The Lock-up

Saturday 26th January

Met up with Daniel today which was lovely. We took the train about an hour out of a Tokyo to Mount Takao. After stopping off for a bowl of Ramen we spent the afternoon climbing the mountain (don't worry it wasn't too strenuous), yet the view from the top was fab. Sadly had it been a bit clearer we could have seen Mt Fiji, yet we could still see a long way.

It was really nice to catch up and it made a nice change to have a companion on my sightseeing trips. It was also great to quiz Daniel on all the weird and wonderful Japanese cuisines and cultures that I have been experiencing over the last week or so yet have had no idea of what they were.

Caroline and some of her friends were going out to a themed restaurant for dinner so I tagged along too. Well it certainly was something completely different to what you would experience back home. Situated in a basement of a department store you wander in through a series of tiny alleyways where things jump out at you, the floor moves and all you can hear are screams and weird noises. By the time you reach the reception everyone is a little unnerved as to what we have actually turned up to.

The restaurant itself contains a series of small rooms set behind bars, where we sat crossed legged on the floor (Japanese style) after being led in by handcuff. The drinks are served in test tubes, needles and other weird objects (although none of us could quite work out how this related to the jail theme). Everything else seemed quite normal after that until half way through dinner all the lights went out and weird music blared out and guys in masks kept creeping up on us. Although I am glad I have experienced such an evening I don't think I will be repeating it again in a hurry. So the Alice in Wonderland and Ninja themed restaurants will have to wait.