All that Japan loves: raw fish, electronics and teenage porn :-)
The last day of my journey with some very strange places for an aspiring Hindu and Buddhist monk. And a lot of dead fish on the world's largest fish market
My last day in Tokyo was Monday so Mikiko had to go to work, so I went for final sightseeing in Tokyo on my own, before boarding a plane which would take me home. I woke up early to make it to the town before the crowds would hit the subway, but it took me so long to get ready and also to study the crazy Tokyo subway’s map that finally I did experience that cultural highlight of Tokyo – morning rush. Expectedly the subway was totally jammed, and me with my 80L backpack was like an elephant, but no, I did not see those famous official subway pushers who push people into the trains.
My first stop was the biggest fish market in the world, Tokyo’s landmark Tsukiji market. Fish, fish, fishes, fishes and fishes, octopuses, crabs, fugus, sepias, etc., millions of them. This where the world’s sushi day begins. Yes I did have sushi for breakfast in a nearby restaurant. I will let the photos speak for themselves.
From their I went to see Tokyo’s most important church, but it was totally overrun by tourists and had very little historic feeling. After seeing Kyoto it was nothing to speak of. I even did not have to take my shoes off when I entered, and that indicates the level of barbarism involved :-)
My last steps in Tokyo, Japan and on this part of the Odyssey as such were to Akihabara district, more precisely to its part known as Electric Town. This is a part of Tokyo for geeks and perverts. Electronics for sale everywhere – from raw cables through video games to latest trendy devices, all is for sale here. But it doesn’t stop with the electronics. In Japan geeks and perverted weirdoes are one, so the district is also home to many sex shops and restaurant where the waitresses are 14 year old girls with plats, dressed in miniskirts and conducting that job in that signature Japanese-cute-porn-teenager manner.
When I got out of the subway one sexshop was just outside the exit and the keywords such as “fetish” persuaded me to go inside. Obviously it was not permitted to take photographs, but let me tell you there is some weird stuff for sale there. I went straight to the fetish section and I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Some things were quite obviously meant to be stuck somewhere (mostly someone’s ass) but what the most of the things were supposed to be used for I have no clue!
Going up through the 4 floors I passed through more conventional departments with dildos and similar toys, until I reached the uppermost floors saying “Boys only, girls not permitted”. As I saw, it’s 2014 and blow-up dolls are still popular, but not as popular as artificial vaginas and what I would call “pieces of women”. It was ass, vagina and bit of legs, ready to be fucked by someone who likes the feeling of plastic around his dick. The vaginas were always surrounded by few ridiculous plastic pieces of hair, in order to resemble innocent vagina of 13 year old girl. Sick. I was very tempted to buy one plastic vagina and bring it to Slovakia to my friends, but I simply couldn’t go so far, even if they were only 10 EUR per piece or so :-) Apart from moral obstacles, if someone would catch me with that in Dubai, where I was changing planes I might be sentenced to death, I guess. Anyway, another popular items were smell of woman in spray - I guess you can spray your plastic vagina with that so that you can enjoy your sex experience to the fullest. And finally, yes there they were, the magic item I had heard about in Australia: used knickers worn by women which are for sale. The packaging always had a photo of the girl who personally worn them and left her vaginal smell-track on them. Well, I bet it’s just like with the call centers and sex-on-phone where in advertisement you can see hot 18 year old beauties, but in reality on the other side of the phone there is 50 year old fat and bald grandma. I wouldn’t bet a dime on authenticity of those knickers, but in any case, what an amazing business idea that is? Selling used knickers to weirdoes! Japanese innovation knows no limits.
As part of my cultural insight, I also wanted to go to one of those bars/restaurant with underage Japanese staff, dressed in miniskirts and acting like from an innocent porn movie, but once that I got to the entrance, once again I simply couldn’t do it. It was too stupid and too much of Jesus-I-can’t-fall-so-deep! I might be up for a piece of fish tail in my sake, but this cultural experience turned out to be too much for me and so finally I did not go in. Maybe next time, when Samo or some other pervert is around :-)
And now, click here: AKB48 video!
MANDATORY! You will not regret! This is one of the hottest hits in Japan – band AKB48. 48 underage teenagers singing and acting on verge of soft-porn. This combination simply can’t go wrong in Japan! They are so popular they have their own theather with daily acts, and still the demand for their concerts is so high, that you cannot buy a ticket – you can only win it in a lottery! Watching this video will instantly give you deep (very deep) insight into today’s Japan. By the way, the lyrics are pure gold as well!
Now comes the revelation.
When I started this journey, some 15 months ago, I started by practicing yoga and meditation in ashram, avoiding alcohol for months and enjoying life altering spiritual experience. And now, my last steps of this journey were into Tokyo’s fetish sexshop and something-like-teenage-porn restaurant.
Well, I guess that God works in mysterious ways, and finally you never know where your path leads you to :-) Or, there is a less esoteric explanation: simply that despite the last 15 months, I’m still the same sick idiot I used to be :-)
And then I left. Electric Town, Tokyo, Japan and the world. I boarded Emirates plane to Dubai and Vienna. Enjoying services of normal airline, after all those flight with low-cost carriers, I spent most of the flight watching movies: Elyssium (such a disappointment!), 12 Years a Slave (much better!) and Nebraska (thumbs up, great movie!). It was in Dubai that after all those months away I started meeting Slovaks. And it was not the best reintroduction. As you can imagine, snobs coming home from vacation in Dubai were very far away from the Shiva worshipping Indians, Sherpas of Nepal, wonderful people of Indonesia and whole assembly of Byron Bay. Marcel you are heading home!
The return of the Odysseus is here.
