Ange's Nama-biiru Tour of Tokyo

Just tell me how much print club rocks...

What do 3 Aussies (one in town for only a day) do on the wettest and most miserably cold day of the year? Like you need to ask!

Matt and I have always been a bit guilty of going out of our way to show guests a good time, maybe trying too hard, until we realised that Tokyo is simply not a touristy city. You probably get more out of Tokyo by wandering around its labyrinths and drinking up the atmosphere.

So when our friend Ange (one of the original Melbourne Mafia, and yes this is supposed to make the rest of you guys feel guilty as shit for not visiting us) we had a short list of stuff to do, and let the rest fall into place.

In one night and one day, Ange...

* partook of that perennial Japanese institution - late night ramen (washed down with Sapporo beer)...
* went electronics shopping in Ikebukuro...
* braved the mass of tourists and worshippers in Senso Ji in Asakusa (jeez, not even 5 degree sleet can keep the Japanese down)...

Tokyo Tittie Pudding

* went nuts buying big on Hello Kitty (hell, I thought it was just me) on Nakamise-dori, the souvenir-mecca leading to Senso-Ji...
* experienced shitamachi hospitality at a cook-your-own okonomiyakiya in Asakusa (washed down with a devil-load of Asahi beer). The highlight of the day. Even the Asahi tasted good...
* was blown-away (literally) by the bright rainy lights of Shinjuku...

Kabukicho

* overloaded on cheese at a Kabukicho Print Club station (see above)...
* ate yakitori in Yakitori Alley (washed down with an unhealthy dose of Kirin Beer and TV Sumo) with the after-work salary-men crowd...

Yakitori Ange

* experienced Shinjuku station rush hour...
* polished off more Sapporo beer at our local izakaya...

and all without taking a deep breath. Mind you, we were tipsy the whole day, so probably wouldn't have noticed if we were breathing or not. The moral of the story? When Mother Nature screws you, there's always beer...

Asakusa Photo Gallery
Shinjuku Photo Gallery