October 1999

Friday 1st October 1999

Last night I met up with a couple of English mates at one of the Gaspanic bars (one of them's working there). On a Thursday night the drinks are only 300 yen each (all night)! These bars are really lively, and an "interesting" feature is that girls are allowed up onto the bar to dance. If you happen to be sat at the bar at the time, it's a little difficult to concentrate on your beer!

Yesterday there was a serious nuclear accident about one hundred miles north of Tokyo. That's a bit close for my liking, and much closer to the homes of some of my colleagues. I hope this isn't my last entry to this travelogue! Apparently when someone was mixing the nuclear solution they put about eight times too much radioactive fuel in. That's a little careless isn't it? I wouldn't let them in my kitchen. Hopefully this incident will pass without too many consequences, but the people involved, I'm sure will be very badly affected. The official line from the British Embassy is in line with the Japanese government's advice. No precautions are necessary in Tokyo, but keep watching the news for more information. The immediate areas have been either evacuated, sealed off or told to stay indoors. I would be very worried if I was told my protection from nuclear fallout was to "stay indoors"! If staying indoors were sufficient, why do they always wear those white suits with space helmets. Anyway, if I survive, I'll update this info soon. Goodbye, I love you Mum!

Friday 8th October 1999

Well I guess I should write something, as it's now been a week since the accident and you're probably all thinking I'm dead by now! Well, as you can see I survived! The Japanese Prime Minister visited the site a couple of days ago so that proves it's safe doesn't it? That's the trouble with a job like that, it's a bit like the Minister for Agriculture having to eat British beef in front of the cameras. Except I suppose radiation takes a little longer to get out your system than a steak & kidney pie!

The Tokyo Professionals Association met last night. I thought it might just be a group of stuffed shirts swapping business cards and looking for clients. I decided nothing ventured, nothing gained and went along. I was wrong. In addition to the stuffed shirts there were also stuffed blouses swapping business cards and looking for clients. I shan't bother again, and if any of them read this, I won't be welcome anyway!

The weather's cooled down a little now. It's getting quite comfortable. Right now though, it's raining. It would have to happen when I'm about to spend the weekend at the final round of the World Superbike Championships in Sugo.

Tuesday 12th October 1999

On Saturday afternoon a workmate from the UK and I went up to Sendai (about two hours north by bullet train). Fortunately the weather brightened up and we even got slightly burnt. We stayed at a very grand, but reasonably priced hotel. There were more statues in this hotel, The Koyo Grand, than in most museums, and I would be very surprised if they weren't genuine. Sendai is a fairly major city with a large number of shops, bars and restaurants. In Japan there are a lot of Hyaku Yen shops (100 Yen Shops), very much like the UK Pound Shops. Everything costs One hundred yen. My mate got a pole for his England flag. Technically he stole it because the girl on the till didn't realise it was from her shop! I also bought the same, a sort of bean stick, to tape my Union Jack tablecloth to. I say "bought" because I, being a fine upstanding resident of Japan, pointed out the cashier's error when I wasn't charged the paltry fee for mine! In the morning, looking suitably like British yobo's, we caught the bus to the racetrack at Sugo. This was also a bit of a bargain because the driver must've assumed that we had purchased tickets in advance! For some reason my integrity disappeared when there was over a thousand yen involved. The bus journey was about an hour, but sitting on the step at the back of the gangway with a stinking hangover really didn't make it a pleasant one.

The World Superbike Championship is a motorcycle racing series for the bigger engined racing bikes. These bikes are amazing. Nobody in their right mind would ride like these guys. That's not to say people don't, but you should question their sanity, and definitely not expect a long-term relationship with them! I have a 650cc bike in the UK and I love to ride fast, but I never let my crash helmet get within eighteen inches of the road! One rider went ploughing into the barrier at the end of the home straight. Fortunately he walked away seemingly unharmed. The world championship had already been decided prior to Japan. Carl Foggarty of England had run away with it on a Ducatti. I was very happy to get the chance to meet Mr. Foggarty himself, a very pleasant, very normal chap from Blackburn in Lancashire. My colleague however was ecstatic! To him Carl Foggarty is the living incarnation of God himself! The huge grin across his face after "Foggy" posed with us for photo's and signed our flags could only be compared to that which I had when Arsene Wenger greeted me in the Directors' Lounge at Highbury. Foggarty came second and fifth in successive races, and with the championship already well won, this was a very respectable performance.

After the racing we went to the bus stop at the exit. As luck would have it, we were approached by a young Englishman with a car. We gratefully accepted a lift back into Sendai. It was a very long slow journey due to an unbelievable tailback of traffic (the next day was a public holiday), but that didn't matter as this guy, an English teacher, kept us very amused. After an uneventful train journey back to Tokyo we had a meal at the famous Tony Roma's Rib Place, one of the few restaurants to take orders after about ten in the evening.

This morning at nine o'clock my colleague and I set off on a business trip to Europe. I am sat on a plane right now, twenty hours later with a few still to go, wishing I was at home in bed! It's still a bit strange, but it's becoming more and more comfortable to call Tokyo home.

Tuesday 19th October 1999

I arrived home on Friday after a very very long journey from Europe. Friday night went to my first ballet! Not my typical night out. It started out very modern with music including songs by Burt Bacharach, but then the main event arrived - a sixty-three year old prima ballerina. Now I'm sure she was great in her day, her credits attest to that, but I have to say the support dancers were considerably more entertaining.

We went to Asakusa on Saturday. Asakusa is a district in the north east quarter of Tokyo. We visited a very popular temple. Most Japanese people are not religious, but they still pay lip service, a bit like the millions of British who pile into churches for weddings and Christenings. They wave incense over their heads for some reason of good luck or protection. They also throw coins into a big box covered with wooden slats and make a wish. Many are seen praying here, but few of them actually believe in, or really understand Bhudism. I of course being the total tourist, join in! Well, someone's got to pay to keep the roof in good order, and these roofs are a little more than a few slates with lead trimming!

We went to Ginza for lunch and a walk about on Sunday. The only real thing to note here was that the Japanese find dogs, especially big dogs, very amusing. They gather around them, and their proud owners as if they were some exotic creatures from the Galapagos Islands! I assume it's because most people live in small houses or apartments, and it's very difficult to keep a dog of their own. Dogs seem to be a sort of status symbol in Japan, or at least in Tokyo.

Monday 25th October 1999

Friday evening I went for a drink with a few friends from work. I also discovered one of the places where Japanese "Salarymen" go to get drunk after work (it's not unusual to see a salaryman asleep on the street late at night). Salaryman is the term given to the many thousands of suited office workers seen walking around Tokyo. We found them in an izakaya restaurant in Roppongi. This is a huge restaurant seating hundreds of people at very long low tables. The food and drink is pretty good and very good value for money. One of my friends had a large gin and tonic... in a jug!!!

Saturday afternoon I bought a tent from Tokyu Hands in Shibuya. The reason for the tent is next week's final round of the FIA Formula One Grand Prix. It's going to be a very exciting race as Eddie Irvine (British) now has a chance of taking the championship. His team, Ferrari, successfully appealed against a disqualification in Malaysia's penultimate Grand Prix. I will be travelling to the race with a bunch of people all supporting Mika Hakkinen, the reigning champion and Eddie's main rival. I'm either going to be very subdued or a marked man after the race!

On Saturday evening Yuki and I went to a charity Karaoke night. The organisers were The Newcastle United Supporters Club (Tokyo branch)!!! On the subject of football, Arsenal, my team, turned over a two nil lead by Chelsea on Saturday night. A fantastic hat-trick by Nwankwo Kanu in the last sixteen minutes totally destroyed Vialli's Roman Legion. Unlike back home, it's possible to watch live Saturday football on satellite TV here (that's soccer for those who speak a poor imitation of English), and fortunately, being the best team in England, Arsenal are regularly featured.

We were invited by my Japanese teacher to a Japanese tea ceremony on Sunday afternoon. This was held in a big old house and garden in the west of Tokyo. We took part in three different ceremonies, one indoors and two in the garden. The ceremonies are performed to strict procedures, every action right down to the stirring of the tea is intimately choreographed. This ritual originated about six hundred years ago. It was a way of escaping from the trials of everyday life and meeting with friends. The door to a tea ceremony room was often very narrow so you could not get in wearing a sword! When you are given your cup (more like a small bowl) of tea, you should turn it clockwise in your hands three times before drinking. Then you should take three and a half sips to finish the tea. It's Japanese green tea, a very strong, very green brew, and please excuse the pun, but it's not really my cup of tea. However, the whole ceremony was very enjoyable and relaxing and a great insight into traditional Japanese culture. Unfortunately the wonders of satellite TV also made it possible last night for me to witness the England rugby team getting mauled by a record breaking South Africa performance in the World Cup quarter finals.