Popped my Tokyo Cherry

Now that I know my final deadline for Japan I've created a mental checklist of things I have to do before I leave Japan. I'm deathly determined to get all the things on my list done. And this weekend I managed to check off the first item: Go to Tokyo.

So on Saturday night straight after work a huge group of us made the trek to the city that never sleeps (where people speak Japanese).

One of the most exciting things happened before we even got to Tokyo. My tangent buddies, Darlene and Tommy FINALLY got together. My subtle machinations finally came to fruition. So our train trip consisted of us discussing how long I'd seen this coming, trying to convince the others in our group they were actually together and getting told off for being rowdy and obnoxious gaijin.

Since we took the shinkansen (bullet train) the trip took less than 2 hours. The shinkansen essentially feels like flying but you never leave the ground. I did get that nauseating feeling that I get when I'm travelling on a really fast elevator but it settled down.

When we got to Tokyo around 11pm, we headed out to Ageha, one of the biggest clubs in Tokyo. And this was no small claim (sorry, bad pun) this place was a ginourmous warehouse with marquee extensions. There was a house area that was about the size of a football field; a pool area that was begging someone to be thrown in, a trance tent; a lounge area you could get lost in and a bunch of coloured rooms (the blue room, the orange room) that we didn't even make it to.

Apparently, cameras weren't allowed in the club but I managed to sneak mine in because I truly wanted to document my adventures. I didn't take too many photos though. There were security guards everywhere.

The highlight of the club was when the pole dancers came out. And before the screams of protest against the objectification of women start, these women were not strippers. It was like circe de soleil but instead of leotards these women were wearing bikinis. The things they were doing were absolutely mind-blowing. To be able to climb up a steel pole, cling to the pole using only her thighs then twirl around horizontally was an amazing show of their strength. They were tanks. Amazonian in their beauty and grace but athletes nonetheless. Unfortunately I didn't get to take a photo. The guards were even more prevalent around them.

We left the club around 5:30am, got breakfast, then headed to Shibuya. Shibuya is the famous shopping district and the crossing outside the station is famous for always being a crushing mass of people. This wasn't the case at 7am on a Sunday. After spending a couple of hours in the worst Starbucks ever (it had no bathroom or couches. It's only redeeming quality was the music they played), we got a Tommy Hadouken Adams tour of Tokyo.

We walked around Shibuya and did some window shopping. There was a shopping centre called 109 that was made up entirely of shops for women. Some of the shops were colour coordinated. Like everything in the shop was black and pink, or white and yellow. It was bizarre but shopping in Japan is always a bizarre experience.

Then we walked to Harajuku (the street famous for the people who dress up in costumes). It was definitely a sight to see. So many younguns caked with make-up, tottering around in gravity defying platforms and waving 'Free Hugs' signs. And of course we made a trip to the Harajuku market street. It was a teeming alley of kooky fashion and people.

One thing about Tokyo is that there are so many more foreigners around than in Nagoya. And for some reason almost every group of foreigners we bumped into during our unofficial tour seemed to be Australian. It felt like I was being stalked by Australians.

Tokyo is definitely a more highly-charged experience of Japan. In Nagoya, I've been allowed to get used to culture and my surroundings at my own pace. But everything in Tokyo is in your face.

This may have been my first trip to Tokyo but it certainly won't be my last.