The humidity has dropped a bit but the whole timezone thing is still messing with me in a number of areas (don’t ask). If nothing else I’ve had my first taste of the notorious Akihabara (advice #1: take money) and took the train out to Machida. A severely pic-heavy post follows but to kick things off here’s the sight that greets me in the morning.

Asakusa with the temple (hopefully visiting tomorrow) and a peculiar little kids’ theme park.

The route to Akihabara involves plenty of travelling by underground and local train – the Pasmo card is neat for this, working like an Oyster card in London. Charge it up and you’re done. Random adverts are random though…nothing’s more fashionable than being pregnant, apparently. Eat for two in style! The sheer amount of advertising in general in Tokyo is quite something actually – it looks a bit silly to my cynical eyes but I guess that’s what happens when you enter a country that’s even more consumer-driven than your own. The bright, smiley pleas to BUY THINGS NAO hits you on every corner.

Speaking of random, this was something I spotted back in Asakusa. It’s some sort of mythical creature of some sort…I think. There was a wooden carving of one of these opposite, but I think this was someone in an outfit (I pity them in this weather, seriously).

Not quite as wierd, however, as this other piece of advertising. Kim Jong Il lives, it seems.

Most of the buildings are fairly modern but there are the occasional ones that stick out. This peculiar place looks like it’s been nudged aside by those nearby; it’s coated with copper shingles, which I’ve yet to see in Tokyo or anywhere else for that matter. It looks completely out-of-place despite being older than the offices surrounding it but it fascinated me for some reason.

We passed through Akihabara on the way and I couldn’t resist the offer of both the Macross Frontier and Darker than Black OSTs. Not nearly as much as I could’ve spent given what was on offer but ¥10,000 is a lot to splurge in one go on your first day. It won’t be the last, I’ll bet. PSPs are pretty cheap over here.

The train service is, as everyone knows, clean and pretty much 100% punctual. The local trains are often crowded – this is pretty average but I’ve already seen worse. There’s air-con and rudeness isn’t common so it’s a fairly pleasant way to get around. Pasmo FTW!

Compare with the famous bullet trains on the Shinkansen lines…yep, the rear carriage has a back window. Fast and smooth…I actually had a power-nap during this trip. Apparently the seats swivel around to face the other way when the train reaches its destination and sets off in the opposite direction. Neat.

Aaand…the moment you’ve been waiting for: the Guinness of Machida! L-R: Ant, Bob, Yasu and Seb (me behind the camera). This was a small bar above an eaterie of some sort…it had the name Covent Garden or something, and served Newcastle Brown Ale and featured a menu of European-style mixed with Japanese. If you’re a peckish Westerner who misses their cottage pie, look no further! It even has UK-based rock music in the background and a (n electronic) dartboard. Home from home? Judge for yourself…

The irony here is that this particular bar has no fewer than two awards from the Guinness corporation for the quality of their service; I can certainly vouch for that. It’s ironic, really, that I’ve had to go all the way to a Tokyo suburb to sample the best pint of Guinness I’ve ever tasted. Epic bar win.

Eh, that’s all for now. I’m still reeling from the culture shock and travelling but hopefully I’ll have a wander around Asakusa tomorrow because it has a really wonderful looking temple. That and the fact that I’ve caught the DDR bug and have been following my travelling companions around every arcade we’ve passed…