We awoke bleary-eyed in the cyber-cafe after a short sleep on Saturday morning, amazed that we made it to the heart of Tokyo and with the chance to do absolutely anything we want. We made an early decision to not compromise the experience in this high cost, high energy place even if it means shortening the trip through lack of funds - we most likely will never get the chance to come back and this place demands to be explored. So Ellen finds us a great hostel, new, clean, in the heart of Asakusa, a plebian district north east of the imperial palace that survived the war and is now a centre for the traditional cultural side of Tokyo rather than the big lights - perfect for somewhere to come back to at night tired and in need of some personal space. Hospitality Club is fantastic but there comes a point, especially in a place like this, where we need some solitude for the sake of sanity.
We are staying for the first night in seperate dorms, before moving on Sunday morning to a double room for the rest of the time. Ellen spends the afternoon catching up on sleep but I am too excited, and knowing I couldn't nod off even if I wanted to I head into Asakusa and explore. Despite having more than its fair share of gift shops it has a much older feel to it than the rest of Tokyo (more like I imagine Kyoto to be like) and some great temples and shrines, most famously the oldest one in the city - Senso-Ji. I also manage to fill up with both cash from the post-office and the ubiquitous yet cheap and filling curry-risu before picking Ellen up for a hot date in the local Tempura joint. We walk the streets slowly in the dark, still marvelling at being here, and idly discuss plans for the coming days whilst turning back towards our new temporary home and a proper night's sleep for the first time in ages.
Or so I thought. I introduce myself to the other hostel guests milling around in the communal areas and pretty quickly find myself in a political-ecomonic discussion with a chap who is Japanese-Chinese-Australian-English but who allies himself to Hong Kong where he has spent most of his life. This is a fatal scenario, as anyone who knows me will tell, as I am hopelessly easy to draw in to these kind of discussions and pretty soon I was firing out my paranoid conspiracy theories and extolling the virtues of communism with gusto. At 2-ish I find some will-power from somewhere and hit the dorm - blissfully peaceful but worryingly empty: I know this place is booked up for the night and this means the other guys are going to come in later, probably just as I'm nodding off.
I'm just nodding off when the door goes and a young American tentatively asks "Anyone in?". "Yes." "Mind if I put the light on for a second?" "Not at all, please feel free." Becasue I'm sooo English. "3 Japanese girls are due to come here for more conversation in a minute - I didn't think anyone had turned in yet. Would you prefer it if I rearranged?" "Nooo, of course not, go ahead. I can sleep through most situations." Oh yes, nice going Andy. You show 'em who's boss.
Silence for a minute or so, which I use to try and drift off before things pick up. Then, "I know what you mean man. When my folks divorced the old man gave me a cardboard box to sleep in, in the living room out of the kindness of his heart. From 5 till I was 15." "Ah", I buy some time, "that must have given you an interesting perspective on life then". Great stuff Andy, sincillating conversational abilities again then. I open my eyes just in time to see 2 more staring right back at me from very close range, "Bi-polar now, since 12. No medication though, I don't need it becasue I use mind techniques." Are you quite sure about that, dude? I sigh, resigned to sharing the night with a fairly unstable yet engagingly aggresive yank and curse myself for now having the Grand Old Duke of York going round and round in my head ('and when they were up they were up...').
Presently we are joined by 3 Japanese girls who do a great line in giggling, whispering to each other and trying to form essentially one single 3 bodied but 1 minded entity. Some Japanese flies by and Tyler proclaims that the girls think I am cute. This bolsters the ego nicely as I try again to drift off, before the girls feel that more needs to be added. "Yes, real cute. You remind them of an extra in a movie". Ah wonderful, an extra in a movie. What a heady pinacle, how will my ego ever come back down to earth?
Tyler is clearly on the pull and kicks off in style; "We'll play a game - I'll say something I haven't done, and then if you have done it you have to raise your hand. Everyone gets a turn then its back to me." Smooth work friend, I mean, you couldn't pull a rotten tooth out of a dead horse's head with that one (Thanks Lister). "Andy, wake up, you're in.".
Some truly awful rounds pass when it starts to dawn on Tyler that things are not going his way. Even if this were not a truely wretched game the Japanese psyche is just not geared up to dealing with it on account of a distict fear of open and frank emotianal exchanges and confessions with deranged foreigners. Happily Tyler changes tack; "I have never had sex with a man". He's looking at me and grinning. I have my eyes closed but I know he is looking at me and grinning. "Do you want to put your hand up, Andy?" "No thanks. I really am very tired now as I'm sure my GIRLFRIEND is and shall bid you all good night". Eyeshade clamped down, back turned, try to wish either myself or the paranoid delusional elsewhere.
Next round carries on without me, and Tyler's voice kicks in a little harsher than before; "I have never strangled anyone in their sleep...". OK, so who needs sleep? I fancied a night of quiet contemplation and wary vigilance anyway. The Japanese girls get the idea that things are not going swimmingly in the room and make their exit as I reconfirm my quest for sleep. "Fine. I'm going downstairs for a while". Door closes, eyeshade off, light on, book out to take my mind elsewhere.
With an air of inevitability about 1 minute later Tyler swings open the door and flourishes an accusatory "So, sleeping soundly I see?" "For some reason I couldn't relax, Tyler. No idea why". Anyway he proves to be magnanimous in his lack of either reprimands or strangulations and we manage to get onto a topic that is his passion - animation. The details are boring but I am only too happy to be on a topic that soothes and interests the guy, and he happily talks the hind leg off the proverbial donkey for a time. Around about half 3 I attempt a contribution, to which he barks "look, its really late and I need to be up in the morning so can we just can it? Goodnight".
I am just dozing off, round 4ish, when the door swings open and the Luton guy I had met earlier, and who had displayed absolutely no signs of creative ability or particular intelect of any kind as he lambasted the locals, makes an apearance. So it was surprising to see him dive into his duvet and withdraw a Ukelele on which he produced a brief ditty of exquisite beauty and skill. Hugely surreal experience in its context especially with such sleep deprivation, but gorgeous nonetheless. He reinforced the old adage about books and covers, and indeed on subsequent days proved to be highly erudite, intelligent, amusing and passionate about Japan. That night he left with as much immediacy as he arrived and I wondered whether I had dreamed the episode; attempt number 4 or 5 to grab sleep and all was looking promising.
At 5 the door creaks and a mediteranean voice whispers, "Anyone up?". "Yes, just dozing". "Sleep well.". A chap with manners, how refreshing. He tippytoes around in the dark arranging himself on his bunk when Tyler chirps "Hi Rod, keep it down will you?". "Aha! The Americain Bastardo!" roars the Spaniard, leaping up and punching the light switch on with much gusto. "Trying to sleep, Tyler?". To and fro went rallies of insults, typically creative on the part of the latino and expectedly boorish by the American (if you want to insult someone properly you just have to be medditeranean, I think). Some how, in the midst of this chaos Morpheus claims me and I sleep a blissful, beautiful 4 hours before waking up to a room of semi-corpses, like a child on Christmas day ready to play in Tokyo, and leap out of bed wishing everyone a very happy morning at the top of my voice. Not well recieved, thankfully; oh sweet revenge, how it was worth the wait!