Robot Claw

I was up before the crows – indeed I barely slept – and I was itching to begin. Unfortunately nothing was open, so I repacked (since I’ll be shipping luggage soon), did my laundry and walked around the local area for a while. I’m at Asakusa, just a hop and a skip from the famous Senso-Ji Temple. In my early morning wanderings I thought to buy a fortune like I had many times before. Here’s what I got:

If the text is too difficult to read it says “The clear moon is covered by thick clouds. The sky got dark and doesn’t get fine. A red flower decayed to a half, the bad fortune is found among the happiness. Though you want and try to make a thing perfect, it hurt your mind with trouble some matters. They warn you that never think of excessive desire, impossible like to sail so far by boat.”

This is a bad fortune, and it goes on to say that the worst will come true. Requests will not be granted, lost items will remain lost, don’t built a house, don’t go on vacation, don’t marry etcetera. I did the traditional thing of tying the bad fortune to the supplied metal rack so my bad luck was transferred away. Poor metal rack!

Senso-Ji has changed for the better since we first visited it 22 years ago and it rightly deserves its place as one of Tokyo’s foremost tourist destinations. Today I saw more tourists here than I ever have, including from parts of the world (such as the Middle East) that I have traditionally not seen tourists from in Japan. Asakusa is ground central in Japan’s overtourism problem, and it was easy to see why today. I dodged them all as best I could and hopped on a train to Ikebukuro, a part of Tokyo that few tourists add to their schedules until they’ve been here a few times.

After an early and quick lunch, I spent the day (and I mean this literally – I was there almost 7 hours) exploring all my favourite shops and Game Centers in Ikebukuro. This has become a tradition-of-sorts with me – coming here the first day of every Japan trip – and while I had initially chosen it since rain had been forecast the weather brightened and became hot and sunny. It looks like I chased the rain away.

Ikebukuro is a bit of an almost Akihabara, and I think it would one day like to seize the crown of otaku paradise. But I doubt that will happen since Akihabara is always improving as well. Not to worry Ikebukuro: being the second best place for otaku shopping is still a grand achievement considering the heights of Akihabara!

Of course I played some crane games and bought gachas and ‘had a go’ at a few retro games at Mikado – and I’ve written of such things before and will eventually get to them this trip. Considering how little sleep I’d had I’m surprised I didn’t collapse at some point. I’ll chalk it up to excitement 🙂

But my reserves only last so long. Tomorrow is a new day and I’ve got a new and (hopefully) special place to visit. I hope it’s worth the trip! Find out tomorrow…

The flight was just as you’d expect, made bearable by the amazing customer service and the unusually comfy seat (for premium economy). Since I talked it up to anyone who’d listen, here’s a photo of my delicious fruit platter dinner:

I count eight types of fruit! It was all incredibly fresh and delicious too (especially the strawberries). But it didn’t stop there, since my second ‘snack’ meal was a special fruit version too:

The flight attendant probably thought I was a monkey since she randomly offered me (and it seems just me) a banana at one point as well 🙂

Anyway we arrived, and just in time since the currency/SIM card booths were closing as I reached them! The rain was also torrential and the taxi ride was quite an experience since the driver thought he was a formula one racer and cared not for the poor visibility! He even did a U-turn when he missed a street!

Dinner has been et, some important supplies bought, a bath had and it’s long past time for bed. At least it should be, but I just turned on the TV and this is starting:

Maybe I’ll stay up for a bit longer to see what it is 🙂

I’m at the airport waiting to board. The above is not my flight, but I can’t get a photo of my plane since it’s well hidden by a jet bridge.

I’m extremely tired and have very sore eyes, but I’m excited about the second half of this trip. I hope I can regenerate some energy on the flight!

Over eighteen days in Australia I did and saw a lot, and importantly spent a wonderful time with mum. I averaged just under 14k steps a day, which probably explains my exhaustion! It’s a good thing I’m immediately going on a second holiday to recover 🙂

The last Chomp has been eaten (except for the 8 in my suitcase), the last frozen coke drunk and the last postcard – from Oz – sent. Now it’s time for Japan!