Speaking of money, I really have to start getting a feel for the money here. To give you an idea, 1€ converts to 164¥, I just looked that up. Wait, 164¥? Wow, I've been calculating with 135 all this time. Suits me well for using courses printed in books and not on the internet! Anyways... it's complicated. I was calculating with rough rates of 4/3rds and 3/4ths, looks like I'll have to switch to 5/3rds and 3/5ths now, which won't make it any easier... 1000¥, which is the smallest bill, is worth about 6€, for simplicity's sake.
Anyways. After I fiscally equipped myself, I took the JR (which is short for Japanese Rail service, by the way) to Shinjuku - the part of Tokyo with the highest density of skyscrapers. Had some trouble figuring out how the hell to get out of the station. According to my trusted Lonely Planet guidebook, approximately two million people pass through the station every day, making it one of the busiest in the world. And it shows. There's so many exits, corners, shops, staircases, escalators, signs, etc., it just gets a little confusing.
To add stupidity to confusion, I also realized that I originally wanted to get out at Shibuya, not Shinjuku. Well, what the hell, since I'm already here... I strolled around between some skyscrapers, which were quite imposing. Then I got out my travel guide, which told me that there's an observatory floor on one of these - and it's even free! Great, so I went to the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building's 45th floor, and what did I see? A cityscape like no other, spreading out from horizon to horizon. Impressive, but also a little scary. At least Tokyo has some decent parks, unlike Singapore...
Well, when I had taken in the sights, I went and took a look at the other side of the station: Less skyscrapers, more alleys and small shops to explore. I was starting to feel kind of meh and hungry though, so I went to the nearest McDonald's *cough*, and tried their currently advertised "Mega Tomato!" burger. Three layers of meat, some pepper sauce and a tomato, and it was actually kinda nice. The woman at the counter was nice enough to point out what she was talking about on the menu with her finger for me, so I was even able to order a meal with it, yay!
Next up: Harajuku. Reputedly full of Cosplayers, according to my guidebook. Well, it lied: There were exactly two. Anyways, there was a templed too, Meiji-Jingu, and I decided to take a look since I was already there. I'll let the pictures (and their comments on Flickr - yes, I actually started giving names and descriptions to the photos now!) speak for themselves, so go ahead and indulge yourselves at my flickr gallery!
When I got out of the park again, I realized that a guy I had noticed on my way in was still standing there, doing his thing - dancing to some music from his ghetto blaster, right on the middle of the street. As my ex has wondered before: Do cities attract crazy people, or do they create them? Judge for yourself:
I took a walk from there to Shibuya, reputedly THE shopping place for Tokyo's youth. And behold, the average age of the people I passed on the sidewalks did indeed seem to drop consistently, the closer I got to the place. When I did get there though, I was already so tired that I decided to go home. And that's where I am now, happily sitting in front of my laptop and typing this blog.
In about half an hour, some of the guys staying here in the hostel are going to Roppongi, Tokyo's prime party area, and I'm going with them. Guess we'll see how that goes! I'll keep you posted.
Oh, as always, more photos in my flickr gallery - the link is on the top right hand side of this page! And I also uploaded some videos again, check them out on my YouTube page, also on the right side of this page. Mostly old stuff, but some new ones as well, like for example the one linked above.
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