Today was to be a Serious Tourism Day. With that in mind, I sweated my way through the humidity to the Imperial Gardens, which in my opinion, weren’t very imperial. They weren’t even beautiful in their simplicity. And God knows where the palace actually was because I didn’t get to see it. Apparently, you’re not allowed anywhere near. All I discovered from that trip was that I couldn’t escape Cambridge. In the museum is a picture of Her Majesty of Japan standing outside King’s College. Doesn’t she know it’s full of hippies and communists and supposed radicals?!
Next up on the Big Tourist Agenda was the Museum of Modern Art. What surprised me most was how influenced the modern art was by the West. Apart from a few pieces done before the early nineteen-hundreds, I could have been in London.
By the time I’d finished being ever so cultured, I was starving. And I had one thing on my mind – udon. I hadn’t had udon yet. And not far away on the tube, according to my (not so) trusty Lonely Planet guide book, was a great, cheap udon place.
I won’t bore you with the details but suffice to say I spent an hour tripping over my feet around Ginza before finally being informed that they’d destroyed the building where the restaurant was supposed to be. At near collapse, I hauled myself into a bakery, bought an over-priced yet amazingly delicious baguette (it’s quite a novelty to find a baguette in Japan – they don’t seem to have any bread that’s not sweet or a soft roll). This ordering process was aided by a kind Japanese girl who translated for me. Then she came to sit near where I was sitting…
Ker-ching! Another interview done! I praise udon for leading me to this opportunity.
A stop at department store and I was offered some herbal tea. After conversing at some length with the girl, I gave her my email address to contact me for an interview. (She has since done so – another interview coming up!)
I then visited the Sony Building which had the most amazing gadgets on display. For example, there were two video cameras on a shaking platform, an old model and a new model. The picture on the screens behind was shaking loads for the old model but not for the new model. Also, there’s a new music player called a “Rolly” – which rolls and dances to your music as it plays. I’m feeling particularly like a Japanese teenager so there’s only one thing for it: “So cute!” Also worth noting was the TV aquarium room.
However, before I leave this post without informing you of any particular mishaps, here comes the…
Embarrassment of the day:
Somehow I managed to catch my flip-flop and fall upstairs into some man’s legs. I collapsed on his feet and then struggled to right myself as he asked if I was all right. I apologised and began hobbling along the next floor, hoping that no-one was still watching me, before stopping to inspect the damage. Nothing major but I then found myself being followed by Sony staff offering me medical assistance in broken English.
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