in the smaller, messier shops hidden down back alleys and up dimly-lit stairwells, offering dirt-cheap state-of-the-art equipment made in Japan.

Tokyo has no shortage of hotels. Pleasant, if rather mundane business hotels offer single rooms from around 10,000 yen and doubles from 15,000 yen. I stayed with Sakura Hotel, a backpacker-orientated company who offer bargain singles from 6,090 yen and doubles from 8,200 yen in a central location with friendly, bilingual staff. The hotel’s sister organisations are worth checking out too: the clean and professional Sakura Hostel, located very close to the Senso-ji temple in Asakusa, has dorm beds at 2,940 yen; and for stays longer than a month Sakura House have 185 long-stay guesthouses across Tokyo starting from 39,000 yen (£190) per month for a dormitory and 48,000 yen for your own room with a shared kitchen. For a room of your own, you can’t beat the cheap and cheerful The Koenji, well located, clean, and just 2,500 yen a night.

Vending machines everywhere sell drinks, hot and cold, for 100-180 yen. You can eat well and in true Japanese style at fast food restaurants like Yoshinoya, where a big plate of rice and Japanese-style curry will set you back only 400-500 yen, with a cup of miso soup and a glass of water thrown in for free. In a pinch, combini (convenience stores) offer ready-to-eat sushi, sandwiches, and microwavable meals for a low price, and the ubiquitous 99 yen shops can feed you on the cheap.

Japan’s rail network is internationally renowned for its efficiency and the trains in Tokyo are exceptionally clean, safe, and reliable. JR (Japan Rail)’s Yamanote loop line circles the core of Tokyo, with trains every two minutes and clear English displays in every carriage. As well as JR’s numerous train lines, Toei Subway and Tokyo Metro lines criss-cross the city. Tickets can be purchased from English-speaking machines and are priced by distance, costing around 110 to 270 yen for short hops around Tokyo. For those perplexed by often-confusing network maps, the best option might be an Oyster-style prepaid smart card: the competing Suica and PASMO cards can be charged up with up to 20,000 yen after an initial 500 yen charge. They work on all subway, bus, and most train lines in Tokyo: they can even be used to pay at vending machines.

If you’re planning to travel throughout Japan, an absolute bargain can be had with JR (Japan Rail)’s Rail Pass, which offers free travel on all JR lines throughout Japan except the Nozomi Shinkansen (the fastest of Japan’s famed bullet train services). A seven-day Rail Pass costs 28,300 yen, which compares favourably with the 26,440 yen fare for a return ticket between Tokyo and Kyoto. Bear in mind, however, that if you’re planning to stay in Tokyo the Rail Pass will probably cost you more than you save.

How to get there

Almost all international flights touch down in Narita Airport, located 70km from Tokyo, but you can catch JR’s Narita Express service from the airport’s two stations to Tokyo Station, which takes 55 minutes and costs 2,940 yen (free with the JR rail pass). Alternatively, the rival Keisei line offers the Skyliner for 2400 yen (36 minutes) or the bog-standard Limited Express service for 1000 yen (80 minutes). Avoid taxis, which will set you back 30,000 yen.

It’s weird to think that my room’s still there.

Still the notches I cut in the fridge when slicing carrots. Still the ugly smudge on the window. Still the indentations in the lino from the fridge, right now, as I write these words.

It’s 8:39am in Tokyo right now, so the sun will very firmly be up and the light of dawn will be coming through the left-open curtains.

Packing seemed impossible, but somehow we halved the amount of crap left in the room, then halved it again, then halved it again until it was all either in the bin or in our bags. At some point it went from “stuff everywhere” to “a few things on the desk”. I moved the furniture back to where it had begun, then we scrubbed the floors.

We went to Musashi-sakai to cancel my phone. To my surprise, it was all very simple: three seconds on the computer, my credit card charged with my remaining bill, and I even got to keep my phone, no questions asked. We hunted for lunch and wound up at the nice little gyoza and ramen place. Seems strange that Chinese food has been my consistent favourite throughout the year, but Japanese food is sometimes just too fiddly when all you want is to fill up.

The last thing I packed was my speakers. I wonder if they’re still in the box where I left them downstairs? After a greatest hits package when we were packing, the final song I played – before bundling the speakers into their box and wheeling out the cases – was “Black Out Fall Out”, as hoped. I turned it up. I opened the windows and let the heady beats of youth flood the sports field where a few people were playing baseball. It sounded amazing.

音がない
なきやまない
ずっともうCRY OUT!
I know I know la la la la
もう止まらない!

And for some stupid reason we went the cheap way to Narita, which entailed lugging bags and bags and bags on a Chuo Line train, then a Sobu Line train, then a Keisei Line Local Train, then a Keisei Line Express, then another Express… Hot and sweaty it was, but luckily, it was a quiet Sunday night so the trains were pretty clear. I saw the beautiful towers of Shinjuku under a purple sky for the last time. We crossed the solemn river and left Tokyo for Chiba Prefecture; and the train kept going, and going, and – man, it took forever. I can’t believe how long it seemed to take to get to Narita Airport, but finally we got there … left the terminal and went to the bus stop for the hotel bus. I briefly panicked that we’d missed the last bus, but then it turned out I was reading the chart wrong. We waited as the big coaches for the Hyatt and Toyoko left … and then our titchy little Narita Skycourt Hotel minibus arrived. We squeezed on board and took the ten minute trip to our hotel.

The hotel was pretty cool. It was nothing special, but they had cup noodles and a funny shower and a machine that sold ready meals that you heated up by pulling a drawstring to activate a chemical reaction. We were thinking about staying up all night so that we’d sleep on the plane better, but after a few hours of snapping my Evangelion kit together (oh what a nerd am I) I was getting pretty sleepy, so in the end I got about six hours of sleep.

We had breakfast in the morning. I struggled with the Asahi newspaper. With little to no fanfare, we got the bus to the airport, entered Terminal 2, and checked our bags – despite all the anguish over weight limits and how many bags I could bring on no one, it seemed, gave a damn. (My checked luggage was 32kg, a full 12kg over the JAL limits.)

The others disappeared – Jade and I wandered around for a bit and then found Rob, who had brought his entourage along. Together we checked his bags and paid the date change fee (that’s 15,000 yen I’ll never see again). Jade had to go return her rental phone.


Our group sat around for a bit, not wanting to say our goodbyes quite yet. Rob led people individually away for a final chat – well, that’s Rob for you. I think it was easier for us going home than the others staying – well, as Michael Stipe sang, it’s easier to leave than to be left behind. I played mandolin. We chatted.

Security wasn’t too hard. I got my liquids through, which I was glad about. Our friends waited for us as we queued, and as we went through, and as we reassembled ourselves afterwards, and as long as it took for us to be out of sight entirely, and then that was the end.

Jade and I loaded up on souvenirs, coming back with a huge bag of matcha Kit Kats and assorted booze. They called our rows. We lined up, presented our passports, and with a “Hello” and a “Thank you” we were suddenly on the jetway and in the Triple-Seven and sticking our bags in the overhead storage compartments. I was next to Rob and our friend James (Jade had, somehow, been bumped up to Premium Economy) with a pretty decent window seat.

It occurred to me how my fear of flying was pretty much completely gone now, after fourteen-odd flights. No longer did I quiver when presenting my passport or going through customs. I laughed in the face of turbulence. I sensibly had brought some eye drops and nasal spray on, so desiccating wasn’t a problem even in the dry cabin air. I watched the Wire (aargh like crack it is), Darling wa Gaikokujin (the film adaptation of the popular manga series about a woman whose boyfriend is – shock horror! – a foreigner (is there any country in the world where this is still an issue, except for Japan?) which was sort of funny and sweet and had some nice views of gaijin culture, but was entirely predictable – Jonathan Sherr was great, though – actually let me just take offence at the English character who says how Japanese girls are all easy, and who thinks manga is just for kids, and is really rude to Saori – obviously those people exist in Japan (I’ve been unfortunate enough to meet them) but the character in the film is made out to be an ex-pat, fluent in Japanese, and let me tell you, no real Japan ex-pat could have such disdain and such a rude attitude towards Japan and still be tolerated by his fellows) and kept up the eyedrops and oh shit

It’s Monday. I’m flying back to England, so I get in at 4pm on Monday. Not the next day.

Booked my tickets back from London for Tuesday, didn’t I.

Ah well. Nothing I could do on the plane but catch a little sleep, watch Green Zone (dull, stopped watching it) and Toy Story 2 in Japanese. And take photos.

Brrckkk! We land! We disembark! And fuck, are Brits grumpy. All the Japanese JAL staff smiling and waving and thanking us, and then some grumpy-faced fuck in a florescent jacket looking like he wants to die and like he wants us to die too. No “hello” or “welcome to England” or even a smile, mate. God, I hate London.

You know, only if it had been raining could our reintroduction to Britain have been worse. No one came to pick me and Jade up from the airport, so we haul our baggage through dirty British corridors onto cramped, dirty British trains built in 1976 (christ, JR have been through about six different train classes since then). There’s a train stuck at Piccadilly Circus, please just stick with us for a few minutes. Oh, now there’s another train stuck, seems like someone pulled the emergency brake, we shouldn’t be here long. It’s weird not to hear a Japanese voice with an English translation. It’s weird that it’s just English on all the signs, no Japanese. I am worried about the train tickets and if I can change the date. Well, it shouldn’t be too hard, should it?

“Um, I booked the wrong date and is it possible to maybe change them?” (I know this is my fault, but maybe you could help me out?)
“How much did you pay for your tickets?”
“Um… about eight quid?” (Something like that.)
“Eight quid?”
“Yeah.”
“How much did you pay for your tickets?” (You stupid customer, you no-good pointless waste of my time, give me a straight answer!)
“About eight quid.”
“Well, there’s no point then. I’d have to charge you the cost of today’s tickets minus the price you paid plus a ten pounds admin fee.” (What a fool you are, not knowing this!)
“Oh. Thanks.” (Thanks for nothing, you miserable fuck.)

I walk outside and tell Jade and curse this motherfucking country and its stupid fucking monopoly train lines and tight-assed customer services and I know that if this was Japan the problem would be fucking sorted with a smile and an apology. But what can you fucking do? It’s London. Shit piles up so fast you need wings to stay above it. I go to the ticket machine and deposit sixty quid in National Express East Anglia’s coffers and buy two off-peak singles to Norwich.

Fuck you, National Express East Anglia.

What an awful country, I tap on my iPod. What a load of shit.

Well, we go for burger and chips in Burger King and finally escape awful London. The Gherkin recedes in the window. It’s eight-o-clock and it’s still so bright outside! I listen to music and can’t quite shake the feeling that I’ve finished the novel and now I’m just flipping through the blank pages at the end.

What do I feel? Nothing much. My rage recedes; the oddness of England dampens. Do I miss Japan? I don’t think so. I’ve already forgotten everything I learned there. I have so much to do. Just loads of things to do.

And money. I have no money. I owe a lot of money.

Last time in my exciting tales, I was on a bus coming in to park outside the Subaru Building in West Shinjuku. Will I survive to catch my plane on Monday? Can I finish all the odd jobs I have left to do? Will the mysteries of the Nagano Sword be finally revealed? HERE I TELL ALL

We got back earlier than expected, so Jade and I got back to my room pretty early. She caught some kip; I caught up with the latest happenings on the interwebs and fretted about the impending rent payment and tried to work out how I was going to put the contents of an entire room and ten months of life into one suitcase and two bags.

We took a run to Musashi-sakai for gyoza and ramen with our friend Hime, who was sadly headed back to Korea that day, a few days before we headed home. After goodbyes we headed back to TUFS where I managed to get my rent shit sorted

Sort of. I mean, no one really seemed that bothered that I’d been given a day to pay £500, but I guess I was lucky not to have to pay it there and then. I’ll have to make an international payment which will cost me £7.50 out of me own pocket and christ, I don’t know.

Anyway, I asked myself: if I had one last free night in Tokyo – which I did – where would I go? The answer was, of course, the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt.

Haha! Who would believe that a penniless student loser like myself would sort of become a regular at the New York Bar? Some English tourists asked me for directions, and I was like – oh, it’s just up here, and you take a lift to the sky lobby … It must have been my fifth time, actually, and screw it if a martini costs £12 because there’s no bar more incredible, with that amazing view of Shinjuku and beyond out the window.

I came in shorts. There was a dress code. They sent a man to get me some black trousers to change into. Only in Japan.

Anyway, we had a drink and because we aren’t ridiculously rich (yet) we got out of there and rolled on down to Hanbey in Kichijoij, which is sort of the polar opposite of the New York Bar – noisy, cheap, and completely out of date. We managed to drag Katy out too, had a few beers and yakitori and a frog leg, which I’d actually got used to. And that was it. Last Friday night in Japan.

The next day, I finished off my year abroad report for Leeds. 2,000 words is actually quite a lot, although if Leeds hadn’t asked me to do it I probably would have written a blog post to the same effect anyway. Long story short: had some ups, had some downs, came away with a better understanding of myself. And a better understanding of how I study, too. Jade went out into town for a final wander, but I had no such luxury: after feeling strangely emotional listening to Marisa Stole The Precious Thing I caught the train to Fuchu. Technically I live in Fuchu City, but it’s a lot easier to get to Koganei City from TUFS, and so I’d only been to Fuchu twice: once at the start of the year for administrative procedures, and once in December to go see Avatar.

I was there to cancel my phone and return my health insurance card, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to cancel my phone the next day. So I headed down to City Hall for to settle my national health fees and return the card, as is required.

City Hall.

On a Saturday.

It’s only open weekdays.

So continued the miserable story of my attempt to leave the country.

Thus foiled, I gave up and went for curry one last time, then wandered down to the Fuchu shrine we visited all those months ago. I washed my hands at the trough, wandered inside. It was quiet. Went up to the shrine, tossed a few coins in, awakened the spirits. Asked for a safe trip home. Bowed, turned around, headed back to the modern world.

BOOM! KAPOW! We stumbled out of Asakusa station into a warzone; police marshalling traffic, explosions in the sky, the distant sound of mortars firing, the street streaming with refugees. Except it was the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, and we were dressed like this:


You can’t see the bow I tied in Jade’s obi. I was proud of that. It looked pretty bad, but it was the first time I’d even tried tying an obi, and the instructions were all in Japanese, and it may not have looked exactly proper but it was damn good for a first try, I reckon.

The place was packed, and we weren’t even at the actual site. And we were late (due to obi complications). And we were trying to meet up with Satomi, but it dawned that in the streets heaving with people in a neighbourhood neither of us knew, with the phone service overloaded in some parts and impossible to talk on due to GIANT BOOMS, meeting up wouldn’t be possible.

I got quite flustered, but then I realised – hey, しょうがない, and then tried to enjoy what was left of the fireworks. I mean, we couldn’t actually see anything because of the buildings, but I seen fireworks before. What was more exciting was the atmosphere.


There were a lot of girls wearing yukata – the only guys in them were boyfriends and a handful of gaijin like us, dressing up for the night. An old man turned to us and gave us a kind 「かわいい。」, which was sweet. Frenzied street sellers sold takoyaki, screaming 「サンビャク！さんびゃくえん！！」 at festivalgoers. I bought some cus – well, it’s what you do at festivals, right? – and it was delicious. We managed to avoid the crush of people leaving by walking down to JR Asakusabashi station – buying some highballs on the way – and got the train to Ogikubo to see Risako and Rob. What with it being our final night in Tokyo, we decided to go to McDonalds.

The next day, we left. And that’s a story for another day.

So on Monday, I had my final exam, the one that I got a crappy mark on last time and led me to retake the module. I’d done a bit of revision, and I was feeling pretty confident after we finished the paper. As we went to take the oral test on the PCs there seemed to be a technical problem; after a few minutes our teacher just decided to dismiss us all, and with a cheer and a round of applause Integrated Japanese 300 was over.

To the beach! Jade really wanted to hit the beach in Japan, and I sort of did too, what with the beautiful weather we’d been having. No one else was around to come along, unfortunately, so it was just the two of us getting on the Yokosuka line down to Kamakura. We got there about 3:30pm, so I assumed the beach would be full, but thankfully it wasn’t too bad; a smattering of youths and worryingly tattooed fellows, plus surfers. Lots of surfers.

The tourists come to Kamakura for the temples and giant Buddha, as what I have previously writ, but the surfers come for the waves generated by the cove. So it’s not really a beach to go paddle in.

So we bought loads of food and found a spot and got sand everywhere and in our valuable electronics (hence the lack of photos, not willing to get my camera covered in sand – luckily I wasn’t stupid enough to bring my laptop), then rented an inflatable alligator and hit the waves. Big, big waves. Bobbed around, had a swim, dodged surfers, tried forward rolls as the waves rushed towards us. Great fun. We bought watermelons (which the big ass ravens devoured happily when we were in the water). A guy got buried and a dog sniffed at him. A group of young people played that game where you blindfold someone and hit a watermelon (something like that, it’s a Japanese tradition). As the sun went down, I dug a trench and stared up at the sky. Bliss.

The next day, we got our results. I passed with 80/90 or something, having made some silly mistakes, and my grade for the year came to a B, which …
I’ll be honest, I didn’t really care. I realised very soon during my year abroad that I wouldn’t be learning anything of value from classroom work, so I don’t know what that mark means. It was my second time round, so I probably should have done better. But I feel like for the amount of work I put in, it was a pretty good mark. In the end, all I really care about is actual language ability, not marks.

So, that was the end. We went out in the afternoon to Nakano Broadway, where I picked up a few souvenirs and presents, then went out that night to Shinjuku with Rob and a few friends for monjayaki, where I astonished all with my amazing monjayaki skills (having done it, um, once before).

That night we would be taking a night bus to Osaka, so we had an hour to kill. I fancied a bit of final karaoke (it did turn out to be the last karaoke I went to in Japan) so we went to the cool-looking Karaoke-Kan on the corner near the Shinjuku Center Building and sang a bit of Kimura Kaela and Utada Hikaru, before stocking up for the journey and catching the Willer Travel coach.

The journey was a little hellish. I’d gone for the Standard coach, whereas before I think I’d splashed out on the slightly nicer one with better seats, so sleeping was pretty much impossible. I tried listening to Brian Eno’s Apollo and remember thinking something about how ambient music soaks up the mood and feeling of whatever situation you’ve listened to it in. Something like that.

Jade was a little worse for wear from the trip, and when we arrived in Osaka at oh-dark-hundred I wasn’t feeling fantastic either. Luckily, shortly before either of us crumbled and died we found the one damn cafe open at 8:30am and got some coffee, and after that we felt more up to tackling the day.

For some reason or other we decided to go hit Kobe, so off we went to get the Hankyu line, which comes in ornate varnished mahogany.

Kobe was nice. The last time I went it was pissing it down, so it was nice to explore the old foreigners’ district of Kitano in the sunshine.



Then we took a wander down to the port. I really wanted to visit the Maritime Museum one more time, but time was not on our side, alas.

For lunch, what else but…

Kobe beef?
We found a little restaurant above a butchers that did sukiyaki and something else (a kind of shabu shabu?) for 1,500 yen, which is well cheap for Kobe beef. Suspiciously cheap, actually, but it looked like a classy place.

After that we got back to Osaka and visited the lovely castle and environs. At the nearby stadium crowds of fans waited for some talentless boy band, waving those damn fans. Man, I’d hate to be a girl in Japan.

I fancied heading back to the Osaka Aquarium I’d been to in 2007. I was slightly worried about how long we’d have, but seeing as it was summer it was open until 8pm, and we also lucked out with the After 5 Pair Ticket which meant it was only 1,700 yen each, not 2,000.

It’s a really good aquarium, with some fascinating creatures and habitats there.



They had interactive audio guides supplied in the form of downloadable DS software, which meant just switching on your DS and connecting to the aquarium’s wi-fi. Neat.

As the aquarium closed we were politely chased out. Consequently, we headed down to Dotonbori, the big canal that runs through downtown Osaka (and gives the place a very different feel to Tokyo). I wanted to get some photos for my visual novel Yoshida, it being set partly in the section of the canal where the infamous events of one night in 1985 took place.

After getting photos of the amazing Glico man (and being tutted at by some snotty-nosed local!) we found some little eatery for curry rice and wound up back at the Capsule Hotel Asahiplaza for a well-deserved sleep. I had a nice soak in the baths, struggled through a few pages of Kacho Shima Kosaku, then retired to my capsule for the night.

The next day, we hit Kyoto! Ah, Kyoto … First time I visited, in 2007 I spent several hours straight off the shinkansen lugging all my worldly goods around for the best part of an evening, searching for a hotel and eventually winding up in a capsule somewhere. The key lesson being, of course, book your accommodation in advance. Anyway, while I love Tokyo, and sort of like Osaka, Kyoto’s always been a bit more complicated.

My main goal was to visit the famous Kinkakuji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, but first we went to Daitokuji. Well, I think we did. It was pouring down with rain that cold morning, and I was about to turn back in wet misery when we found the tiny entrance to a group of five Zen gardens. The woman on the door was very kind, bringing us towels to dry our wet feet. Well, kind, or just not interested in having wet foreigners drip over everything, which is certainly understandable.

So, Zen.

I like Zen. As a school of philosophy, it really seems to hit the nail on the head.

It occurred to me that with these rock gardens, the monks had captured the uncapturable, from a ripple in a pond to a rolling landscape – all frozen in moss and rock and gravel.

I was really looking forward to Kinkakuji. Since I read The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (and seen part of Mishima) I wanted to see the beauty that obsessed Mishima and drove one young monk to burn the place down in 1950 because true art, as everyone knows, should burn down at least once.

I dunno, it was sort of a letdown.

It’s just a gold box. A tacky gold box. Surrounded by tourists.

We went for matcha and cake, though, which was nice. I’ve never had proper matcha before, and it was delicious. Hot and bittersweet and frothy.

Then Fushima Inari, again, and the beautiful little outlook over Kyoto, again… No cat this time, though.

Back to downtown Kyoto, and we stop for a coffee. I get a phone call asking me to pay 70,800 yen by tomorrow. It appears that TUFS have failed to take my rent out of my account for the past four months. Or I’ve failed to pay them for four months but they haven’t told me. Either way, I have a day to pay. This is ridiculous. This is straight-up bullshit. They’ve been nothing but helpful for ten months and then they totally screw me over.

I swallow my rage and we go in search of old Gion.

I don’t know if we found it or not, but we had a fun wander around Kyoto, hitting Book Off and dodging past the dodgier places. Rain fell, occasionally. No geisha, but we did find some of the old timey wooden houses, which was nice. And so once again I left Kyoto, sort of forgiving it for screwing us over in the morning. We went to the train station, found the one cafe left open for a quick coffee (feeling like an inconvenience on the staff the entire time), drank lots of water and sat waiting for the bus with all the young peeps and backpackers. It made me smile to realise that while the rich and the old ride the shinkansen, the young and the poor get the nightbus. Solidarity of the youth, innit.

Some asshole was sleeping in our reserved seats. The old me would have sat somewhere else, but the new me was very angry with TUFS, and slightly angry at this man. I talked to the driver. The driver talked to the 邪魔. He moved. We sat down, and I swear he glared at me for ten minutes, but I was probably imagining it. The trip back to Shinjuku was a lot more comfortable, that time.

The weekend before last – christ, the weekend before last! – Jade and I took a trip out to Hakone, one of my favourite little destinations easily reached from Tokyo.

I’d been ill most of the week before, and I prayed it wouldn’t spread into the next week, my final week in Japan. For some reason we went out on Friday night and slept outside the Nomura building and then, when a guard moved us on, outside Shinjuku Keio station waiting for the last train (always a fun experience), so we only got to Hakone at 4pm-ish, leaving no time for sightseeing. Still, we had a wander about Hakone in the beautiful late afternoon/early evening.

Down by the river we joined a few other sightseeings in dipping our feet in the water and watching fish flutter past. It was a very peaceful scene.

Back to the ever-excellent Fuji-Hakone Guesthouse where I met up with Yuuka, one of the staff who I knew from last time. I guess I’m sort of getting to be a regular there now, this being my fourth time back there.

Down to the Susuki Fields, just up the road, where they filmed a few scenes of Neon Genesis Evangelion. (I kid, but this particular field was the inspiration for the place where Kensuke and Shinji camp out in an early episode.)

Then ramen and gyoza at China House, this reasonably-priced restaurant just down the road, and back to the guesthouse for those unsurpassable Hakone hot spring onsen. The heat! The calm! The aroma of the volcanic waters! I realised it would be the last time I visited an onsen for a long time.

After a great night’s sleep on the guesthouse’s futons, Jade and I had breakfast, said our goodbyes to Yuuka and the staff (promising to come back when we were able), and set off for a day in beautiful Hakone.

I wanted to find the point in that episode of Evangelion where Misato and Shinji look out from the heights of Mt Kintoki, but the closest the bus got us was a golf course, and in the heat of the day I didn’t really feel like going for a hike.


So we got the bus back to Togendai, boat across the lake to Moto-Hakone. All very familiar, but still fun. Seeing as it was summer and I wasn’t on my own, it seemed like I finally had the chance to do something I always enjoy doing: get a boat.

“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”


It was fun, though a pedalo can’t exactly hit a great speed, and there were a few hairy moments where we got caught up in the wake of one of the big tourist boats and wobbled precariously with several hundred pounds worth of camera equipment around our necks. Nevertheless, somehow we survived and got back to dry land, heading up to the lakeside torii and the nearby shrine.



Then the boat back across Ashinoko up to Togendai, at the north end of the lake.

君が代は
千代に八千代に
さざれ石の
いわおとなりて
こけの生すまで

At Owakudani, we bought the famous black eggs that add five years to your life, and I scoffled a few down, having eaten enough there to give me a few hundred years of extra living (if the cholesterol doesn’t get me first). Fuji was invisible, regrettably.

I bought a folding screen of the cover of Pinkerton Hiroshige’s Night Snow at Kambara. As we went to get the ropeway back down to Gora, the tannoy thanked us for our continued patronage. And that’s when I realised: four times, I’ve been there. Hakone’s not the prettiest place in the world, but somehow it just feels right. It’s far enough from Tokyo to be out of the smog and the bustle, but close enough to be convenient; there’s always something different each time you go, whether it’s ice and rain or sun and clear skies. I really like it there. I hope to head back there soon enough.