TOKYO WEEKEND:
Arrival for some reason a lot less difficult this time that previously. Had no trouble figuring out where to go and all that. Actually, I think that the best part of the whole trip was waiting in line at Immigration. It was like a global fashion show. I wish my camera hadn't been in my check-in luggage or I would have taken some snapshots. Mainland chinese family all dressed in matching yellow jumpsuits, mom even with yellow shoes. Not sure what that was about, but it wasn't a team uniform or anything. Three skinny European boys in strippy tight t-shirts with cloth backpacks. Two Taiwanese girls who engaged in a misguided attempt to emulate Japanese kogal fashion craziness. Disasterously comical. And, the famiy of obese Americans in jeans and t-shirts... and, yes, mom's did have horses on the front! excellent. Anyway, I wouldn't have noticed at all except that this pack of rather normal appearing Taiwanese college kids in front of me wasn't trash-talking everyone (possibly me included?), the small portion of which that I understood got me in a giggle fit too.

Ikebukuro Kimi Ryokan: Hisashiburi. Perfectly adequate Ryokan, not much that was great about it though, and unlike that last time I was there (6 years ago?), was now a little overrun by Euro-tourists. Previouly, had been a lot of Japanese staying there, not that that made much difference to me. Only major disappointment was that the Fudo was never hot enough and I couldn't get the temp controller to work. I sat in it anyway, no doubt with a tepid expression on my face as I stared at weird things floating in the water. But, the common area did provide me with some social contact one night when I needed it badly. No real adventures though. no adventures at all. I think I always gravitate back to Ikebukuro, because that's where I had my best adventure long ago, involving 4 of us on 2 bikes racing trough the streets in the pouring rain, a dramatic collision with bodies and bicycles strewn accross the wet sidewalk, yet no serious injuries, sore more from laughing than the impact itself, and concluding with a steamy refuge at Mister Donuts. Nothing even close to that happened this time.

Sumida-gawa Ferry: I was happy to take this kind of chilly boat ride, to see what the Sumida river was all about. I only really know of it from reading literature/poetry from the Meiji era (and earlier?) I'm not Japanese, so I have really no idea what I'm talking about, but I thought the river had some romantic history to it. Or, at least the name Sumida-Gawa had a certain romantic undertone (?). Now, as one might expect, it is quite industrial.


Shibuya: Went here again just to drop in at Tokyu Hands and to say 'hi' to Hachiko. I was cursing America in the usual fashion, thinking something like "why doesn't America rally around the wholesome image of a faithful dog instead of being obsessed with hateful, xenophobic concepts of morality..." when it suddenly occured to me that the parallel of Hachiko would have to be Lassie. Oh. hmmm... I bet one could right their disseration on a comparison of two cultures through the contrasting images of Lassie and Hachiko. Of course, the difference that jumps out for me is that Hachiko was real.






Odaiba: This is the island that has been under development for the last decade or so. I've inadvertantly been watching it happen in stages. The first time I went to Tokyo, they had just finished the first of the buildings and it was sort of a new place to go. It felt weird and desolate then. But, now it is full of entertainment and convention centers as well as highrise housing complexes that looks kind of like the goverment housing of Singapore. I went here for an anime convention, wondering how it would compare to the one I saw in New York. It was actually less interesting than the new york one. The only thing that stood out for me were all these gross old guys taking extreme close-up photos of the young women in anime costumes (the women were all employees, not Otaku attendees). I'm sure they were all saying that they were "talent-scouts" or something. Kind of sketchy, hentai. Overall, wasn't that interesting, kind of a waste of money. Seeing Odaiba was the highlight. Powerpuff girls were in attendance, though.



I went to go take a dump at the anime convention. These old guys sure were taking a long time in the stalls. As I waited, suspecting bad behavior, I remembered how the first thing my friend Shuko had noted when she came to the US was that the bathroom stall doors don't go all the way to the floor here. I had immediately attributed that to America's desire to prevent people from having too much privacy in which they might have sex, shoot drugs, whatever. Later, I gave in a bit with my new theory that our crappy doors are just cheaper and easier to clean. But, finally, I think I figured it out. Squatter toilets! Squatter toilets demand that the doors go all the way down to the floor or else all the action would be in plain sight! It surprises me how many places still have these. But "still" is the wrong word, because here is this brand spanking new convention center with squatter toilets. I guess people just like fishing their car keys out of the bowl...


Harajuku/Omotesando: Spent a lot of time wandering around here and what used to be America-mura. My roommate's friend who met me there actually had a bag stolen while we were eating lunch. So much for the low crime rates.

Meiji-jingu: I didn't really go into the shrine, just walked through the park as a shortcut from Shinjuku. So peaceful and relaxing compared to the rest of the city hustle. Peaceful, that is, until the loudspeakers hidden in the trees blared out the park rules. It was so loud and resounding from all directions. It felt like the voice of Big Brother from some 70's sci-fi movie, instructing the brainwashed masses to obey. yikes!


Last Day: I made it to Nekobukuro** on the 4th floor of Ikebukuro Tokyu Hands, fully intending to pay the $6 to spend an hour playing with cats. But, when I got there I started to feel a little ill about the whole thing. They had a pet gift store with all sorts of nefarious devices with which to torture the small and cute (i.e. sundry costumes, headdresses to put on your cat, leashes, socks, etc.) I started to feel like the Nekobukuro room was something akin to prostitution... petitution, if you will. These animals want to be free and respected as much as anyone, not used by strangers to lower their blood pressure, for a few minutes of superficial affection. So, I didn't go in... I went off to go shopping for shoes and neckties at Sunshine City instead.
After getting totally turned around in Sunshine Shity, and walking for an hour just trying to find my way back to the subway, I was starting to regret not going into the cat house. I could really do with having my blood pressure come down a bit. Tokyo gets me all wound up... Time to have a beer.

**(scroll down and click on the third brown rectangle with the arrow on the right side)