Sayonara Tokyo...

Woke up early today, probably because I was worried about finding somewhere to stay in Sydney. Felt like death as well following last night's binge.

Got myself organised and over to an internet cafe, where I tracked down an affordable but nice sounding hotel to stay in for the first few days of my trip to Sydney. Result.

With my flight not being until 8pm, I had the afternoon to sample more of the delights of Tokyo. I decided to do something I'd never done before in my life. Something that I had somehow missed out on during my childhood in Norfolk. Yes, that's right - I went on a skyscraper bar crawl.

Tokyo boasts some impressive high rised buildings - many of which have bars and restaurants at the top. I suppose I could have looked round some art galleries during my final few hours there, but this seemed like much more fun.

I took the lift to the 52nd floor of the Shinjunku Sumitomo building and it honestly took less time than it does for me to get to the fourth floor of Local Government House in Westminster, where I work. The view from there was out of this world. It was the perfect place to have a drink and bring an end to my Tokyo trip.

Unfortunately I did not have as much success with the other skyscapers. One refused to let me in as I was not a guest of the hotel housed in it, another only had a restaurant at the top and would not allow me to have just drinks. In the end I gave up, got some tins in and buggered off to the airport.

I enjoyed Tokyo. It is a modern, vibrant and very interesting place. I didn't get to see as much as I would have liked of it, and I'd like to go back again and see more of Japan. It is hard work on your own - if you can go, try doing it with somebody who speaks a bit of the language and knows where to visit.

I found the Japanese very nice and polite, but rather cold. In my time there I did not see one person raise their voice, behave anti-socially, or do anything that could be considered vaguely offensive. But with that kind of conservatism comes a personality price, and I've come across far warmer people. As I got the train to Tokyo Narita Airport, part of me felt grateful that I could come to Japan, be treated well and enjoy myself when my grandfather fought the Japanese in the jungles of south east Asia. But, more than anything, I found it difficult to believe a nation like the one I had just visited could have conducted the wars it did in the first place.

Anyway, enough of this philisophical nonsense. Time to go to Sydney, and the main part of my trip...