Japan Part 2 - Hello Tokyo... Goodbye Skis...

We got lucky on our flight to Tokyo - as both Ant and I each got an exit row to ourselves.

In our first "WTHIWWJP" style moment - we were subjected to a Japanese version of "red faces" on the plane whereby contestants would do crazy things and the audience would rate them on their performance via a "clap-o-meter". If they got a big enough applause - a buzzer would go off and a playboy bunny would come out on stage and give them a medal. Some of the contestants have a promising career in the sex industry in Japan (a la the woman at the nightclub in "Lost in Translation") with their amazing display of aerobatic feats.

Our flight was a day flight - so we didn`t feel completely wrecked upon our arrival to Tokyo. As we were getting our bags off the baggage carousel - there was a big sign with "Anthony from QF XXXX - Please report to the JAL staff". We got both of our main luggage bags - Ant had to steal one off someone who tried to take it home... But we were minus our ski bag.
The JAL staff were helpful in a "super enthusiastic Japanese" sort of way". The guy said there was a mix-up at Melbourne airport and the skis would be here the next day via a flight from Singapore(??!). Maybe the lost skis were a bit of a blessing in disguise as we didn`t have to carry them around Tokyo and its trains to our hostel.

Our hostel (which was a 10 min walk from the subway - which sort of sucks carrying your bags and ski boots) is a bit like the bastard love child of a youth hostel and a traditional ryokan (Japanese inn). There is a trashy style lobby with backpackers hanging out to internet radio from the UK, whilst the rooms are very Japanese traditional - tatami mats and sleeping on floors and such. Our room even had a TV with a video player (with bonus VHS tapes). As I was innocently browsing thru them - there was "Boyz from the Hood" - but then it started getting a little blue. The second video had a Japanese woman tied up on the cover... The third was entitled "Leotard Erotic Lesson", the forth was a "Rape-o-rama" video with the backcover saying it was full of "Super Sexy Violence" - and so forth. I can`t recall any of this being advertised when we booked this place?! Maybe it is traditional?!... but I`m 100% sure that this stuff would be banned in Australia. I`ve said it once and I`ll say it again - WTHIWWJP! AGGGHH!

As we were feeling a bit unadventurous and tired - we set off to the nearest Yoshinoya - a Japanese chain restaurant which serves "Beef Bowl Noodles" (which I have seen in Sydney, Hong Kong and America). It is cheap and reasonably cheerful and recommended if you ever have a hangover in Japan. I had a bit of a Heimlich Maneuver experience - as I choked on my Miso Soup (some green vegetable thing stuck to the side of my throat). Yoshinoya was an exceptionally embarrassing place to start choking and coughing my brains out - as the place was full of single guys eating by themselves - so it is super quiet and they hear every single splutter and cough that you make...

After this near death Yoshinoya experience - we decided to call it a night.