Yeah boy, I am back. Its been a while but Kyoto broke me. I havent been able to blog, been so busy with all the shit thats going on but also couldnt afford much after all them whiskey nights but damn, had to keep cruising along. I learnt a new word “itsomen” which means my crew. So basically a few members from my itsomen decided we needed to hit Kamakura. Kamakura was very famous back in the day for the Shogun era, so I should be right at home given my samurai escapades uh uh. Kanta-san lives here and was willing to show us around. Kamakura is like 45 min from Tokyo. We arrived and went straight into the markets. The Komachi-dori street is a bustling area lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants. It’s a great place to explore local handicrafts, traditional sweets, and souvenirs. Whats famous about this road, is that the 7 eleven is the only one that has the traditional sign like the olden days in Japan. Check the pick below. Its the same as Kyoto. They respect the history, so nothing is updated to modern times. We smashed out a curry roll before we head to some shrines. At one shrine, I test my luck, and pulled out a symbol which represented a fish. Unreal since I have a Koi Fish. Had to keep the words to myself, very symbolic and shouldn’t be spoken about, shit hits deep over here. We then cruised to the most iconic Buddha in Japan. This cat is huge. Pretty epic to witness. Kamakura is know for match green tea so we hit up a local spot and eat away. In the evening, we head down to the island to watch the fireworks and have a few beers. Ramen for after. Quick trip back into Tokyo. Kamkaura, great for a day trip out of Tokyo. Highly recommended. Shout out to the crew for the week.
Sunday I tried the famous Ichiran, I have attempted this before but the queues are too long. So after 30 minute wait. Ichiran has revolutionised the ramen dining experience with its emphasis on personalisation, privacy, and high-quality ingredients. The individual booths, customisable ramen options, and focus on creating the perfect ramen make it a popular choice for most peeps. This is the perfect place to face demons, alone in a booth haha his is an absolute must in Tokyo and for every ramen enthusiast. After ichiran, had matcha green tea ice cream in Ginza, like an absolute baller.
During the week, hit a fishing restaurant. Catch your fish and they cook it for you. Haha felt pretty bad, it was like fishing with dynamite. Also played some tennis. Pure Djokovic vibes. More ramen followed.
Weekend hit and I was back on the bullet train headed for Osaka. I was up poes early and the train took like 2 hours to get there. Osaka is famous for its Dotonbori and iconic neon lights. I arrived and immediatly hit the concrete exploring the city. Smashed out steps for days. On the list was the iconic Dotonbori street, the Osaka Castle and of course food. I had to try Okonmiyaki and was recommended Buttaban. Both were incredible and something I am glad to have tried. I cruised around, found more Shrines but the tiredness was kicking in. Made my way to the hotel to rest the eyes for a few mins.
Since I been in Japan I havent really been clubbing to much or experiencing the night life so before I left Tokyo for Osaka I signed up for a pub crawl. Last time I did a pub crawl was in Brussels many moons ago. Arrived at the pub crawl, poes nervous and knew not a soul. My first solo mission and I was sweating buckets. Im an awkward fucker with a dark sense of humour, this could be tough. Spoke to nobody in the queue as we lined up. Was also halloween. Got to the door, hostess said “1100 Yen for all you can drink” Took the bait and went straight for the kill. Then I realised, I gotta be careful cause man loves an ale. Grab a name tag, got to the corner, get on twitter. Pretend to look cool like I am chatting to friends online meanwhile I am just retweeting baddies on twitter. Fortunately some cats walked up to me and started chatting. Introduced myself, I am from South Africa and then before you know it, everyone was chatting. Each pub was heaving, in the second one, I thought it was a strip club, birds came out in less than nothing and were offering dances. Didnt sign up, pure regret. We ended up stumbling into the club, to be honest, I remember fuck all but had one of the greatest nights ever. Met some cats from Germany, Australia, Canada, Ireland and US. Ended up getting way to fucked up, one cat passed out in the club, I got lost in the club. Cats were smashing egg sandwiches at 2:45 then I grabbed an Uber and cruised home. My hotel room was on the 27th floor, zero chance I was gonna sleep sober up there anyway. Woke up the next day completely broken, dry mouth, onions for days, had to check out but still way to hammered. Who am I kidding acting like I am gonna toursity shit, got on the bullet train and came back into Tokyo. Mcdonalds and sleep. I was hanging poes badly but in the afternoon some Kiwi fella from grapht hit me up for a few ales. He was proper thirsty cause next minute the sake was out. We met a wonderful Japanese women who we gonna call Hakkodo who said she wanted to go Karaoke with us. The three of us in the karaoke booth was class. We forgot Hokkados name and called her H-san. Woke up the next day and couldnt function. Japan is mesmerising, the night life is dangerous, the vibes are class, the foods too good. You cant lose really, only your mind and liver and my liver is more overworked than the Japanese salaryman! This blog is short but sums up my life for two weeks!!
On that note, I am running a few weeks behind I am playing catch up here haha. Below is tune of the week…