Golden Gai by day and by night

The tiny Golden Gai area, tucked into a unloved corner of busy Shinjuku really feels like a place forgotten by time. There are almost 200 minuscule, ramshackle bars packed into a few narrow streets. I wandered around during the day, to get an alternative take on a place that only really comes alive late at night. And then I went back for a beer in the evening to try out a couple of spots. I think this is a must-do if you ever visit Tokyo. Each bar has a special character and it has such a different feel from the rest of the city and really is unlike anywhere else I've been.

A great aerial view to show how small and tightly squeezed the Golden Gai is (credit to Unmissable Tokyo for this image):

One of the beaten up streets of the Golden Gai:

More French references in Tokyo:

I didn't try this bar yet...

Odd cat pictures on the front doors of one of the bars:

I have no idea what this sign means, but it looked interesting:

Grabbing a beer with Joe, who was visiting from New Zealand:

Albatross bar and its intimidating deer head:

More beer...

At the entrance/exit to one of Golden Gai's pedestrian-only streets:

And the temple right next door, complete with an 'ema', where you write your wish on a small wooden block and hang it up in hope of it coming true:

Ice cream bread and octopus crisps

I'm a big fan of English bread and butter pudding, but this Japanese version doesn't look so good. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to literally be a loaf of bread, with the end sliced off, and a pile of ice cream and fruit on top. God knows how you would eat it.

On the same day, I encountered this in a train station stall. What looked like a giant pine cone from a distance turned out to be a pile of Octopus crisps. I may have avoided Japanese bread pudding, but I had to try this one. I asked the woman how they made them and she said it was thin slices of octopus left out to dry and then baked and salted. It definitely tasted 'of the sea', though that may have just been down to the heavy salting. Interesting, but not something I'll be going back for.

Standing on my head

Having tried pilates for a year in New Zealand, I've decided to see what yoga is like. Courtesy of a friend, I've found a small ashtanga yoga class in a traditional Japanese house, complete with sliding doors and woodblock printing on the walls.

Last week I stood on my head (with some assistance). Not the easiest thing in the world and I think I'll stick to mastering the more simple manoeuvres for a while!

Exploring Daikan-yama

One of my favourite areas of Tokyo is a city suburb called 'Daikan-yama'. It's full of cool people, fashionable boutiques, great eateries and plenty of creative inspiration.

Check out the photos below to get a flavour for what it's like.

After much searching, I finally found a hat that (sort of) fitted my head. The girl in the shop seemed to find it really amusing searching for a hat that fitted my big, foreign head.

 A cute little cafe run by a guy from Yemen. The coffee was super-strong, but in a good way.

They love bicycles in Tokyo. So much so that this clothes shop had pictures of them scattered over the walls.

After much wandering around, I stopped for a drink at 'Anjin', a bar above a big book store. There are over 30,000 vintage magazines to browse through and it has a laid-back, trendy vibe.

Anything can be cool

While browsing a boutique furniture store near my apartment, I came across this poster that artistically lists the towns around where I grew up in Hertfordshire, England. I was surprised because these are not particularly trendy places (especially Waltham Cross and Enfield). When I asked the owner where he thought these places were, he said they were 'areas in Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx.'

Just goes to show, if you go far enough away from anything, it becomes kind of cool.

My signature stamp

I meant to post this ages ago. It's my signature stamp, or ('inkan' in Japanese). I had to get one when I got my 'alien visa' and when I opened my bank account. It is used instead of a signature.

When I got it made, the guy in the shop said I could get any design. I thought about getting a smiley face, but figured that might cause even more confusion when I try to fill in forms and whatnot. Instead, I decided on the kanji for 'Alex'.

Kichijoji: underage maid café girls and yakitori

On the weekend, I ventured to Kichijoji, 20 minutes outside central Tokyo. It's a really cool area - trendy shops, tons of drinking spots and a great park, with a huge lake that people pedalo across.

My friend and I wandered around in the rain, ducking and diving into the covered shopping streets and then settling down at a yakitori restaurant/ bar. The venue in question dates back to 1928 and is very traditional, serving cheap beer and a range of yakitori, or 'meat on sticks'. We ate chicken meatballs, gyoza (dumplings) and chicken livers. As you can see from the pictures below, it had an old-school vibe, with a wooden interior and a fairly rowdy lunchtime crowd.

On the way back to the train station, we were accosted by two young Japanese girls, dressed in maid outfits. They invited us into the maid cafe where they worked. I had read about these establishments in my guidebook and we were intrigued so popped inside for a beer. For about twice the price of a normal beer, you get assigned a hostess who chats to you. Nothing wrong with that, but the girls were 15 and 16 respectively. And they were serving us beer and telling us how nice our eyes were! I know I have nice eyes, but still...

It cost seven times the price of a beer to take a photo, so you won't be able to see the crazy colours and anime cartoons of the interior, but I did get a photo outside with the girls which you can see at the top. I left feeling slightly dirty, although it was an interesting experience and always nice to get a confidence boost!