Land of the Rising Sun: #tokyomygodthereisalotofpeoplehere

37mln people fit into this city! That is 1.5 x Australia and a third of the whole Japanese population.

Tokyo vibe was insane. There is a lot to cover, so straps yourselves in.

It's full of contrasts. It's jam-packed like Hong Kong, and glowing like the Vegas strip on steroids. Mornings are very sleepy, then the place comes alive after dark. It's clean like Singapore, and noisy in some parts like Times Square New York, but when you step around one corner into a luscious public park it seems like someone switched your AirPods to noise-cancelling mode and it just...... stops

(First Godzilla sighting behind us)

(Just a standard Monday night in the neon district)

On arrival to Tokyo, it became instantly obvious that there are no luggage ninjas here either. Winning!

After some kerfuffle getting into our 2x2 apartment at 11:30pm, some housekeeping before dinner:

(easy peasy...you know the rest)

To get the first day underway, we took ourselves outdoors for a long walk through Shinjuku Gyoen gardens.

And then.... surprise!

The people you get to hangout with on the other side of the world who live around the corner :)

We crashed the Heaths' sake tasting experience. Hawaii Joe was a friendly and enthusiastic guide who took us through the world of rice polishing, flavour profiles etc and from whom we learned absolutely nothing.

In predictable fashion Matty & Gem had us giggling and we ended up going straight to a local joint for some raw fish, more sake and laughs.

Just to prove you never know where travel highlights are going to come from..... Gosia excused herself to use the facilities (in a glorified cupboard basically in the dining area). A few moments later a shriek echoes above the yammer of Japanese diners, the "door" flings open and water is seen dripping from both her person, the ceiling and the door jam. Instincts assumed there was some kind of plumbing leak, however it became clear that in fact the Japanese smart-toilet had outwitted one of us, and instead of flushing, the array of bidet functions (who knew - it's all Japanese to us) were engaged simultaneously to provide a lavatory equivalent of the Bellagio fountains in Vegas. All composure was lost. All dignity vanished. Luckily the sake had hit by then, so embarrassment gave way to hilarity very quickly and Gem and a table of Japanese girls enjoying their high-school reunion at the next table 'mopped-up' the situation. Gosia has been exhibiting worrying sings of a newfound toilet phobia :(

Now, with some composure, lets continue...

The next day we ticked off a visit to an 'owl cafe' off Gosia's bucket list. Whilst it was cool to hang out with all sorts of funky looking owls (and even one far-from-home kookaburra), the whole thing was so depressing that we don't want to give it any airtime. We imagined sitting in an open air cafe sipping on coffee with the nocturnal birds napping around us. Instead, we ended up in a tiny room with no windows on the 2nd level of an apartment building with these birds tethered to posts (wide awake at midday) and doing tricks for fee-paying tourists. It was sad and we don't want to experience that again.

To get ourselves out of a funk, we negotiated our way using the amazing train system to Shimokitazawa and Takeshita Street for some shopping and whipped ricotta pancakes (an item on Jacob's to-do list).

Everyone talks about how amazing and punctual the Japanese train system is. It's all true. And they even have painted lanes for everyone to line up in an orderly fashion. And they all stick to it. The carriages are clean and quiet (no phone use or loud talking allowed).

One of the things we noticed both on the trains and on the street and malls is that nobody (besides a few tourists) are eating or drinking while on the move. This must be one of the main reasons that there are no dirty spots, stains or sticky-steps anywhere you go. Rubbish bins are hard to find - they are not needed.

In the evening, we saw a baseball match: Tokyo Swallow v Hiroshima Carp.

In now fairly traditional fashion, we had no idea what was going on. In my haze of confusion Jake explained that the game is like Snakes and Ladders. Except I never played Snakes and Ladders so...whatever... It was fun but we left a little early to beat the crowds on the train back to find some (more) food, and yet another to-do item: Japanese whisky.

There are 280 mini bars in the city block-sized area of Golden Gai. They are all tiny - many fit only a few people in at a time. A bit like Leigh Street, but way more dingy and cooler.

(at Bar Albatros)

Another late night in Tokyo.

Next morning after a lazy start, we visited the Tokyo Skytree for some panoramic views. It's the tallest tower in the world at 634m. It was cool, but way too many people.

Rush rush back for the highlight of our trip so far: the TeamLab - Borderless Art Expo. It was a full-on sensory experience - light, sound, smell and touch. Overwhelming at times, but we didn't want to leave. Some spaces were large and empty acting as a backdrop for light / laser displays in an extraordinarily choreographed format. Others were smaller rooms filled with mirrors and artefacts to provide the illusion of infinity. Using an app you were able to interact and affect the display variables.

It's hard to describe. How do you tell someone what a mango tastes like?...They have to try it to appreciate it. The below footage and photos do not do it justice.