Telephone blues

Does anyone ever get confused with foreign telephone numbers?

I always do. An easy way out is to use the +(country code) (area code) (number format) on your cellphone. But that gets expensive.

So then, how do you call someone from a landline or payphone?

My guidebook says that the area code for Tokyo is '03'. But when you dial from outside Tokyo, you drop the '0'. So when calling to Tokyo from Tokyo, do you drop the '0' too?

This is what I've discovered (but only after I returned from my trip).

Drop the '0' when dialling from outside Japan.

So to call Tokyo, the number will look something like this: 81 3 XX XX XX XX

Drop the '03' entirely when dialling Tokyo from Tokyo.

The number should be something along the lines of: XX XX XX XX

Include both '0' and '3' when calling Tokyo from other parts of Japan.

So you'll be dialling: 03 XX XX XX XX

I've got the b for one more night

Still reeling from yesterday's nightmare of hunting for a place to stay.

So my plan for today:

Walk around Ikebukuro, Ueno, maybe the Yoyogi Park to find accommodation.

Bummer. And I was thinking of going to DisneySea today :(

Culture shocked

It startles me to discover how different the same city can seem, once you throw yourself off the tourist circuit.

It's one thing to observe the quirky Japanese culture and be amazed by it, another to as they say, do as the Romans do.

I've been here what, 36 hours? But it feels way longer than that. I've done so many things out of the ordinary — not to mention out of character.

And I'm exhausted just trying to keep track of them all.

On board NW20

I hate turbulence. Especially the kind that creeps up on you. It's like, one moment you're unbuckling your seatbelt, getting up to go to the loo.

Then the plane drops 50 storeys.

...

1360km more to go, 1 hour 43 minutes left to pass. Can't wait to touch down.

T minus 1 hour and 22 minutes

T minus 31 hours and 40 minutes

I sprained my pinkie toe.

I know!!! This close to Tokyo???!!!

I've a really bad habit of walking into walls. Usually I end up with a huge bump on my forehead. But today's wall is only half a wall, it reaches up to my mid-thigh. It's too low to hit my thick skull. And so my left foot became next in the line of fire.

Bummer.

My flat shoes will stick out like an ugly sore thumb in Shibuya.

T minus 48 hours and 40 minutes

5am. I can't sleep.

One. I'm really excited about Tokyo and two, a little nervous.

I'm planning to get lost in the city. Not gonna set an itinerary. Not booking ahead into any hotel.

This way, I figure, I'll get to see all of Tokyo. The touristy side, the every day side and any surprises it throws my way. But that's not to say I haven't done any homework.

I know where to find Harajuku Girls and I know what time I've got to be there. I know I'm going camping and I know I'll need to reserve a campsite.

Yes I'll be sleeping under a tent in Tokyo, land of the manga kissa, loveho, sento and capsule hotel. I'll be spending a night in them all if I can have my way, why not? That's part of the Tokyo experience.

My "all-seeing" Tokyo experience :)

Well, looks like I'm more psyched than nervous now. Great. Now I really can't sleep.