Because I'm hopeless, I'm going to quickly cover some of the more memorable events from each month, alongside other details. Not sure how many of you are reading or where you are from, but you're each here with an individual purpose, and for each of you I should try and meet said purpose.
In my last post I began to cover September, but only really the start of my project. In September, I was essentially a tourist. Lost, daily, in one of the most extensive cities in the world. Never a clue where I was going. Never a clue how to work the subway system. We made a point of visiting some tourist favourites such as Asakusa, Akihabara, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Roppongi and of course, Disney Sea. These feel like such a long time ago now, as they were, luckily my memory is pretty fantastic.
Of the aforementioned, if you've visited or ever considered visiting Tokyo, Akihabara, Ikebukuro and Roppongi are three places you will have heard of, all very much representative of Tokyo in the modern day.
Akihabara is known as Anime Central - the Mecca to your weeaboos across the globe. I should state here that I have very minimal interest in anime, this was not and never will be the source of my love of Japan. We didn't spend very long here if I remember correctly, as just one of the first stops we were given on our guided tour of the city's attractions. They have hi-tec robot wrestling and maid cafes, as well as some of the best arcades in the world. I remember one girl in particular in SEGA who spent an insane amount of time on a claw machine to win an anime figure. She was putting thousands of yen into the machine at a time, and on the two occasions she ran out of money, she left, then returned after a trip to the bank to try again. Her efforts were both mesmerising and utterly heartbreaking. We couldn't stop watching her until she either won the figure or gave up trying. She ran out of money. We held back tears.
Another stop on the circle line of note is Ikebukuro, similar in its attraction to dominantly young people. There are a variety of shops along the high street adorned with cinema-esque screens which play toothpaste adverts and classic Yu-Gi-Oh episodes. At its centre, the 'mall' - Sunshine City - is famed for its J-World theme park and Mega Pokemon Centre. I've yet to visit the J-World but have heard many good things. Whether you're a Pokemon fan or not, both are worth a passing visit.
(*Future vols - You may be tempted by the Sunshine City Aquarium on the rooftop - I implore you to not bother. It is expensive and tiny, and despite the cool posters depicting sealions it has no attractions of any note. There are two great aquariums in Shinagawa for less than half the price).
Unlike anywhere else I have ever visited, Tokyo is a spiderweb of vast towns with no real favour for one. If I were to refer to "Central Manchester" you would instantly think Piccadilly Gardens, Market Street, Oxford Road, Deansgate. "Central London", in the same way. "Central Tokyo" is not a place. There is a stop on the train line called Tokyo, but in no way is this the centre of life in the city. Rather, it's just a big train station. From my experience, the two places I would narrow the heart of Tokyo down to (you may think otherwise) are Shibuya - for its image, and Roppongi - for its scene. If you've never been to Tokyo, you have a picture of it in your head from passing photography and media representation. This picture is, without much of a doubt, Shibuya. However, for now, I'm just going to talk about the latter. Roppongi plays home to the iconic Tokyo Tower and a large number of shops, festivals, galleries, and pretty much anything you can think of. The landmark - reminiscent of its inspiration, the Eiffel Tower in Paris - illuminates at night and is truly a sight to behold. We figured we didn't have time to go to the top as I wanted to get back to Roppongi's British Pub in time to catch the Premiere League match between Manchester United and City (for a little piece of home). Unfortunately, we weren't actually allowed into the bar in the evening what with the drinking age in Japan being 20 (I say "unfortunately", it turned out to be a derby I was glad to have missed [10/09/16]). Originally, this trip was made to see the Tokyu Midtown Paper Lantern Display - an annually held event to commemorate the lives lost to the Tohoku earthquake in 2011. Other times, we've been to Roppongi for a screening of 'The Great Gatsby' in a huge outdoor cinema, to eat in Gonpachi - the very restaurant that inspired Tarantino's 'Kill Bill', a Japanese robot exhibition (some hauntingly impressive technology), not to mention the famed Hedgehog Cafe.
Modern Japan is globally infamous and embodied by towns like the aforementioned. But, if you're like me, you probably hold an equal appreciation for the traditions and history that make Japan Japan. Our year here has featured aspects of both equally. I have said this before but repetition is emphasis - the fact that this country can maintain such an intense grip on its origins whilst simultaneously play its part as one of the world's leaders in technological advancement will never not stun the world.
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