Christmas Eve

I was back in Ueno and this time I arrived when the art galleries were actually open. I don't like the park itself. It is full of homeless people who live in little shacks in the woods. They sleep on the benches or sit together drinking, but never beg. The sun was shining and there was the sound of Peruvian pan-pipes playing. It is funny, because wherever you go in the world you always come across South American pan-pipe and percussion groups playing on the streets, all decked out in psychedelic ponchos.

As luck would have it, I was randomly given a free ticket by a woman in the lobby of one of the art galleries for the current exhibition of 80 works from the Moscow Hermitage gallery. It was just as well because if I had paid I would have been disappointed. The only painting I like was one of Gaugin's famous Tahiti works. The portrait glowed with velvety blues, tangerines, ochres and magentas. There were a couple of Bonnards and a Monet but the rest were unknown landscapes which held no appeal for me.

Following this I wandered through the park to the National Museum of Western art which was hosting a big exhibition of Dali's work. There was a long queue outside so I went to the ticket office as other people were doing. However, when I asked for a ticket the girl shook her head and showed me a handwritten sign which said "Sorry we are very busy at the moment, please join the end of the queue." So I strolled down to the end of the line where a guy held a sign saying that from this point there would be a 45 minute wait.

As I was about to join the line he asked me if I had a ticket. Confounded, I shook my head and tried to explain that I had just tried to buy one but was sent to the end of the line. He just smiled and said "yes, yes" and pointed at the ticket office. So, I went back to the office feeling rather annoyed. What was going on? Just another example of the sheer lack of logic that confronts one on occasion in this country. Back at the same counter I asked once again for a ticket and just as before, the girl showed me the sign. This time I felt really angry. I had seen other people buying tickets and although I knew she didn't understand, I started saying this to her and pointing at the guy with the sign in the distance. For whatever reason, she finally changed her mind and sold me the ticket. It struck me as very bizarre.

The exhibition was wonderful except for the fact that the space between me and every painting was six people deep, and they weren't moving. After a lot of persistence I managed to get a good look at most of the works but the gallery was too small for an exhibition of that size. You couldn't fully appreciate the pieces in that kind of environment. They were too close together and you couldn't get back far enough to view them from a distance.

Outside the gallery there was a Christmas tree decorated with Dali-esque golden eggs and a Chupa-chups vending machine. It somehow didn't feel like Christmas to me. As dusk settled upon the departing art lovers I did what I do best, an that is wander. A short walk from Ueno park are the lively streets of Ameyoko market town: bunches of dried squid, tubs of orange fish eggs, belts and shoes, fur coats, fresh pineapple on sticks, TV screens, men with microphones, cigarette smoke, noodle bars, girls in Santa outfits handing out flyers, plastic food displays and the thunder of overhead trains. I thought a lot about my painting and how much I want to start doing it again when I get home. I want to do a series on Tokyo. There is so much inspiration here.

That night I welcomed Christmas day in with a Gin and Tonic and a complimentary bowl of raw cabbage with sesame dressing, in a quiet little bar in Toyoda with a friend. It was cold and quiet as I walked back to my apartment in the early hours of Christmas day. My first Christmas away from home. It was certainly different.

Christmas Saturday

My Christmas weekend started on the 23rd December, thanks to the fact that it was the emperor of Japan's birthday, and coincidentally, my mother's. I took a train into Shinjuku. I was in search of the famous Yodobashi camera store near the west exit of the station. My parents said they would buy me a digital camera for Christmas so I set out to investigate the latest technology. I managed to navigate my way through the impossibly confusing station (which I almost always get lost in) and was approaching the west exit, when I saw a sign for Bic Camera. It was on the 6th floor of the Odakyu department store. Noticing an elevator a few yards from the sign, I figured I would pop up and take a look around at the cameras on sale there.

Big mistake. Just as I pressed the button a Japanese woman in a uniform consisting of a pink, mini-skirt suit and white hat, gloves and neck scarf clattered over. "Where you want to go?" I informed her that I wanted to go to Bic camera on the 6th floor. I saw the illuminated numbers blinking down towards 1, but before I had time to pause for the doors to open, she whisked me away and started pointing towards an exit up ahead. There were crowds of people and signs everywhere and I didn't know what was going on. Anyway, from out of her pocket she whipped a piece of paper and a pen and started drawing a map. She then put it back in her pocket and, bowing, ushered me in the direction of my new destination.

My off hand decision to 'pop in' to Bic camera on my way, turned out be more like a bad dream. I couldn't remember the directions she gave me and not having actually been given the map I found myself immediately lost. I wandered into a food hall and then tried to call an elevator which never came. I got fed up of waiting and went in search of some stairs. Finally I found my way into Odakyu (which is still in the station complex) and went up and down the escalators between the five floors of Bic camera looking for the part that actually stocks the cameras. (Bic camera sells a variety of electronic goods - from cell phones to TVs, to massage chairs and i-pods.)

After ten minutes of trying to find the digital cameras in intense heat and noise, I thought I was about to have an uncontrollable fit of rage, so I made a beeline for the nearest exit. All in all, it took me well over an hour to get out of the station and into the fresh air and sunshine. I saw a Buddhist monk standing outside begging for money in his grey robes, chanting and occasionally banging a stick with bells on on the pavement. Japan, the land of contradictions never ceases to surprise me.

My basic ability to read Katakana allowed me to successfully locate Yodobashi camera. Although, after an hour in there I couldn't actually decide which one I wanted to buy. In the end I headed to Kabukicho and wandered about in the neon and the racket of pachinko and shoppers that is soap land. It was getting dark and given my lack of any real plans I decided to go to the cinema. Nine quid got me a ticket for "The Devil Wears Prada". It was just what I was in the mood for. A light, funny look at the world of fashion. I left feeling very scruffy, yet very much in love with Tokyo. Stepping out into the energy and the colour and life of the big city I felt the world was mine. Here I was in Tokyo but in a couple of months I would be back in Hastings. I have chosen to give it up and I frequently ask myself why. As I slowly walked away from the cinema I started to mourn the loss of this city that would soon only exist for me in memories.

I passed an English pub and decided to pop in for a drink. I half expected it to be full of westerners, but it wasn't. In fact I was the only one. It was packed with Japanese people. I was escorted to a stool at the bar and given a cocktail menu by an overly polite waitress who was probably wondering why I was coming in alone. I then had to get up and walk to the end of the bar to order my Cuba Libre. So much for being an English pub. Given that there was no one there that I was likely to strike up a conversation with, I left. Outside the station I watched some pretty unique street entertainment. One festive performance constituted of two skinny guys in blond wigs and Mrs Santa outfits. One played keyboard whilst the other shrieked out Christmas carols into a microphone and every now and then shouted "happy birthday baby Jesus!" Yes, I will miss Tokyo. It is a truly unique experience.

New Blue List Philosophies

10 Philosophical Reasons for Lonely Travel


Travel to 'be'
Who are you if not the sum of all your life's experiences? Travel because where you've been becomes who you are. To 'be' is to have 'been'. What places are a part of you?

Travel to communicate
There are about 6.5 billion people in the world. Travel and you will meet people you will never forget; be they chance meetings, love affairs, fleeting exchanges or lasting friendships. There are so many conversations to be had. What people are a part of you?

Travel to understand
Travelling abroad is also about journeying within yourself. Travel and you will become more aware of your own identity and where you are from. In the light of a new culture you can better understand your own.

Travel to experience
To really live is to fully appreciate your experiences. Travel to feel alive. Your senses will be awakened by sights unimaginable, food never tasted and languages never heard. Start living and let the world into your life.

Travel to know what you want
People often travel in the hope that they will discover who they are and what they want. However, perhaps an equally worthy and far more achievable goal is to travel to discover what you don't want. Travel will ultimately help you see what is important to you in life.

Travel to be free
Most people's lives are restricted by routine and responsibility. In contrast, travel is unpredictable. If you embrace this uncertainty you will find freedom. Take chances. Think of yourself as lucky and you will be lucky. Arm yourself with a guidebook and see where fate takes you.

Travel to become stronger
The only thing preventing you from doing something is fear. Remember, sometimes the things which are most difficult are the most worthwhile and if you want something, just make it happen.

Travel to stop worrying
Travel requires faith that the route will bring you to your destination. Like life, the trip may be a long one or a short one and will be full of surprises, disappointments, adventures and amazements. Travel to discover that you must trust in life and that you will get where you want to go.

Travel to laugh
If travel was always fun, everyone would be doing it all of the time. The key to a positive travel experience is to find where humour hides. Remember that recounts of unfortunate events often get the biggest laughs.

Travel to create memories
Who are we without memory? Memories compose and enrich our identities. Record your travel experiences and the good things will never be forgotten and the mishaps will have been granted significance.

New Blue List

Discover Japan: the land of contradictions


Spend the evening in an Izakaya
Take a seat at a sunken table and order an ice-cold glass of beer. One hot towel later and you can peruse a menu depicting an array of beautifully photographed food from sashimi to fried chicken, daikon salad to boiled soya beans. You can eat and drink til the small hours; but just don't forget to take off you toilet shoes.

Hang out at the Park Hyatt
At sunset, stunning views of Tokyo await you on the 52nd floor of this highly refined hotel. Relive "Lost in Translation" and sip a Suntory whisky at the bar, Bill Murray style, or sit back and enjoy some high class jazz with a pricey cocktail.

See Nikko and die
Or so the saying goes. Experience the true glory of ancient Japan that dwells in mountain cedar forests, two hours from Tokyo. Ornate carvings, clouds of incense, red lacquer floors and rows of granite lanterns feature in this stunning complex of shrines and temples.

Shibuya madness
From Shibuya's famous Hachiko exit you will be greeted by a dazzling display of blinking, neon clad skyscrapers, monstrous television screens blaring out MTV and throngs of people. Observe the frenzy of the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world and Tokyo's vibrant youth culture.

Glorious kimonos and Mt. Fuji
Take a train to Kawaguchiko and on a clear day you will see Fuji San in all its splendour. From there, a bus will transport you around the lake to the Itchiku Kubota museum which houses a breathtaking collection of handpainted and stitched kimonos: possibly the most beautiful display of textile art on the planet.

Karaoke in Kabukicho
Plunge into the glare and racket of Shinjuku's soapland and rent a room for three hours of karaoke. The fee includes unlimited drinks which you can order via a telephone in your booth. Experience the bizarre antidote to the Japanese work ethic in the city that never sleeps.

Volcanic hot springs and black eggs
They say that if you eat a black egg boiled in one of Hakone's volcanic hot springs, it will add seven years to your life. Take in the steaming, alien landscape below by cable car, but beware the smell of sulphur in the air. Complete the day with a boat trip across the serene Lake Ashinoko.

Pachinko
A loophole in Japan's gambling laws allow people to win money playing pachinko. Step into a pachinko parlour and you will first be deafened by jangling music and the sound of millions of ball bearings clattering through machines. In cigarette smoke and bright light, players sit by trays of silver balls which they later exchange for cash.

Meet Buddha
A day trip to the town of Kamakura offers a feast of temples and shrines and the famous bronze statue of Buddha which was almost swept away by a tidal wave. In summer, visit 'Little Thailand' for Japanese surfers, Brazilian martial arts, beach bars, noodle huts and fire dancing on the seashore.

Watch TV
You can get a real sense of a culture by what you can see on TV. Japanese television boasts the most ridiculous gameshows, garish adverts, sit-coms made all the more funny by the unfamiliar sounding language, a lot of baseball and of course sumo wrestling - which is guaranteed to get a giggle.

Kawaguchiko and the Itchiku Kubota Museum

Kamakura Buddha

Fuji san

Hakone Hot Springs ll

Hakone Hot Springs