Tokyo

Fresh from two days of hiking, onsen hoping, and not quite seeing mount Fuji, we returned to Tokyo on Friday night. Our kind host's (Jamie) flat is in the embassy district, and the directions to turn left at the policeman with the big white stick, proved very useful. The close by nightlife area of Roppongi is firmly an expat district, and it's difficult to walk down the street without someone trying to drag you into a strip club.

For dinner we settled on a Tokyo rarity – a vegetarian restaurant. This was a true one man outfit (across the hall from a strip club). We sat at the bar, as the chef weaved magic with a big knife, turning mere vegetables into tasty dishes.

The next day, needing to book some Palau accommodation, we found not so much an internet cafe, as an internet hotel. The place had some 100 cubicles with a range of seating options including fully reclining – judging by the feet sticking out under the doors, many people we having a nap. There's also free soft drinks and ice-cream, plus as much Manga as you can shake a stick at. So for about £2.50 an hour (and much cheaper if you stay a long time), it's little wonder some people seem to live in there.

We didn't have the energy or the inclination to do any real sightseeing, so instead spent the afternoon with Jamie in the electronics district. I was aware of manga porn, but was a little surprised by the shear amount of it, and more disturbingly the fact that much of it would be illegal in the UK, as it seemed to depict prepubescent girls. On a more positive note, there is so much lovely electronics to play with.















Evening dinner was sushi – a bit like the vegetarian place, except blokes with big knifes chopped up fish in plain sight. Behind where they worked was an enormous tank, filled with some pretty big fish. Every so often, someone would reach in with a net and extract a fish, which was swiftly executed. The chef would hold the fish aloft, as a bell was rung. People then shouted out their orders for really fresh sushi. There was also whale on the menu, although this didn't come from the tank.

For the first time in months we treated Sunday like a Sunday. We stayed in bed till noon, did very little in the afternoon, then Kirsten cooked dinner and we watched a DVD (Election with Reese Witherspoon). Great.

Monday got off to a bad start after we found out that Continental had cancelled our Yap to Manila flight, and hadn't bother to tell us about it (or indeed refund the money). This was a problem, what with they being the only airline that fly to Yap, and us not wanting to spend the rest of our lives playing castaway. Anyway, after 40 minutes (or about 70 quid) on the phone to a thicky, Kirsten managed to get us a flight out, although it is unfortunately routed back via Guam, turning a 2 hour flight into a 17 hour slog. Bastards.

We spent the rest of the day in department stores, before dining in Hard Rock cafe (I hadn't had a veggie burger since Moscow).