If one word could describe Tokyo it was the word 'Random'.  Many of the things that happened to us or that we witnessed measured about 9.8 on the Random scale, this section details those and also the things that don't quite fit into other categories...
 

Tom & Rich  were both stunned when leaving the Sega Arcade to find Atai – the Super Monkey Ball monkey – outside.  All shopping was dropped and cameras whipped out to capture the most random moment of the holiday on film.  Atai even had a giant banana!  Excellent.  However, it was strange that after getting a photo or two each we both walked back into the arcade to get some change and upon walking back out seconds later we found that Atai had disappeared completely!  As you can see from the picture above it was a BIG street that we were on so it simply is not physically possible it could have disappeared like that unless Atai had his ball handy.
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Scatman John

Years.  We had been searching for the Scatman album for years.  We definitely did not expect to find it in Japan, but find it we did.  Not only did we find it, but it was a mere ¥100 (60p) in Harajuku's Book Off store, and we also found a Japan Only Scatman release for the same price!!!!!!!  The Japan release is a Scatman J Pop song!!!!!!!  It has a chibi Scatman on it!!!!!!!  Scat in peace John Larkin - your memory lives on.
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Spray

The hotel room toilet had a control panel.  This is not unusual for Japanese lavatories (even public loos had them), and the one in our room had a heated seat, water pressure control and a bidet function.  There was another option as well, entitled only 'Spray' and illustrated by a small symbol which appeared to depict buttocks being hit by a water spray.  Being an intrepid traveller (and having had several beers) Rich  decided to press this button expecting nothing more than a wet backside.  But no!  The spray was worrying well directed and effectively gave a shocked Rich  colonic irrigation.  The look on Rich's face after this ordeal, and the fact that you have to pay large amounts of money for this procedure in health farms, ensures Spray Rocking status.
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Neo-Tokyo Road Network

If, like us, you had seen Akira and thought the roads Kaneda races down were a creative flight of fancy, think again.  The roads in Tokyo are actually like that.  Suspended motorways cross duel carriageways that are already crossing canals; railways, rivers and roads intertwine in a manner reminiscent of an M C Escher drawing.  It's like spaghetti junction in the middle of a city, in places there are four levels of road crossing each other with skyscrapers towering over the whole thing.  We've never seen anything like it, some corners are even cambered like on speedway tracks, it looks like something out of F-Zero.  It Rocked!
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6 Floor Sega Arcade

When we arrived in Ikebukuro we weren’t surprised that there was an arcade nearby as the Japanese love their games.  We were surprised however when walked in and discovered it was six stories high!!  It contained future UK releases Outrun 2, Street Fighter 2 Anniversary Edition as well as all manner of classic titles.  In the basement was a vast array of hardcore gamers blasting away on shoot ‘em ups, beat ‘em ups and a Virtua Fighter 4 tournament.  The noise on this floor actually rivalled that of a nightclub.

Further surprises were in store when we checked our watches one night and noticed it was 1am and the arcade was still as lively as when we had walked in earlier that evening.  Also we walked past it on a Sunday to find a queue of about seventy people waiting to get in!  We knew gaming was a lot more socially acceptable in Japan but we never expected that!
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Japanese Cigarettes

Although neither Rich  or Tom smoke cigarettes (although Tom is partial to the odd cigar) the brands available in Japan deserve a mention.  Brands included Salem, Kent, Keith and, somewhat ironically, Hope.  As well as the humour value of smoking Keith, Salem used a slogan along the lines of 'Life, live it', which is a pretty bizarre way of advertising cigarettes.  The trading standards agency would have a field day...
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Matrix Censorship

There were a number of films showing on the plane, among them the excellent Finding Nemo and the surprisingly good Freaky Friday, but also showing was The Matrix in both Japanese and English.  The fights in Japanese were good but the censorship in English version beggared belief.  It had all the usual censoring like ‘shoot’ instead of ‘shit’ and ‘rear’ instead of ‘ass’, but the jewel in the crown came during the dojo fight. When Mouse comments on Neo’s speed he usually says ‘Jesus Christ he’s fast!’ but in the censored version he says ‘Judas Priest he’s fast!’.  Very funny and also surprising.  Saying Jesus Christ is hardly breaking the law is it?
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Japanese Guides

When faced with using public transportation in a land that speaks very little English and culturally very different to our own country, we found the prospect very daunting.  We needed have worried though thanks to excellent Japanese tour guides during our trip as they helped us get to our hotel, use the underground, use buses and advised us how to act when we arrived at Meiji Shrine.  They also advised us about many Japanese customs, including a in-depth insight into how they celebrate Christmas and New Year, and also asked us questions about English culture.  Superbly polite and very fluent in English, we felt embarrassed that we spoke so little Japanese.
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