Hello everybody, I have finally had a chance to jot down a few things that happened to me in tokyo! I hope its not too boring!

April 12th: Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan

I made it! finally after about 2 hours of searching Ikebukuro. Its now 9;15pm and I have arrived at KIMI Ryokan. Despite the narrow dodgy streets KIMI is quite tidy.

So much has happened today it feels like a week.

I got to my isle seat on the plane and was amazed at the size of it! I could fully stand up in front of it and almost pace about. moments later when my travelling companion for the next 9 hours arrived she said 'isnt it great they have upgraded us to business class!

fantastic! so I spent the next 9 hours in the lap of luxury, with as much leg and arm room you could ever need. When I arrived at tokyo I mananged to get aboard a JR - japanese rail - train to a small 'city' called nippori. at the platform before I left I went to a news stand and bought these dried snacks that resembled mini dried up sushi's there were pretty good. some young japanese girls started laughing at me at the platform so I offered them some mini sushis and befriended them. A tip in japan is if you want someones attention offer them some food and they will instantly warm to you.

so they went on the same train as me for only a couple of stations and then I was alone on a bustling carriage full of intense japanese. I quickly scanned the area for any gaigun - english or anything otherwise - only to discover I was all alone amongst a sea of nippon.

Oh well. This is what I'd expected. I struck up a onversation with the guy sitting next to me by funnily enough, offering him some of my snacks. he spoke almost no english but was so flattered by my generosity gave me his phone number. apparently he owns a small hamburger joint north of Ueno and wanted me over for dinner!

so I stashed that contact away and jumped on my next train on the Yamanote line directly to Ikebukuro feeling like I was really accomplishing things. I coulnt have been further from the truth. thr lonely plant map seemed simple enough: left-right-and a left. At the train station I was amazed at the size of the underground setup, people everywhere, the place was basically a giant underground shopping centre - in a train station!

Anyway so miraculously I surfaced from the trains at the correct exit (if you take the wrong exit you can end up on a totally different block and be instanlty lost!) to the street level and nearly fell over backwards! I stared up and up and up and around to massive towering buildings glowing in neon everthing, everything flashing strobing shimmering on every shop front, people everywhere, cars tooting, mobile phones a-humming, hordes of people travelling in massed groups. I thought: I am way way out of my depth here. so I though no problem, I'll just show this map to someone and they'll point me in the direction.

I aimed for a security guard and approached him. he had no english and no comprehension of my map. neither did his slickly uniformed partner. so I set of in a direction letting my internal compass lead the way. over the next two hours I went from optimistic to worried to aggravated to really pissed off, carrying my 20 or so kg's around all that time. I happened across this shop keeper and he began to help me, grabs my map and dashes of with it!, I'm like hey thats my lonely planet without it i'm one sizzled little tuna fish, and chased after him! so he asks japanses people in japanses about this japanese city and nobody knows where this place is. this particular city is so damned big each person really only knows a few block really well each! so he got me to the next check point on my map, and then I began following my nose again. I got disorientatied and lost in a matter of a few seconds, ended up in some glitzy fast paced alleys with stange girls in the middle of the intersections in very tarty attire handing out brochueres, nevertheless I was very suspicious about what was going on. Seemed I'd homed in on the red light district of Ikebukuro, a sole tourist with the words 'I've got cash and I'm totally naive' stamped all over my forehead. anyway so I stopped at a corner and muttered 'ffffuck', when a young suited young japanese guy wanders by, seeing my distraught face and offers assistance. so I showed him my map and then he dashes of with my lonley planet book, so I chase him around for half and hour. We turn down this dark and deserted alley and I said this looks a little scary, he says nah, its not.

Then 10 seconds later we say 4 cops pull out of a car and stop a car load of young punks, there going totally through the car questioning everybody, and the poor guys are squirming. My japanese guide turns and says to me yeah youre right this is scary!

anyway so next he painstakingly takes me into the right neighbourhood, talks to any and all of the locals, and deliveres me right to the door of KIMI and then introduces me to reception! thats what I call service! so I thank him and unfortunatlely I have nothing to give him but a handshake and a nod and he disappears into the night maybee to go and help another disorientated dissullusioned tourist.

THe guy at the reception orders me to take my shoes off, which I do, and then I make my way to the room on the 3rd floor. Its not big but spacious enough for one person and a real bargain for 4500Y per night (about $60 compared to many $150+ hotel rooms). the room is 4.5 tatami mats in size which is the yardstick for traditional rooms. thats because there are 4.5 straw type mats on the floor. the room smells of them, like beach mats. theres a futon and a lowset writing table.

showers and toilets for the whole foor are outside.

so I showered and vertured outside for a feed. its now 10pm localtime. Away from the main shops in Ikebukruo its covered with narrow lanes dotted with shops, mainly food places. I went inside one, which was a bar setup for only a bout 10-12 people max and a chef. he barked some japanses at me and I motioned to say I want to eat. he barked some more and the whole restaurant laughs at me. then he gives me the big 'X' symbol with his wrists which roughly translated means, 'no we're closed please leave'. so I backed out of there and escaped to a larger street, followed a couple of guys up some stairs to a restaurant and ordered two dishes which looked and tasted great but only represented an entre, and they charged me 1000Y, about $13! so I sulked home and got a beer out of the vending machine at KIMI followed by a coke and went to bed.

The lonely planet said Ikeb. had nothing much to offer but so far its mind blowing!

seeya,

Lyndon