With my usual exquisite planning skills I landed in Tokyo on the hottest day since records began – it is traditionally the hottest day of the year, complete with a ceremony involving burning herbs in a pot on your head. Fortunately they didn’t require that as part of the entry conditions. Indeed, there weren’t even any awkward questions about my return.
Now, I’ve just gotten back to the hotel from a meal at Jonathans, its 330am, so I don’t think its breakfast, but its not really any other meal either. I’m staying in the Shinjuku Prince, in kabuki-cho, so even though its the middle of the night it is practically daylight outside with all the pachinko, disappearing to generic cityscape of buildings delineated by red flashing lights in the distance.
The mullets are out in force tonight, too, mostly dressed in kimono (or the summer equivalent, I guess) and more tan than really suits Japanese people.
British Airways are so British, everyone else flying to Japan gives you hot towels all the time, just like everywhere in Japan, but BA have a standard for what you get in cattle class for long haul and, no matter where you’re going, that it what you get.
‘Yesterday’ (Monday, I’ve lost track of what day it is now) was a mad dash across London to catch the last train, having failed to be able to look up trains on the interet – I was trying to catch the 9pm from Huntingdon, except that runs on Sundays not Mondays, so ended up on the 930 stopping service which arrived around the back of Kings Cross at 2250. Still, it only took 20mins to get to London Bridge where I was then treated to a graffiti exhibition as many previously delayed Dartford trains passed before, at last, the Dover train.
I’m back in the UK around end of August. Anyone passing Tokyo, pop by.
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