"Lost in Translation...Private Karaoke Booths?!"

Wedding parade
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So, it's official...we are in love with Japan...the people, the food, the culture and history, the quirks and oddities like bowing at everyone and being able to buy beer from vending machines on the street.

We left Hiroshima at midday on Friday and took the Shinkansen north for a few hours to arrive in Tokyo. Getting to Ichigaya station from Tokyo station at rush hour with huge backpacks on our backs was slightly interesting (Nick nearly knocked a couple of small children onto the train tracks a couple of times!) but we survived the journey and were pleased to meet Will at around 7pm. We haven't seen him for 7 months or so and so it was good to give him a big hug and set off for some food and a good chat. He had booked us into a lovely Soba (Japanese noodle) restaurant for the first night and took the liberty of ordering some great food for us all. Nick is doing so well - he was even munching on the raw fish and squid without wincing a bit...he is definitely a fish convert! We then mooched on to a funky backstreet bar akin to something out of 'Lost in Translation' and we sipped cocktails for a couple of hours with jazz music in the background.

This is definitely a place that everyone MUST see - what a fantastic country!

The mad crowds in Tokyo
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A further lie-in yesterday saw us getting up around 9.30am (not bad for a Saturday) and enjoy more home comforts in Will's stylish, minimalist flat (tea and weetabix - we aren't too picky!) We then set off to go and see a local festival in Asaksa, an eastern part of Tokyo. The festival involved locals carrying small temples on their backs and parading around with them, whilst bouncing up and down. May sound a little unusual, and indeed it was quite strange to watch but they certainly were enjoying themselves and seemed proud to be participating...except the odd person or so that appeared to be taking more of the weight than some others! The temples and huge crowds of locals (2 million apparantly) were surrounded by food stalls selling all sorts of weird and wonderfull snacks so the whole thing was really quite a sight.and an experience.

Bouncing Temples
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Next up was a spin around Shibuya, the neon buildings with huge TV screens on them sort of area. It was kind of like Oxford St x10 with huge shops selling just about anything. We had particular fun trying masks and glasses on in the fancy dress section of a department store (see photos once uploaded - Nick in a gimp mask!).

After a quick rest it was off to see an act in a Kabuki. This is Japanese traditional theatre with singing, music, dancing. It was quite abstract and minimalist even with the English plug in earpiece. Definately worth seeing but mad as french bananas - all about men likening their feelings to flower and plum blossom as they frequent the pleasure quarters of old Tokyo!

The band leader....he bangs the drums!
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Will chose well for food again as we went off to a cool place in Roppongi. We tried all sorts of fantastic food including Will's favourite, the fat surrounding cooked Tofu scraped off in a bowl.....yum! Nick also got his first hit at Sake in Japan and I tried a plum liqueur.

The night was still young and a trip to Japan wouldn't be complete without paying homage to Karaoke. We thought that meant a big bar with drunken Japanese slurring to 'Like a Virgin' but oh no.... we settled ourselves in for a couple of hours in a private room, just us our TV and some tamborines! All I can say is that if you get the chance... do it and if Marissa is with you get her to do Pointer Sisters, 'Automatic', it was a revelation. My personal highlight was watching Will cover No Doubt's, 'Don't Speak'. Gwen would have been proud to hear Will's anquished cries and we definately felt his pain....'don't tell me cos it hurts..la la la'

shibuya...the Tokyo you all imagine and Teddy
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Sufficiently revved up we hopped across to a bar to dance the night away with Will generating a devout following of Japanese and a few randoms...pulling his, very well trained, funky moves on the dancefloor (he trains in street dance and every other kind of dance you could probably imagine). Particularly sweet and very entertaining was a very shy Japanese couple who asked if they could join us and copy our dancing...there aren't many Japanese who know all the steps to Bob the Builder and country techno song '5,6,7,8...my boots do do do do...driving me crazy...dance hall dave...romeo....romeo...gonna get in line....5,6,7,8'! Pure comedy!

Nick and Will buying there Saturday night going out costumes
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Off today to see a garden where Japanese goths hang out - all culturally enlightening. See the photos of the dancing Elvises and Harijuku girls to get the gist of what we saw - absolutely mental! That and the lovely Japanese weddings.

Tomorrow we hit Bangkok and start the Indochina loop.