Tokyo (unnamed hostel)

Until a week ago I was having a tough time. It’s weird coming to a foreign country by yourself as it’s like you expect everything to just fall into place. Like people are going to talk to you and you’re going to eat amazing food and there will be no setbacks or negatives, because you’re here. You finally made it to a place that you had only dreamed about before, so what do you have to complain about?

Some would say nothing.

I’d say you have a few things that you could list. Though they’re not complaints, they’re just life. And you have to go along with it no matter what.

So since I got to Tokyo things have been better.

Are the people friendlier? No.

Is Tokyo as good as I expected? No.

Did I like my last hostel? No.

Are there more English translations? Yes.

Is it easy to get around? Yes.

Is there more to do? Yes.

Am I enjoying myself? Yes.

So on the hostel front, the one that I just spent the last five nights in and have just left today, in some ways was the worst I’ve stayed in and in others, the best.

Firstly, my room held enough beds for nineteen other ladies. Second, when I got into bed, every spring of the mattress dug into me like I did something to personally offend it. The next came when the roaring of a train sounded and I opened the curtains to see that my hostel room was just a few meters to the side of the train tracks. (But it’s okay, the trains stop at 12pm and don’t start up again until 5am, so there’s a five hour window without them).

Breakfast was quite funny. You are given the option of Japanese or Western. Obviously I chose western thinking that, like the photo showed me, it would be completely different to the Japanese option, and you know, western. Oh how wrong I was.

Because I chose western, I got soup and toast, plus my choice of three Japanese breakfast foods. I chose some potato salad that was full of black pepper, some cabbage and lettuce that sometimes had the odd bit of slimy seaweed in it, and a hard boiled egg. Tasty. Oh and plus my toast, soup and drink of the day. I must say it was a little bit different coming from the hotel I was in in Sendai where I had a buffet with fruit and bacon and pastries.

The staff at the hostel were friendly though so I guess there’s that.

The best of the hostel came with the people on the last night I was there. Quite frankly the only reason why I was actually sad to leave. The people at the hostel were actually interested in speaking to one another, well most of them… unlike the other places I’ve stayed, including Sapporo.

My first conversation came with a French guy who liked the stickers on the back of my laptop, he even came back with a brochure for one of the sticker stores he’d seen to give to me, said it was worth checking out.

The common room, whilst tiny, had its own advantages. A TV which was set up with Mario Kart and a game called switch, which was always interesting to watch people play. Which I did. Until Tuesday night when I struck up conversations with two English guys who were playing. One was interested in my Wacom tablet as I drew yet another Jeon Jungkook fanart that I know I’ll never finish, but continue anyway because maybe this will be the one.. And I guess conversation just went from there. – Happy mum? Haha

I learnt that they have been living in Vietnam for the last 14 months teaching English and absolutely loving it. They would not say a bad thing about the country, especially the price. One in particular was not a fan of their home country, making sure to tell me the bad things about England when I said I had always been interested in visiting. He loves Australia though and said that he wishes we didn’t have such strict immigration laws, otherwise he’d be there.

We discussed Tokyo to. Along the lines of if it was what we both expected. To be honest, it’s not. I always imagined Tokyo as this kind of dream land where everything would be so different and amazing. And it is different, but amazing? Not so much. It’s nothing like what I was picturing in my head, but I’ve realised that’s not a bad thing for me. I can now say that I’ve seen it, but that I also appreciate home and realise how lucky I am to live in a country like Australia.

Somehow conversation turned to Mario cart, apparently I do not have the skills for the game, and Mario cart turned into Switch, which I found I am very skilled in the art of runway poses, but every other game? Well, not so much.

All in all it was the best night I’ve had since being here, though I know I could not have stayed in that hostel for another night, even if I had the choice.

So I caught the train to Ikebukuro, apparently it’s the second busiest train station in the world, after Shinjuku Station (Also in Tokyo, which I’m yet to visit) with more than one million commuters passing through each day. Well…no wonder it seemed busy. I wandered around helplessly as I tried to find my hostel, I went the wrong way about four times, but that’s how we learn.

It’s an interesting hostel this one. Sort of a hotel/hostel establishment, with a 24 hour café/restaurant across the street, which is actually quite enjoyable for breakfast (just simple toast, coffee/tea and soup) but it’s just a nice place to since as you figure out what you’re going to do for the day.

And after being here for one night I’ve already had to staff tell me ‘Panda Kawaii’ referencing my wallet. (My wallet is a panda, and Panda Kawaii means – Cute Panda. I can speak Japanese, yes…)

I’m here for the next seven days, so I hope that it goes well, I’ve got to keep myself away from Sunshine Aquarium, because I promised Bobbi that I would go with her, but damn do I love aquariums.

Apparently Ikebukuro is known as ‘Owl’ city by the locals because of the owl statues dotted around the city. So maybe I’ll go owl hunting and see how many I can spot. I’ll need to find some sort of foot reflexology place because I can barely walk on my left foot. I’ll be sure to stay away from the many establishments that offer the ‘happy ending’ service. Just a simple foot massage will do!

On the 7th I’m flying to Okinawa, which is a group of islands south of Japan, where the weather is sub-tropical, which will be a nice change. Not that I have the right clothes for it.. But it’s said to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, so I’m just going to have to see.

Also towards the end of World War Two it was invaded by American Military, and there is still a large amount of US military members stationed on Okinawa Main Island today so there is a fair amount of western influence. One part being Mihama American Village on Sunset beach, which features American chain restaurants, a large Ferris Wheel and even a movie theatre that plays Japanese and American movies, which will be a nice change.

Well…

Until next time,

ごきげんよう!