Day 3: Tokyo - Preparations

Woke to an absolutely beautiful day in Tokyo today - blue skies as far as the eye can see, and nice fresh air with just a hint of autumn chill.  A great day for sightseeing, but unfortunately it's going to be a bit of a housekeeping affair. We need to get helmet comms sorted, do some laundry and generally get our shit re-packed for the trudge across town to Japan Bike Rentals. Anyway, before all that could start we headed out for a late breakfast at the local Tully's coffee, partaking of their decidedly Western offerings to go with their western style coffee selection.

Another visit to Tully's coffee for their breakfast set.

French toast, maple syrup and a Mocha with cream. Western decadence.

After breakfast, we walked down to the local laundromat to get our washing done. Noone wanted a pannier stuffed with dirty undies before we even started riding. Located close to Shinjuku-nichome, which we have quickly learned is the gay hub of Tokyo, the laundromat was bound to have at least one be-frocked transvestite. And, well, it did.

Laundromat de-jour.

With our clothes washed and re-packed into our unwieldy luggage, we started the trek across town from Shinjuku to Akasaka and the offices of Japan Bike Rentals. There we were treated to various informations, paid our bonds etc., and took a great deal of time transferring shit to panniers, getting suited up and all that jazz.

The bikes waiting for us at Japan Bike Rentals.

By about 7:30pm we were finally ready to roll out, and our first tentative trip back to Shinjuku was a little nerve-racking, but was ultimately, uneventfully, a success. Once back at N.U.T.S we spent another couple of hours attaching RAM mounts to the bikes for the various cameras we planned on taking.

All that settled, it was time for a quick bite before bed and an early start. We wandered through Shinjuku looking for a place to eat, stopping in two sepatate Okonomiyaki places but finding them "full" (we never learned if they really were). Finally we found ourselves back towards Sinjuku San-Chome and a pretty average Ramen+Gyoza place.

Some very average Ramen and Gyoza.

Bought from this place in Shinjuku-sanchome.

The food wasn't crash hot, but by this stage we weren't feeling all that fussy. We gorged ourselves on gyoza and noodles and wandered back to N.U.T.S; stopping en-route to pick up some tidbits from Lawson (the local convenience chain). Pokari Sweat and chocolate to go! Hey don't judge, we needed the energy for tomorrow's ride. Didn't we?

Day 1: Tokyo - Shinjuku & Shibuya

After months of planning, Lucas Richard and myself finally stepped off the Haneda red-eye at 5:00am this morning and on to Japanese soil. With almost two hours consumed with customs, fighting with Telstra roaming, installing Japanese phone SIMs and other first-world problems, we finally boarded the monorail into the city; switching to the Yamanote line at Hamamatsucho and then on to Shinjuku.

Mono-rail - putting cities like Shelbyville on the map.

The JR Yamanote line, pre-commuter fun.

Luckily it was still too early for the commuters to pack the trains and stations to overflowing - just as well since our bags containing jackets, helmets and boots were pretty large and unwieldy. If I get a chance I need to thank the gods for wheelie bags!

A half an hour stroll from Shinjuku JR station towards Shinjuku San-Chome and we finally located our hotel - Shinjuku City Hotel N.U.T.S and dropped our bags. Unfortunately, Japanese hotels are (in my experience at least) very strict about correct check-in times and in this case N.U.T.S was no exception. We were back out on the street by 8:00am, with instructions to return at 4:00pm.

Just around the corner from the hotel is a beautiful little shrine that we spent a few minutes admiring. The large Buddha in the corner of the small plot was quite impressive, as was the old wooden shrine itself. Truly amazing was the statue covered almost completely in salt - usually used for purifying the spirits.

It's a small shrine with a big buddha near our hotel.

The statue almost covered with salt.

True to form, the Qantas food of the night before had been particularly atrocious. With rumbling stomachs we walked back towards Shinjuku station in search of food. Both Richard and Lucas harboured found memories of a katsu place they remembered from previous lives as ex-pats in Tokyo. Unfortunately, after some time searching, the place remained decidedly un-re-discovered. Finally we decided to head to Shibuya and another place they could recall. Long story short, we finally managed to get some katsu at a nice little place called "Wako", and mighty fine katsu it was too!

Recommended Katsu place "Wako" near Shibuya station.

Tonkatsu. Unbelievably awesome.

Pork katsu (tonkatsu), rice, cabbage and miso made a very nice brunch before, replete and energised, we ventured out into Shibuya for a little sightseeing and shopping. The crowds were slowly starting to emerge into the streets as we wandered around. I was starting to bitterly rue my decision to bring only my motorcycle boots on this trip and nothing else. What the hell was I thinking?

We stopped at statue of famous Shibuya dog Hachikō (a sad story), elbowing our way into a photo op before continuing across the landmark Shibuya crossing and into the side-streets.

The statue  of Hachikō near Shibuya station. 

The famous Shibuya crossing, with citizens now out in force.

Shibuya back streets

Finally, our wandering brought us to the Tokyo Hands Shibuya Store where we whiled away a couple of hours browsing the wares. It was during this time my feet finally gave out and I ducked into ABC Mart Shibuya to buy a pair of new Converse. Phew! My feet are already thanking me.

Pokari Sweat and Converse Shoes to the rescue.

With shoes purchased and a bottle of Pokari Sweat in hand, we made our way back on the Yamanote line to Shinjuku for coffee. Avoiding the many Star-fucks franchises that seem to have polluted this part of the world, we ended up in a Tully's Coffee for a well earned rest. Sucking on Grande mochas (which exceeded this coffee snob's expectations with flying colours), we rested our weary legs, loaded up on sugar, and bided our time until checkin.

Finally we gained access to our room, and after a long awaited soak in the deep bath (separately!!) we ventured out into Shinjuku to sample the nightlife. First we headed to a tiny place close to the hotel for some pork ramen and gyoza. The food was great, the smokers a few tables down not so great.

Ramen bar for dinner

Pork Ramen and Gyoza.

Totally stuffed, we then wandered the streets around Shinjuku Kabuki-cho, checking out the seedy neon drenched streets and being hassled by huge black dudes touting girls, boys and whatever else we desired inbetween.

Shinjuku Kabuki-cho looks nice, but is seedy as hell.

They got a bit annoying after a while to tell you the truth - I need to perfect my 'don't even fucking speak to me' face. Anyway, it's something for me to practice when I'm back home ;). Finally, we left the seedier side of Shinjuku and decided to plant our arses at Kirin City for a couple of quiet drinks.

Kirin City - where everybody knows your name.

The beer was really great, even though the middle aged woman on the table next to us drank me under the table. It was really nice to just sit and watch some Japanese kicking back and enjoying themselves.

After a few beers it was finally time to call it a night. Thanks Tokyo for a great first day.