More Aussie Arrivals!
We have had such a good and lucky run of visitors from home. All in perfect timing of each other.
With Dave T just gone and Kumiko off to Australia, the arrival of Mike T and Dave Kachor was greatly welcomed!! Also Ben (Mikes brother) and his friend Brogan were in the crew.They had been in Hakuba for a snowboarding tour. Same place where Cam and Sophi were originally going to meet up with them for the ski season, but alas, funds would tell us otherwise.
Quite amusing the fact that they had come from the freezing snow, and were standing in t-shirts in Shibuya in the 5 degree weather, meanwhile Cam and Sophi were rugged up to the brim! Ko chan and a lady 'friend' Minama joined us also. Funnily enough they were already well drunk from being in Shinjuku!
We headed to Amataroo to get the boys straight into the nomihodai all you can drink. Same regretable place where Cam has now got his infamous scar! Ko chan being the typical Japanese host ensured that everyone had a drink in hand at all times, and was kampaiing (cheersing) every 10 mins!! After being squeezed into a booth with lots of catchup and a good feed we headed to Womb.
Upon arriving at Womb it all seemed unusually quiet....basically empty with most people congregated at the top bar. Yet not long after the whole club started to fill up with people and the hectic sounds of drum n bass!! We all moved to the downstairs dancefloor and let loose dancing. Cam not being a fan of drum n bass was a bit grumbly at first...but then got into it! Many drinks later we decided to be good and leave the boys to head home. With Cam having an early start in the morning, we realised just how late it was getting. Cam in good taste slammed a jagerbomb just before walking out the door, and obvious mistake when he slept through his alarm the next morning!
We backed up again the following night, and we took the lads to Shabu Shabu. An all-you-can-eat feast. These boys sure could put away a fair amount of food. We definitely got our money's worth. They brought along a few other guys who had been on the ski-tour with them who were from Newcastle. It's interesting how after living here for 6 months or so how our behaviour has changed. In Tokyo there is no rowdy-ness on the street, even very drunk people are relatively quiet, so when 9 or 10 Aussie guys get a few beers into them it's makes for some interesting viewing. Again we left them to fend for themselves as Cam had another 7am start the following morning.
Monday we had dedicated to being the big night with the boys as we both had Tuesday off, although the previous 2 nights were not small in any case. Sophi amazingly managed to book a restaurant over the phone in Japanese... well done Sophi!!
All hail the Buddha!
As the standard show for our lovely guests, we took the boys to one our favourites, the goo ol' Big Buddha restaurant which has an HUGE buddha in the restaurant with gorgeous interior
So feasted on a 7 course meal and loads of all you can drink drinks! We had wet our appetites for a solid night on the town. We made way for karaoke and it turned into one of the craziest karaoke adventures yet. With 11 or so guys all standing on the couches with their shirts off, singing American Pie....it doesn't get any gayer than that!? The boys had heard that Roppongi was the place to go to meet nice Japanese women, in particular a bar called Heartland.
Living up to its reputation, within 2 minutes of being in the place, one of the boys met a nice Japanese girl who came out with us and eventually follwed him home for the night. Being Monday night, it was a little quiet out, and we ended up at a Jamaican Bar. We had planned to go straight from Roponggi to experience the fish markets for the early morning auctions, but unfortunately Cam was far too enebriated so we bailed in a taxi. From what Mike told us about the fish markets, it sounds pretty crazy.
Farewell Aussie boys!
For their last day in Tokyo we took the boys to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building in Shinjuku. The viewing area is 45 (I think) storeys high and you can see most of Tokyo. It is an amazing sight, although the day was a little foggy, we still got to see a beautiful sunset.
We cruised around Shinjuku for a while soaking in all the chaos, spending some money, before heading to a restaurant in Jimbochoo, near where they were staying. Mike took control of the situation and decided to do the ordering for the night. We ordered chicken, squid, sushi, sashimi, miso soup, noodles, tempura and a few other plates.....enough to feed 6 people.
Yet unsurprisingly
Half way through eating it we tried to cancel some of the food but apparently it was too late, so by the time the sushi arrived at the table we just told the waitress to give it to another table from us....we still managed to go home with 3 boxes full of sushi!
So it was time to say Sayonara
3 solid nights out on the town will always take its toll, especially
