Lost (without) translation
well what can i say about Japan, 1 hour in and i had no working credit cards, very little cash, and a hello kitty thing that hangs from your phone that came free with my phone card.
Had to ask someone which carrage of the train i was supposed to be on, because i couldn't read my ticket....my station looks like a small box with a stand, next to a square root symbol, with a small letter 'p' on the right.
The train system on the whole, which i've heard stories of driving people insane, is not that complex, the subway is divided by a series of line's of different colours, all you have to do is match up where you, and where you want to go, really not so complex, over the course of a few days i've gone the wrong way a handful of times, but when you consider the trains come every 3-4 minutes, with 100% clockworth efficiency...not really a big deal at all.
so arrived at my destination, a small low budget business hotel, just somewhere where i can catch up on some sleep with i've been distinctly lacking the last several legs of my trip.
After a bit of wandering and consultation with my lonely planet guide i found the right type of ATM's and everything was zen again....ish.
decided to use my new found knowledge of the subway to go wandering, and the fact i was far too early for check-in seemed to make the japanese hotel guy a bit anxious.
Also the Japanese are not THAT short, i mean i feel pretty confident i could take the majority on in a fist fight, but really, its not a country of midgets by any stretch of the imagination.
--
this crazy mixed up town is doing my head in, the langauge barrier is totally full on, i've resorted to only eat when i encounter places with ticket machines, which is this fantastic idea where you select what your going to eat from a vending machine, put in money, it spits out a ticket which is handed to the person behind the counter....and they give you your meal... eliminates all communication...genius.
Their are lots of strange little quirks in regards to things like etiquette, that i simply don't get, firstly I know its considered rude to drink and eat while on the street, but their are a trillion vending machines (FYI: asahi in a vending machine is perhaps the greatest idea to-date), so people buy the drinks outside, but never seem to consume them then.
Same deal with cigarettes, i ,know an absolute ton of Japanese smoke, but its also considered rude to smoke on the street...in most places, so their are almost zero ashtrays.... its all very confusing.
Finally bowing.
Now i understand its a mark of respect/ greeting, but I dont understand the multi-bow, typically seen in women, where they bow several times, in short succession.
The last few days there has been a hell of alot of wandering.
when you have nowhere to be, its very difficult to get lost
-Gidz
The two real 'hubs' of youth activity are: Shinjuku and Shibuya, both are located relatively close to each other, and are the places that one goes for anything from fashiion, to love hotels.
---
These Japanese kids have fashion down to an art, I've never encountered somewhere with such a diverse 'look', where in melbourne, 90% of the young people can probably be placed into 1 of about a dozen 'looks', the Japanese kids don't adhere to any rules, anything goes...seems to be quite a bit of influence from the UK, as well as US hip-hop. Which results in a crazy blend of colours, logos and whatever the hell else they want to wear.....and thats pretty much just the guys, the girls are a different story altogether.
--------
Second day here its rained, and rained and rained, I spent alot of time on the subway, trying to explore the city without getting wet, with only marginal success... gave in and just bought an umbrella, problem solved.
---
well the city is big, i don't know what the fuck im doing, but i can buy beer out of vending machines, so Im sure it will be ok.
more to follow.
later all
Gidz
Had to ask someone which carrage of the train i was supposed to be on, because i couldn't read my ticket....my station looks like a small box with a stand, next to a square root symbol, with a small letter 'p' on the right.
The train system on the whole, which i've heard stories of driving people insane, is not that complex, the subway is divided by a series of line's of different colours, all you have to do is match up where you, and where you want to go, really not so complex, over the course of a few days i've gone the wrong way a handful of times, but when you consider the trains come every 3-4 minutes, with 100% clockworth efficiency...not really a big deal at all.
so arrived at my destination, a small low budget business hotel, just somewhere where i can catch up on some sleep with i've been distinctly lacking the last several legs of my trip.
After a bit of wandering and consultation with my lonely planet guide i found the right type of ATM's and everything was zen again....ish.
decided to use my new found knowledge of the subway to go wandering, and the fact i was far too early for check-in seemed to make the japanese hotel guy a bit anxious.
Also the Japanese are not THAT short, i mean i feel pretty confident i could take the majority on in a fist fight, but really, its not a country of midgets by any stretch of the imagination.
--
this crazy mixed up town is doing my head in, the langauge barrier is totally full on, i've resorted to only eat when i encounter places with ticket machines, which is this fantastic idea where you select what your going to eat from a vending machine, put in money, it spits out a ticket which is handed to the person behind the counter....and they give you your meal... eliminates all communication...genius.
Their are lots of strange little quirks in regards to things like etiquette, that i simply don't get, firstly I know its considered rude to drink and eat while on the street, but their are a trillion vending machines (FYI: asahi in a vending machine is perhaps the greatest idea to-date), so people buy the drinks outside, but never seem to consume them then.
Same deal with cigarettes, i ,know an absolute ton of Japanese smoke, but its also considered rude to smoke on the street...in most places, so their are almost zero ashtrays.... its all very confusing.
Finally bowing.
Now i understand its a mark of respect/ greeting, but I dont understand the multi-bow, typically seen in women, where they bow several times, in short succession.
The last few days there has been a hell of alot of wandering.
when you have nowhere to be, its very difficult to get lost
-Gidz
The two real 'hubs' of youth activity are: Shinjuku and Shibuya, both are located relatively close to each other, and are the places that one goes for anything from fashiion, to love hotels.
---
These Japanese kids have fashion down to an art, I've never encountered somewhere with such a diverse 'look', where in melbourne, 90% of the young people can probably be placed into 1 of about a dozen 'looks', the Japanese kids don't adhere to any rules, anything goes...seems to be quite a bit of influence from the UK, as well as US hip-hop. Which results in a crazy blend of colours, logos and whatever the hell else they want to wear.....and thats pretty much just the guys, the girls are a different story altogether.
--------
Second day here its rained, and rained and rained, I spent alot of time on the subway, trying to explore the city without getting wet, with only marginal success... gave in and just bought an umbrella, problem solved.
---
well the city is big, i don't know what the fuck im doing, but i can buy beer out of vending machines, so Im sure it will be ok.
more to follow.
later all
Gidz
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