A perfect day in Ikebukuro

- Dave Long, ALT Saitama-shi

I confess, I've been here for seven years. 'New' foreigners I meet, recoil in horror when I first tell them this. They look at me like I've just told them I prefer sex with amputees [not true actually, didn't like it] My story is a familiar one, I fled the north-west of England in search of easy, well paying work in an exotic country. What turned out was, NOVA put me in Saitama, neither exotic nor lucrative, but a lot better than life in the UK, signing on in the morning and working on building sites in the afternoon.

After escaping NOVA I flourished, away from the dole queues, working was a revelation, using the energy I'd stored up over the years smoking weed in front of the telly. So in those seven years I've got myself into a nice little rut....routine. I want to share with you, my fresh-faced JET friends my "must do" things as a British expat of 7 years when I'm in Ikebukuro. First go to the Seibu exit, turn right and head for Junkudo bookshop, allegedly the biggest in all Japan. It's extensive and expensive, magazines are pricy and racy [ don't be spotted reading the scrunge mags you saddo] so flick through them while standing up, or slip a copy up down your trouserleg. Then head to HMV on the 6F in Tobu and pick up a music magazine, check out the listening posts and nip up to Citibank on the 8F and deposit a fiver in your account. Move on towards the Metropolitan exit, if the Dubliners is open, pop in and say hello to genial Irishman Alan behind the bar. While you're sipping his overpriced drinks, pick up the Metropolitan magazine and see if your personal ad is still in. [Brad Pitt look-alike wants to meet... etc.] Then make your way to Marui department store and head away from the station going towards Rikkyo University. The Hotel Clarion will be on your right, walk on that side of the street and you'll eventually see a wooden sign on the pavement in English pointing towards Caravan books. This is my new secret hangout. I'm only sharing it with you coz it's such a cool place and I want it to remain successful and open. It's been open for 6 months, run by Nick and Tom from England. Nick opened the Mean Fiddler in Takadanababa, burnt the candle at both ends, [in fact he melted the candlestick too] sold up and went for a sabbatical diving in Asia before coming back and restarting his career with the idea of a second hand bookshop and soon to be cafe bar.