Why Hello there Kitty. (posting from the road)

Well if its weird you are looking for...I have found it...in Tokyo Japan. The sterotypes of Tokyo fashion stand strong - strolling down the street towards you will undoubtedly encounter a pedistrian carrying a Louis Vutton handbag wearing a snoopy t-shirt, kneehigh boots, a surgical mask over their face and earmuffs while talking away on their cell phone which is definately sporting a Hello Kitty charm attached to it - did I mention this was a man...

I arrived in Tokyo after one to the best flights ever! I was on a comfortably A330 that was younger then I was thus the seat still had some cushion left to it. My seatmate was this great guy who does business in both the US and Tokyo - we chatted an appropriate length of time and he gave me pointers on Japanese culture plus some tips for navigating through Tokyo. (we are now e-mail buddies). More amazing for a NWA/Delta flight - we were an hour early!!!

Excited about the extra time I sprinted for the express train and settled in to watch the countryside pass my by as we made our way to the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Shinjuku treated me to all the iconic Tokyo glam that I had envisioned; bright flashing neon signs, a geisha on a cell phone, granny styled bicycles, Hello Kitty posters and surgical mask wearing pedistrians.
Shinjuku is also home to the best sightseeing deal in the whole planet - a view from the 45th floor of a building - FREE of charge! (i think it's close to $30 to summit the Space Needle in Seattle). At night your view is mostly just of a neverending span of lights - but it's still pretty awesome. Recognizing that tourists will be so excited to have all this extra YEN in their pockets...(and no doubt eager to purchase some souveiners)...they were thoughtfull enough to place a gift shop at the top. I came frighteningly close to almost purchasing a purse that featured a giant picture of the Michelan Man (yes that rotound white tire image) - I told you weird was prmoniant here. I did however visit a photo booth and somehow managed to purchase about 30 images of myself with a Japanese backdrop and jewels surrounding my face. (so if anyone needs an updated photo of me, maybe for your desk or wallet...just let me know)

The mass transit system here is amazing - huge, sprawling, crowded but clean with at least some English signs. Transferring at stations in not as easy as other places I have been to. Depending on the stop you have to leave the station, navigate yourway about 1/2 km down the streets and hopefully stumble upon the next set of stairs to return you back down to the subway world. I acutally stopped for dinner while trying to tranfer trains. I am not sure what I ate, I pointed to something in a picture menu and after gesticulating my fish allergy to the waitress a plate of food arrived. I think it was beef (gosh thinking back on some of the bizzare Japanese habits I hope it was beef).

I finally managed to drag my exhausted self to the Asukusa area of town for another uniquely Japanese expereience - the capsule hotel. A recognition of the drastic lack of space led to the invention of these hotels where they literaily stack people on top of each other. I had to climb up a little ladder to get into my 'room'.

After purchasing your room from a vending maching, securing your shoes in a locker on the first floor (no footwear past the first floor), you can make your way to your assigend floor which has rows and rows of capsules. Each person's capsule or cubby hole consits of a plastic compartment approx 6 feet long, 3 feet high and 3 feet across (my best guess). There is no window or door. Once you are in for the night, you lower a bamboo shade. Each cubby has a mirror and a small TV. There is a thin matress covering the entire floor of your cubby. A straw filled pillow and duvet are provided to snuggle up with at night. Yes - you can hear everything that is going on in all the other cubbys.

I actully slept pretty well considering I was in a cupboard and was none to happy to leave my cozy cubby at 0430 this am to head back underground for my 2 hour journey back to Narita airport. I write to you now waiting for my next flight...I justfinished my mandatory McDonald's stop to suss out their menu differences (breakfast was a potatoe and bacon pie). Jetting shortly to my next destination - I am in row 52 for a 2 hour 10 min flight (I have never seen a 747 on a short haul before).

Are-eee-got-toe for reading!

p.s. other 'must knows' for Japan. They drive on the right (came dangerously close to reapeating that Melbourne Volvo expereince). The buttons on the side of the toilet will activate the bidet feature (won't describe how I discovered that one!)