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  • Ben Smeele

Japan

My first real trip to Japan Czytaj więcej
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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik
    11

    Sumo and Shinjuku

    8 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    We went along for a sumo wrestling opening night today, it was a full house and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
    There were still a lot of things which I didn't understand but the main thing which surprised me was how quick each match was. They prep and psych out most of the time and once they both touch the ground they go and it's over often in a few seconds.
    Got a beer while there which was a massive line but still felt part of the atmosphere doing it.
    After sumo we headed in the homeward direction but stopped off at Shinjuku for dinner.
    We did a quick stop into Don Quixote first which everyone seemed to enjoy walking around. Found it funny that all the adult dress up and toys were right next to the kids toys area, had to explain a few things to Ethan but not too much.
    We then headed to Omoide Yokocho (piss alley) which is a group of restaurants which are down a very narrow alley. Most places were packed but we went upstairs and got placed in a private booth for our dinner. It was sorta tapas which we had sashimi and gyoza from.
    We then went to see the Godzilla head and headed back home to call it a night.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik
    111

    Otters 🦦

    9 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    To get in we needed to dress in some plastic over covers as it would be likely that the otters might soil our clothes.
    It smelt a little getting in there but they were so cuddly and curious that you got over that pretty quickly.
    It cost $35 for us all to go in which I think was well worth it as it was a very cute and unique experience.
    We had half our time in the sit down area and then half in the swimming area where we were feeling them lots of chicken.
    The noises they made were very cute.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik
    1

    Shopping Harajuku

    9 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    It was the Pilkingtons last day so I headed around to their place and tried to give a hand with packing using some vacuum bags from Daiso.
    We got them checked out and the girls went shopping in Zara while the guys went to check out tower records. I was surprised that it was all still full of records and cds being sold. Most of the girls there were filming the pictures of the idols as they went up the escalators.
    We headed onto Harajuku where I got a strawberry fetish treat. It was basically caramelised strawberries though they sold them at $7 each I gave one of them a go and it was pretty good.
    We then went and saw some otters but will leave that in another footprint and then continued up Harajuku and got another dessert along the way, cream filled eclairs or similar. Got strawberry, vanilla, caramel and mocha.
    We headed back to Shibuya and took some photos with Hamachi the loyal dog. We also noticed that as today was a public holiday (coming of age day) alot of girls were dressed up. They commonly will dress up if they are turning 18 or 20 during this year in kimonos.
    We went to grab lunch at an Ominomiyaki again which I cooked myself this time and didn't do half bad I think. Had it with scallops and king mushrooms that went down pretty well.
    A quick shop at Tokyo hands and a quick go with the claw machines and was back to see them farewell at the train station.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik
    1

    Yakiniku night out

    9 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    I wasn't sure what to do so I headed back to the hotel and they had free beer from 5:30 till 6:30 so I figured I would join in for one. Sat down with a few people doing the same and then we all headed out for dinner. We had Rene who was a local and worked in the coworking spot, Yishi who was Chinese, Carlos from America, Riho, Jaria American but learning japanese. Went to a yakiniku place which had unlimited lemon sour (alcoholic) on a tap at your table but otherwise the meal was just lots of meat.
    Was initially sitting next to some guys who didn't speak much English and we're heading out for the night to try pickup some girls. 2 girls replaced them later Yori and Menso who didn't speak much English either but Rene helped me translate.
    They wanted to head out for some pirikuras which had alot of kawaii filter on them and in one I turned out the stuff of nightmares.
    Rene and Jaria wanted to then head off to a bar and we lost a few of the others along the way. I think those two were quite into each other but apparently nothing happened much to Renes disappointment.
    The bar was a little alley where we had to go upstairs to sit down and I got some sake to wrap up the night.
    Ended up back around 3am.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Underground flood system

    10 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    I had a booking for 10am which I originally thought I would have no problem making but I realised that it was quite a way out of Tokyo and would take 2 hours by train to get there. I then got my hotel to call them up and ask if I can come along to an afternoon viewing instead which they were able to arrange for me.
    I was also quite tired and a little hungover so glad I was able to take today a little slower.
    My train out has 23 stops across 3 different lines and then a 30 minute walk as the buses weren't running.
    I found a ramen shop at the train station which I figured I had to give a go, it was pretty decent but the novelty was the main part.
    The walk was through a suburban area with little farming plots and not many people around, it was strange to think that this was still considered Tokyo.
    I got there and checked in for the tour, it was all in Japanese but I was able to understand some parts of what she said.
    We walked down the staircase under the soccer field and was in the underground flood tank area.
    It was quite large with an echo but also a very peaceful place to be. I kept thinking how great it would be if I had my rollerskates on but doubt they would have allowed that.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Ukulele Mania

    10 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    The guy was so nice, he invited me in for coffee and a little jam to try the different uke's.
    Offered me biscuits and gave me a pack of stickers to put on my ukelele.
    He had so many unique uke's, one he had was a cigar box uke which there are only 7 of in the world.
    To me it felt like being at olivanders but I was too nervous to properly play through them.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik
    111

    Golden gai night out

    10 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    I wasn't going to head out as was still a little tired and hungover from the night before but I popped down for a hair of the dog and there was another Pakistani Kiwi Eman with an American brother and sister team Matt and Molly, who wanted to see golden gai so we headed out for a quick dinner and drink.
    We went through the red light district first and everyone felt a little hungry so I tried to find a place. Google said there was one down a dark alley which they were all apprehensive about but I figured why not and was glad once we found the place. It was a kishiage place which had everything fried on a stick. I got an omakase option which gave me shrimp, octopus, baby corn, rice, cheese and pork.
    I ordered myself a large beer and that was a little larger than I expected but went down well.
    We then continued on to golden gai and popped into the first one that looked interesting. It was tiny with very little room to move but we sat at the bar with chandeliers and ordered a few drinks. They had a chilli gin which we shoted but it wasn't that hot.
    We then went onto another bar around the corner who originally said there was no room but allowed us the above bar room. It had very little headspace but we crammed in there for a few more drinks.
    It was funny when someone needed to go to the toilet though as that was behind all the finnish people.
    Some indian Canadian people showed up and joined for a few drinks.
    We then had to taxi back towards the cabin hotel as the trains had stopped at that time and they all felt a little hungry so we grabbed some ramen from ichiramen. Was a cool experience that you didn't really see the kitchen or wait staff and they just lifted the curtains to pass you food.
    Another 3am night so I went home and crashed.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik
    1

    Go-cart

    11 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    I was still a little hungover so I had some neurophen, grabbed an onigiri from 7-11 with a red bull and headed to the meetup point.
    There were lots of outfits but they were all one size and I doubt any of them would have fitted, also they were quite dirty looking. I was happy wearing my hat though.
    We drove in order with the guide, me second, an English lady and then a Chinese guy bringing up the rear. Within the first 10 minutes the Chinese guy crashed into the English lady's cart and damaged the muffler, causing it to be much louder than it normally would be.
    The carts themselves had no play in the steering so I often found myself mucking around with little squiggles while going along. I tried to get them to drift out a little on the corners but had no luck as they were quite gutless.
    We drove for around 2 hours through a fair bit of Tokyo and by the end of it my legs were getting quite a bit of cramp.
    Well worth the fun though.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Bowling

    11 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    I started talking to a girl on bumble who wanted to meet up for a date but after the late nights I needed to have a quiet one. I headed back to my room, put some washing on and fell asleep for a little bit, then continued to nod off while checking the drying. I was going to have an early night and popped down to the common area on the way to find some dinner after finishing my washing but a couple of the guys there asked if I wanted to go bowling and I figured why the hell not.
    We started out basic with myself doing terrible, had the second round a silly one with heavy, light, left hand, between legs, lying down, backwards and a whole lot more different styles. The last round was back on serious and I was able to do slightly better but still quite out of form.
    As the French guy didn't drink the rest of us didn't either but it still ended up a 2-3am night after the 3 games.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Move hotel and resting

    12 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    I checked out of my cabin room and hung out in the lounge for a little bit while I figured out my next step as I had nothing planned at that point. Due to the last couple of late nights I was looking forward to a place where I could relax in a little bit and recharge.
    I decided to book a pop art themed hotel for a week as it was also centrally located and not too expensive although slightly over $100 a night still as that just seems to be Tokyo.
    I got to the hotel early so I stored my luggage in the automated storage which was quite useful compared to other places I had stayed. I then had myself a little sleep and rearranged a date for that night and got myself ready but she ended up being held up at work. So another rain check. I then just went downstairs to the family mart and got myself a dinner from there.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Boardgame meetup

    13 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    I spent most of the day in the hotel just catching up on sleep and tv.
    In the afternoon I headed to music town for a quick look around. Was still keen on finding a travel ukulele but no-one seemed to have one. There were lots of places which had a decent selection though.
    After that I went along to a board game meetup which at first I felt like leaving as the owner/organiser was quite strict on the rules to the point of being rude. I caught up with a small group and played ticket to ride, the game and codewords. I was keen to find some games which Japanese people played but they were mostly non Japanese there.
    I caught up for a quick drink after with 2 of the people from the group and wrapped up the night there.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik
    11111

    Night out

    14 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Again I spent most of the day in bed, was probably 3/4pm by the time I left the hotel in search of some food.
    I headed to akihabara as I wanted to buy a otomotone and one of the people from music town said I could find one there.
    Had myself a curry for "lunch" and then Owen from board games the night before messaged and asked if I could come out as a drinking buddy in golden gai.
    We headed to the hub first which there are many of around Japan as a British drinking bar. Had a little food and drinks there but then headed on to golden gai. The first place Owen had been to before and was looking for a bartender but she was not working that night so we had a quick drink and moved on. The next place was a rock place which had a great vibe and we sung along to some songs for a couple of drinks. Ran into some Australians there who continued on with us to Sasuke which was one of the bars I went to on new years. Crazy enough I ran into the Canadian couple who I had seen on new years in the same pub again so had to get a photo with them. Turns out it was her birthday as well so had a couple more drinks in celebration.we then found a rock bar where we had a few more. Did a quick pop into aces and then somehow ended up in a kareoke girls bar where they were trying to get me to buy them drinks. There was also some other bar towards the end of the night which we met some Russians at while we were waiting for the trains to start up again. Around 6/7 we called it a night and I accidentally got on the wrong train and ran into the Russians again who helped me get back on the right train. They probably thought I was following them.
    I grabbed myself a can of soup once I had got back to my station and then crashed.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Gundam Factory

    16 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    It's been raining the last couple of days but I decided to head back home early so figured I should get out and make the most of the remaining day I have.
    I headed to Yokohama which was nicely disconnected from Tokyo but still part of it.
    I walked through some outdoor malls playing jazz music towards the Gundam Factory which you could see from a fair distance.
    I stayed for 2 of the 3 shows they had to offer where the Gundam moves to a degree but was still pretty cool. They even had an apology sign about how they wanted to make it move more but even with the multiple companies involved this was the best they could achieve.
    It was quite cool of a display and the scale of the robot was something to admire.
    There were little robots inside as well assembling small gundams which was fun to watch.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Cup Noodle Museum

    16 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    I popped into the noodle museum to have a look around and found the art of it entertaining
    Grabbed a lunch in an Asian street looking area for only $2.5 which was a small ramen meal.
    It was raining when I left so I caught the gondola across back to catch the train home. Czytaj więcej

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  • Ben SmeeleJapanPodróżnik

    Flight home

    17 stycznia 2023, Japonia ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    As I had grabbed what was available I was not able to get an extra legroom seat. I arrived early at the airport to ask if they were able to do anything but unfortunately there were no free seats. I asked if they could use the money I paid for extra leg room against luggage instead. I was 5kg over from my current allowance but they wanted to charge me over $100 for it. I tried to argue but they were not interested. I repacked so that I had 2 carry-ons and put everything heavy I could in the backpack. Most of it was solved by me taking my large jumper out and just pretending to wear that. I would have been over allocated on my cabin allowance but no-one checked it.
    I grabbed a Bento Box for the plane which luckily made it through.
    I went to watch a movie on the plane and didn't realise that everything was pay-to-watch. I had plenty on my laptop but noticed most around me also had the same sad realisation.
    I can imagine the next one will be charging to use the USB port.
    I mostly fit in the seat but doubt there would be any sleeping through this flight.     Czytaj więcej

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    Koniec wyprawy
    18 stycznia 2023
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