Darlo's World

To read the original entry, please click here ( http://www.darlosworld.co.uk/2011/12/25/on-why-im-a-crap-tourist-and-disneyland/ )

Well it’s Christmas Day here in Japan, and in UK (albeit the wee hours of the morning. Here that generally means its just another Sunday. Since I know that many people don’t celebrate and/or particularly care about Christmas, I’m going to steal a line from Bob ‘MovieBob’ Chipman. “Whatever you’re having, have a happy one.”

I’m writing this blog entry from a Starbucks in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, and I’m doing it from my iPhone. That means all the pictures you’ll see were added after I wrote this. Why my iPhone you ask? Well I’m actually lugging my laptop around and wanted to write using it, but this Starbucks doesn’t give any ‘consent’ (an in-joke for anyone who knows the Japanese word for plug socket).

Mr Incredible comes out to meet the fans.

So I’ve been in Tokyo for a few days now and on the whole I’ve done very little in terms of touristy things. I’ve got another week here and I am actually trying to be the camera wearing bumbag toting tourist, only without the camera around the neck, no bumbag and I’d sooner die before saying something along the lines of “Hey Mable, take a picture of me with this little guy in a suit, poor thing thinks he’s a big shot or something” (yes I did hear a loud American-accented man shout that across a road this morning).

My first night here was a bit of a bust, I’ll be honest. For my last week at work I was viciously fighting off a cold and it finally took control just as I left my house to go to the airport. So an early night followed by a late morning, though I still managed to go to a local coffee shop for coffee and curry.

Christmas Turkey at Disney?

My first full day in Tokyo was spent mainly wandering around my locality. I have a copy of Lonely Planet Japan, but when I tried to read it my non-tourist instincts kicked in. I thought to myself how if I wanted to get the best views of certain places (and also stay warm) I’d be better off just looking on Google Images. So I dart onto my social network accounts and appeal for places to go. Thankfully my friends came to the rescue, giving me a few ideas.

The reverse side of Kaminarimon. I was here, but doesn't this image I found on Google Images look way better than a pic I could have took? I aren't you still warm? This picture is by Reza187.

I’ve always been the first to admit that when it comes to ‘tourism’ I’m the worst. I don’t like crowds of people meandering from side to side, not knowing where they’re going, stopping suddenly to take a picture of a cat, to faff, or to just stare with a blank expression on their face. I hate it even more so when I’m actually a part of that crowd!

Whenever I go to a new city or a new place (note how I didn’t say country) I DO like to spend my time aimlessly wondering around. But there’s a difference between me and those groups. For one, as an individual I’m less likely to get in the way of anyone, and when I stop to gawk at something I think about moving to the side, where nobody’s trying to get through. I also try to see the non-marketed, and non-’idealised’ areas of places, in order to see what they’re really like. It’s all well and good saying you’ve been to Tokyo, then reeling off a list of places you’ve visited that anyone with the same guidebook would know. But for me that’s not good enough. By just doing that, I could never say comfortably that I’d been to Tokyo.

I prefer my translation of the Japanese, If you get wet, well, soz about that!

So Disneyland! Don’t get me wrong, there ARE some touristy areas I know and DO want to go to, as yesterday’s trip to Disneyland shows. I’d been to EuroDisney once when I was young (which involved a fun moment where I became king for the day after pulling the sword from the stone … true story!), so I thought a Disney trip with a friend would be a nice relaxing time, as well as a bit of a nostalgic moment. Tokyo Disney is much smaller than (I remember) it’s French equivalent (being), but we still had a great time. We managed to go on the three big ‘mountain’ rides (Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain) as well as some of the other smaller rides (which were still very good). Unfortunately I didn’t get to meet (or even see someone dressed up in full garb as) Mickey Mouse, nor did I find a stone with a sword to yank on. Innuendo, lol.

This being said, no one really goes to Disneyland for the rides, the attractions, or the shops and restaurants. You go for the queues! And being British, I certainly enjoyed that part! The three big rides each having lines of over two hours in length, and smaller ones with lines of between 25 and 40 minutes, ahh good times. Even the restaurant had a nice 45 minute line.

So while I still have some time left in Tokyo before going back to the countryside in Shimonoseki, I do have a few touristy spots that I want to go to, and am still trying to be touristy to a degree (I’m in Starbucks for petes sake), but I genuinely can’t think of many touristy spots that I ‘should’ see, or things I ‘should’ do. If you have any suggestions, please write them in the comments box below.

Shitsurei shimouse!

Update: Found a McDonalds with powerpoints in the smoking section, phew, *cough* *cough*!

Darlo on Splash Mountain, or is that Usain Bolt? Or even Hulk Hogan back in the day?

Sleep can be considered a very important aspect of life by most people. Not me. Personally I’d rather be doing stuff than spending the recommended time, 8 hours (a third of the entire day), doing something else. An overdue essay, a drawing, sending the Christmas gifts that you should have sent (before Christmas), these are just a few of the things I’ve been having to put off lately because my body demands rest. Ironically when I do submit and go to bed, it usually takes another hour or so to actually get to sleep. This being said however, I have finally managed to sort myself out a (somewhats) regular sleep pattern, aswell as finishing that damn essay.

Technically speaking I’ve moved again. I’m in the same room, only I’m not sleeping on the bed anymore. A few nights ago I wanted to keep up late working but I was getting too tired. I compromised with myself that I’d have a little kip, but would sleep on the floor where it would be colder and less comfortable, meaning I could get up easier when I did drop off. Twist of fate would have it that it’s actually a really comfortable floor, and I’ve been sleeping there ever since. Now all I need is a proper futon, and not just a blanket, and then I can tick off another box of daily achievements of Japanese lifestyle.

My new years resolution (aka the thing which I’ll actually just do for the first few days of the year and then agree to sod it) is to do or go somewhere new every day. So far I’ve managed to keep that resolution; the first two days I explored new spots of my local area and today me and some friends went to Kyoto. Overall, though it was marred by cold and damp weather, the environment and scenery were very easy on the eye.

I did however rekindle my old hatred of tourist areas due to the kind of people they attract the most. Tourists! I know initially this will sound very hypocritical, me being a tourist most of the time, but the vast majority of tourists really do my nut in. Their attitudes and lack of a moral and social conscience not only leave a negative impression for all people wanting to visit an area, but also ruins the days of pretty much everyone (unless the weather got there first). Personally I’d like to see some sort of tourist licence that meant that only people who understand that going to a new place doesn’t mean that everyone there is your servant, can go and visit places. I know this sounds just more like a rant, and I guess it kind of is, but as my time passes in Japan I certainly want to try to leave a positive impression of foreigners.

This isn’t to say that all the tourists I encountered got me irritated. I was incredibly impressed by one American woman (I think she had a Texas accent) who couldn’t find her way to a shrine and asked us if we knew where it was (as I said in a previous entry, this I don’t mind, but foreigners coming up to me wanting to just speak to me because I’m foreign I generally do). Not only did she ask us in a very polite manner (scoring major points in my book anyway), but she asked us in Japanese. It was very simple Japanese, clearly she’d learned a few key phrases, and this was a huge impression left with me. To be honest when I first saw her approaching with a map, I had a vague idea that she’d be asking directions, but well done that lass for going that extra mile. For the record we directed her in English.

I’d first discovered Fukubukuro when reading Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei a couple of weeks ago. A fukubukuro roughly equates to a lucky bag, and come New Year shops start making and selling these depending on what kind of store they are. Nozomu Itoshiki (aka Mr Despair) basically describes them as a way of getting rid of the stores junk and unwanted items, and walking around Kyoto today I saw them at almost every single store, large or small. Prices of these lucky bags also varied depending on what you might expect to get in it, with the most expensive one I saw at 80,000 yen (just under £570) at a jewellery shop.

I’m pretty much open to trying anything at least once, especially with food (unless mayonnaise is involved, then it can go get stuffed) and in the past have enjoyed weird combinations; cucumber dipped in apple sauce and KFC with maple syrup to name a couple. So today when I saw a new flavour of ice cream I felt I had to give it a go. Personally, the taste wasn’t so great, but in reality I don’t think many people could eat Pumpkin and Chestnut Ice-Cream. Giving it to my friends there was a mix of reactions, but at least I know now to stick to mint chocolate-chip.