In Tokyo

This article was written 17 years ago in 2006 when I was 21, so I ask you not to judge the writing too harshly! The text is as it was originally published.

Well I made it. Its a bit hard doing punctuation on a Japanese keyboard, and also a bit tricky avoiding eye contact with the staff in this Apple store, who no doubt will be trying to sell me this Macbook Pro when they realise how long I've spent on it, so you'll have to excuse the lack of apostrophes. The flight was easy, I got down to Heathrow in plenty of time, and after 11 hours and a bit we touched down in Narita. The last hour of the flight was spent conversing with the lady on my right, and the girl on my left, who had given me enough instruction to get to the vicinity of my hotel.

It was partially a mission - the Japanese do not have a street name/number system, and so it is down to the individual local to tell you whether you are in the right place or not. Most of my locals did not know where it was.

I finally checked into the Hotel Universe and kipped for an hour. Although I knew the result of the England game, it was good fun watching it in Japanese, so I tried that.

I'm about a ten minute subway ride from Ginza (where I am now) which appears to be a main shopping district (Prada, Burberry etc). I have yet to try any of the cuisine as it all looks a little intimidating considering nothing is translatable, and when I told the girl on the plane that I didn't even have a general knowledge of Katakana, she looked like I night not survive. The guide I bought says I will be fine however, and as its subway map seems to be reliable, I am putting my faith in it.

Tomorrow I will try and find the temple district as it is my only full day, and if I can get up early enough apparently the fish market is worth a visit. Currently its humid but bearable, getting dark, and the neon lights are all on. This is what I expected of Tokyo.

This post was first published on Fri Jun 16 2006 originally on justbeyondthebridge.co.uk, my former personal blog

The author

My name is Andy Higgs and I am a founder, designer, occassional surfer and travel enthusiast based in the UK.

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