Karaoke King...

  Tokyo, Japan
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Since my last update, I`ve had an unexpectedly eventful few days...

The fun and games started on Saturday, when there seemed to be a really good atmosphere at the hostel, which was in contrast to during the week when it had been quiet. I got talking to a Kiwi guy in my dorm after noticing he was from Tauranga...just a stone`s throw away from Mount Maunganui. He was a real character, illustrated by the fact that he woke up on a train at 2.30pm the next day after a massive night out, completely unaware of his surroundings!

My own Saturday night had begun in subdued fashion as I watched TV in the lounge, but it picked up considerably when Andrea, a Canadian girl on vacation from studying Japanese in Osaka, arrived and started chatting to me. I didn`t know it at the time, but we`d go on to spend a lot of time together...

Anyway just before midnight, a Dutch guy came over and asked us if we wanted to go to a karaoke bar with a few other people from the hostel, so without hesitation we went for it. Bearing in mind that I`d probably only had about two beers all night, and I`d not sang at a karaoke since I went to Tenerife when I was 18, I was a bit apprehensive. This was especially the case when I saw what the karaoke place was like, i.e. a tiny room with eight of us sat around a table! Still it was free drinks so I sank a couple of "birus" which got me in the mood, and I proceeded to belt out Rock n Roll Star by Oasis, complete with Liam Gallagher pose...an application for Stars In Their Eyes surely beckons!

Plenty of beer was consumed as it was simply a case of picking up the phone and saying "biru kudasai" - just seconds later the barman would appear with huge pitchers of the stuff! It was great service, and I definitely got my money`s worth, resulting in an increased desire to sing again. Also, the choice was superb, with most of my favourite bands on the list, meaning that I probably sang about 15 songs from the likes of The Jam, Sex Pistols, Ramones and the Arctic Monkeys (I remember being slightly annoyed when the word "something" replaced the word "summat" during When The Sun Goes Down...I definitely stuck to the Yorkshire version though!).

Other highlights included a duet of This Charming Man that I did with a Kiwi guy, and an Oasis Medley that lasted about 8 minutes!

Come 4.30am, there were only four of us left standing as the other lightweights had gone back to the hostel at about 3am, and even though I wanted to stay, I succumbed as the Dutch guy was completely wrecked...and the Kiwi guy wasn`t far behind! Andrea and me were a bit sloshed as well, but it had been a classic night, and I can definitely see the appeal of these karaoke booths!

The next morning a few of us went to Harajuku to do some `eccentric people spotting,` and there were quite a few out and about as the weather had cleared up a bit. There was a young Japanese guy standing on the bridge with a "Free Hugs" sign, so we all gave him one which made his day. Meanwhile I was feeling a bit rough from the previous nights shenanigans, and was quite happy to get back to the hostel for a relax...

Some rowdy Australian girls arrived that evening, and began playing drinking games at about 7pm. I sensed things were going to get messy, and they did when one of the girls set off the fire alarm and sprayed a fire extinguisher down one of the corridors! The police and fire engines were called, and the girl in question (as seen on the CCTV camera) now faces a hefty fine (450 pounds to be precise)...

Andrea and myself had missed the midnight drama because we`d been to Ginza for a look around, and then called at the Samurai Cafe on the way home for a couple of drinks. I`d been in there the week before and it`s a good little place, mainly because the barmen are such funny characters. They probably drink more than the customers, and were quick to offer us a shot of 96% vodka after we saw a bottle at the bar. The effects were immediate, as soon as it touched the back of the throat, and I wouldn`t fancy drinking too many of them in a row ("you will die" exclaimed one guy at the bar in Japanese, ably translated for me by Andrea).

We were becoming quite close at this point, and we spent the whole of the next day together, buzzing around Tokyo on the subway and getting repeatedly lost! It was fun though, especially when Andrea asked for directions and was completely ignored by the Japanese guy, who just carried on walking in a straight line! Most people are eager to help though, and a Japanese woman came up to us in one Metro Station to see if we were ok, probably after noticing us studying one of the maps on display!

Strangely, the cinemas in Tokyo seem to close fairly early, and it almost scuppered our plans to watch a movie that evening. In the event, we arrived just in time to see Little Miss Sunshine, and it turned out to be pretty funny so we`d had a good result. Once again we stayed up in the lounge until about 5am, completely hogging the sofas but enjoying a little bit of privacy, which more often than not is difficult to get in hostels...

Tuesday was more successful in terms of directions, as we didn`t really get lost at all, and I particularly enjoyed "kicking ass" when I played Andrea at Tetris in this old skool arcade! It was also good to play Street Fighter for the first time in about 15 years, although there`s no skill involved in that as it`s just a case of pressing all the buttons at random (that`s my excuse anyway). In between we browsed around some Manga and Anime stores as Andrea is a big fan, and I was amazed at just how many varieities of magazines were available...and also the graphic nature of some of them!

For our last night together, we headed off to Shibuya to find a nice quiet bar for some more privacy, and enjoyed a few drinks before getting the last metro home...with just 4 minutes to spare! I think it was 4am when we drifted off to sleep on the sofas for the last time...

Now one aspect of travelling that I really hate is having to say goodbye to people you get on really well with, and so abruptly too when you are still in the early stages of establishing a bond. With Andrea though, I feel like I`ve known her for a lot longer than just a few days, which is the cheesiest thing anyone can say but it`s true. Thankfully we`ve arranged to meet up again in the next week or so for a trip to Hiroshima, something that I`m really looking forward to.

In the meantime though, I`m going to visit my friend Yumi in Hamamatsu, 18 months after I last saw her in Christchurch...