It has been a few days now since we left Nagano. The train ride to Nagoya was quite magnificent, winding through valleys surrounded by even more moutains than we saw before. We also watched vanishing point on my ipod during the trip, which was also a spectacular movie.
We arrived at Nagoya and was greeted rather quickly by Deena`s friend, Marc. He took us to his apartment just down the street from the train station and we got settled in before he left for work (teaching english). Deena and I took this time to wander around Osu, which was an area of Nagoya much like that of kensington markets. There they had vintage clothing stores selling all sorts of vintage tshirts from my childhood (star wars, ninja turtles, alf, californaia rasins etc.). We also came across many amazing toy stores with lots of toys that I could never find at home. Of course many of them were too big and expensive to fit in my bag, so I decided to wait outside the stores while deena browsed. As I was waiting outside a toy store, I noticed a hippy looking japanese man riding his bike past me. I thought that he looked familiar and I only realized who he was once he rode past me. Cotton Casino was his name from the (in)famous japanes psychedelic band Acid Mother Temple. For a moment I though to chase him down, but I was too starstruck to even move. A few seconds later he was long gone.
Later that night Marc and his room maties took us to a Japanese bar/resturaunt (Izakaya). I`m unsure what the resturaunt was called, but we all ordered many small dishes and shared them amongst each other. It was quite delicious. After a few small meals there, and a few drinks later, we headed to an irish pub where we drank a little more and then headed back to Marc`s apartment.
The next day was pretty laid back. Deena and I headed into the middle of the city to try and buy Battles (the band) tickets, only to find out that it was sold out. Pretty dissapointing. Afterwards we went back to Marc`s to meet his roomate, Bob Moody, for some japanese curry. Very delicous it was and a little spicy. Afterwards we went to an american sports pub, hung out and played some darts.
One of Marc`s friend`s, Phil (I believe his name was), was also at the bar with us. He began to tell us an interesting story about how he was to have some couch surfers crash on his couch, but got disconnected during the phonecall and they never called back. He felt pretty bad about it, because they called from a payphone so he couldn`t call back. Somewhere in the story he said that one of them was from Belgium.
`was the other from Kazakastan` i said
`yes` he replied, somewhat intruiged as to how I knew.
We had met them our 2nd night in Tokyo and saw them again in Nagano. They seemed to be taking the same route as us, and I`m sure we will be seeing them again soon... somewhere...
The next day, which is today, we left for Kyoto... once our landry was done drying. We had just checked into our hostel, which was rated pretty low on hostelworld.com and were very surprised with how nice the room was. It was a traditional japanese style room where you sleep on the floor. With the air conditioning blasting, I`m sure we will have a good nights sleep.
Tommorrow we are to once again get back into the sightseeing groove and hit up as many temples as we can, here in Kyoto. So far the weather here is nice and dry feeling, with a cool breeze cutting across the streets. This is a nice change from the humid and hot weather we had in Nagoya.
More exciting updates to come soon!
so long and thanks for all the fish
Friday, September 28, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Mountainous protruberances
It was a wet morning in Nagano today, as we slipped and slided our way to the train station. From there we headed to Jigokudani Monkey Park via Kanbayashi onsen guchi. The trip went surprisingly well, transfering seamlessly from train to bus. Although we don`t speak japanese, and the people there diddn`t speak english, we managed to find our way quite easily. My excitement grew as the bus winded its way up the mountainside and let us off somewhere along the way. The air was cool and fresh, and I was very excited to meet these monkeys.
After a 40 min hike up the mountain, we had finally arrived at our destination. The monkeys sprawled on the roofs of the buildings were a dead giveaway. After paying our 500 yen enterence fee, we were free to walk around a gyser and watch the monkeys play in a hot spring. The best part of all is that there were no cages, so the monkeys were all around us. On the paths and even in the trees right over our heads. We sat stood aside and watched as the monkeys played and clawed at each other. We even had a little scare when a group of monkeys a few feet beside us got in a little scuffle and nearly ran right into us. One of the monkeys ran away while spraying its pee in a mad dash, missing me by only a few inches.
As we walked back to the town, we stopped off at a little noodle house / monkey candy shop. The elderly ladies there kept repeating "monkey candy" at every item we looked at. We both ordered Soba noodles with tempura. It was the best damn delicous soba ive ever had, and some tasty potent wasabi. Before we got to the bus stop, we stopped off at a japanese onsen (natural hot spring). There we sat (in seperate pools) enjoying the sweet sensations of natural springs. The air had a little bit of a sulphury scent, but it was enjoyable knowing that it came from the cracks in earth`s crust, instead of the crack`s of the old mens butts as they sat around me. We managed to find a direct bus for the ride home, which was very enjoyable aswell. Giving us a nice view of the valley as we descended from the mountains.
From there I went on a solo mission to the Zenkoji temple as quickly as I could (before sundown) On my way to the temple I had passed a few hobby stores, and I just couldn`t walk by them without checking them out. About an hour later I had reached the temple enterance, after sundown. Although it was dark out it was still very visible, and the bats circling the area made it look even more mystical. Unfourtunely all the shops along the walkway were closed, but im sure I will return to there at some point in my life.
And as promised, here are some pictures from the last few days here in Japan.
After a 40 min hike up the mountain, we had finally arrived at our destination. The monkeys sprawled on the roofs of the buildings were a dead giveaway. After paying our 500 yen enterence fee, we were free to walk around a gyser and watch the monkeys play in a hot spring. The best part of all is that there were no cages, so the monkeys were all around us. On the paths and even in the trees right over our heads. We sat stood aside and watched as the monkeys played and clawed at each other. We even had a little scare when a group of monkeys a few feet beside us got in a little scuffle and nearly ran right into us. One of the monkeys ran away while spraying its pee in a mad dash, missing me by only a few inches.
As we walked back to the town, we stopped off at a little noodle house / monkey candy shop. The elderly ladies there kept repeating "monkey candy" at every item we looked at. We both ordered Soba noodles with tempura. It was the best damn delicous soba ive ever had, and some tasty potent wasabi. Before we got to the bus stop, we stopped off at a japanese onsen (natural hot spring). There we sat (in seperate pools) enjoying the sweet sensations of natural springs. The air had a little bit of a sulphury scent, but it was enjoyable knowing that it came from the cracks in earth`s crust, instead of the crack`s of the old mens butts as they sat around me. We managed to find a direct bus for the ride home, which was very enjoyable aswell. Giving us a nice view of the valley as we descended from the mountains.
From there I went on a solo mission to the Zenkoji temple as quickly as I could (before sundown) On my way to the temple I had passed a few hobby stores, and I just couldn`t walk by them without checking them out. About an hour later I had reached the temple enterance, after sundown. Although it was dark out it was still very visible, and the bats circling the area made it look even more mystical. Unfourtunely all the shops along the walkway were closed, but im sure I will return to there at some point in my life.
And as promised, here are some pictures from the last few days here in Japan.
 |
| japan part 2 |
Monday, September 24, 2007
canned coffee
It was a glorious overcasted day today in Tokyo, which made our trek to the Shinjuku bus station all the more comfortable. We arose from our capsule and emmidietly headed off to the bus station, after my morning soak of course. Right when we got to the subway station, we were greeted by 2 english speaking travellers. They noticed that we were canadian because of the canadian flag patch I was sporting on my bag (thanks mom). One of them was from Saskatchewan and the other was from South Africa, and both were english teachers in the Japanese Alps area. Lucky for us, they were also heading to the same bus station, so they let us follow them. It was such a pleasure not having to try to figure out our own way, and just follow them blindly to the station. Of course they were very friendly, telling us all sorts of interesting tidbits about japan and teaching here.
From Tokyo we headed off to Nagano. Deena and I were both very excited to get out of the big city. Tokyo was really fun but very similar to Toronto in terms of it being a giant city with shopping centres and neon lights. We were both glad to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and get some fresh air. The busride to Nagano was breathtaking. The bus winded around mountains, across valleys and through clouds. The Mountains were beautifully arranged (thanks god/buddah/allah/zappa) and covered with very green, lush trees with clouds billowing out. The bus took a 10 minute break along the way and we took the oppratunity to sit outside and breathe in the fresh mountain air as we watched the clouds seep from the forests. Shortly afterwards we arrived in Nagano and were relieved to find that the city`s air was nice and fresh and there was a cool breeze with almost no apparent humidity. There were also no skyscrapers making the moutainous surroundings a pleasure to look at (we get a great view from the hotel room window) and it was very quiet. So quiet in fact, people seemed to move in slow motion compared to the hecticity in Tokyo. There were still billboards and personholes (because manholes just isn`t PC anymore) advertising that the 1998 winter games are/were here. Unfourtunely there weren`t any [visible] olympians lingering around anymore.
We decided to take the 2nd half of the day off from sightseeing, and just stroll around the main part of the city. We found a store along the way called Hard-Off, which was a used electronics store much like value village is a clothing store. This store puts Akihabara (Tokyo`s electronic district) to shame. It was full of old laser discs, old instruments, cameras, video games, comptuers and whole lot of other junk. My best find was on the 2nd floor, labeled the JUNK floor, where I had found an original Famicom system (the first japanese nintendo console) for only 1400 yen!! (which is roughly $14-$15). But alas, it was too big and delicate for me to bring with me on my trip, so hopefully I can find another one on my way back. I was also very tempted to buy a large synthesizer that I wanted eversobadly. I ended up purchasing a single computer speaker shaped like the *?* block from the mario brothers games. Can you tell that I`m a sucker for nintendo? Which reminds me of the night before in Tokyo. Deena and I were looking for some Yakitori when I noticed an arcade, and right in the window was a Mario Kart arcade game. I couldn`t not play it. I raced against Deena and kicked her sorry little ass. go me!!
After purchasing my speaker and Deena`s records, we went for some ramen and gyoza. It was damn delicious, with the returaunt priding itself in serving special salt from the x-mass islands which was tasty and not as salty as one would think... with it being salt and all.
I think thats all for today. I`m sooo sreepy right now and can`t wait to jump into my extremly soft bed and fall alseep to the japanese home shopping channel.
skate straight
avi
From Tokyo we headed off to Nagano. Deena and I were both very excited to get out of the big city. Tokyo was really fun but very similar to Toronto in terms of it being a giant city with shopping centres and neon lights. We were both glad to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and get some fresh air. The busride to Nagano was breathtaking. The bus winded around mountains, across valleys and through clouds. The Mountains were beautifully arranged (thanks god/buddah/allah/zappa) and covered with very green, lush trees with clouds billowing out. The bus took a 10 minute break along the way and we took the oppratunity to sit outside and breathe in the fresh mountain air as we watched the clouds seep from the forests. Shortly afterwards we arrived in Nagano and were relieved to find that the city`s air was nice and fresh and there was a cool breeze with almost no apparent humidity. There were also no skyscrapers making the moutainous surroundings a pleasure to look at (we get a great view from the hotel room window) and it was very quiet. So quiet in fact, people seemed to move in slow motion compared to the hecticity in Tokyo. There were still billboards and personholes (because manholes just isn`t PC anymore) advertising that the 1998 winter games are/were here. Unfourtunely there weren`t any [visible] olympians lingering around anymore.
We decided to take the 2nd half of the day off from sightseeing, and just stroll around the main part of the city. We found a store along the way called Hard-Off, which was a used electronics store much like value village is a clothing store. This store puts Akihabara (Tokyo`s electronic district) to shame. It was full of old laser discs, old instruments, cameras, video games, comptuers and whole lot of other junk. My best find was on the 2nd floor, labeled the JUNK floor, where I had found an original Famicom system (the first japanese nintendo console) for only 1400 yen!! (which is roughly $14-$15). But alas, it was too big and delicate for me to bring with me on my trip, so hopefully I can find another one on my way back. I was also very tempted to buy a large synthesizer that I wanted eversobadly. I ended up purchasing a single computer speaker shaped like the *?* block from the mario brothers games. Can you tell that I`m a sucker for nintendo? Which reminds me of the night before in Tokyo. Deena and I were looking for some Yakitori when I noticed an arcade, and right in the window was a Mario Kart arcade game. I couldn`t not play it. I raced against Deena and kicked her sorry little ass. go me!!
After purchasing my speaker and Deena`s records, we went for some ramen and gyoza. It was damn delicious, with the returaunt priding itself in serving special salt from the x-mass islands which was tasty and not as salty as one would think... with it being salt and all.
I think thats all for today. I`m sooo sreepy right now and can`t wait to jump into my extremly soft bed and fall alseep to the japanese home shopping channel.
skate straight
avi
Sunday, September 23, 2007
ghibli museum and harajuku
Today was another fine day in Tokyo City. The weather was beautiful. I nice overcast and a coolish breeze, which made wandering all the more comfortable. We spent the night in a capsule hotel, which was quite the experience. For those of you that dont know what a capsule hotel is, it is what it sounds like. Picutre a hallway of pods stacked 2 high. Inside said pod is a bed, big enough for one person to lie in comfortably, given they aren't taller than 6 feet. There is also a TV, a radio, light, and alarm clock. There was also a AC vent installed, which was not working, thus making the pod extremely hot. They also supplied a pair of stylish pajamas, razor, towels and toothbrush. everything needed for a tired businessman to spend the night. They also have a dry cleaner on site. The shower room was also a new experience for me. There was a bucket in the shower room to sit on while you wash yourself, and a really hot tub to soak in as well as a very hot dry sauna. All while on the 9th floor of the building which provides a great view of the city.
From the capsule I grabbed some street tempura and we headed to the Ghibli museum. The museum was much more than I thought it would be. Studio Ghibli is a famous Japanese animation studio that created great cartoons such as Laputa: Castle in the sky, princess mononoke and spirited away. The architecture of the museum was very nicely done up. It reminded me of the salvador dali mansion, but more childlike with round walls and pastel colours with a soft stucco finish. When we entered the museam we were very enthusiasticly greeted by the staff and given 3 animation cells which were to be our tickets into the Ghibli theatre. The first room we visited was quite mindblowing. It featured various animation stills of the films and minuture dioramas of their animation studio. Next were some zeotrope animations of their characters (a disc with drawings on it and slits on the opposite side, when you look through the slits, the object looks animated). That was impressive, but next up was probably one of the most amazing things i have ever seen. We peered into a glass tube and saw about 30 sets of statues all surrounding a big tree. After a few seconds the whole platform of characters starts spinning. Next the lights start to flicker at a specific rate. And right before my very eyes the statues start to come to life. I've seen animations before, and i understand how they work, but i never thought I would be seeing this. It was as if I was watching a live action stop motion cartoon, but in live action right in front of me. It probably doesnt sound all that exciting in writing, but I highly recommend the trip to the museum (if your in town) just for that exhibit. The rest of the museum was also very magical, but diddn't make as much of an impact on me like that spinning doohickey did. The museum in whole was very magical. There were some rooms that were built right from childrens story books, we got to wander through goldie locks and the three bear's house, sat in baby bear's chair and played with his or hers poridge. There was also a rooftop garden with a giant metal robot (statue), and replicas of some home animation studio (all the signs were in japanese, so I could only assume what I was looking at).
After the museum, we took another one of our famous accidental detours around the town, which was very nice. From there we headed to the Harajuku district. Despite not having a map we found our way, thanks to Deena's lip reading skills. She noticed some other people across the street asking for directions to Harajuku, so we just followed ever so stealthily behind them.
We navigated our way through very tiny streets, crammed with people and checked out some of the most fasionable people in japan. I kind of felt more like a bum wearing plaid shorts and a t shirt, instead of being dressed up like a vampire (i left my costume at home). There were some really interesting people there, wearing the strangest costumes i've seen so far. Some covered with blood, a few wearing eyepatches, and even a girl dressed like strawberry shortcake. Alot of the stores were selling band shirts, the most popular being the sex pistols, the clash and the misfits. I couldn't find any leftover crack shirts.
Tonight will be our final night in Tokyo (for now). We will be in Nagano tomorrow if all goes well. Playing with macaque ( snow monkies) and enjoying the (hopefully) quiet countryside.
Happy Passover
avi
From the capsule I grabbed some street tempura and we headed to the Ghibli museum. The museum was much more than I thought it would be. Studio Ghibli is a famous Japanese animation studio that created great cartoons such as Laputa: Castle in the sky, princess mononoke and spirited away. The architecture of the museum was very nicely done up. It reminded me of the salvador dali mansion, but more childlike with round walls and pastel colours with a soft stucco finish. When we entered the museam we were very enthusiasticly greeted by the staff and given 3 animation cells which were to be our tickets into the Ghibli theatre. The first room we visited was quite mindblowing. It featured various animation stills of the films and minuture dioramas of their animation studio. Next were some zeotrope animations of their characters (a disc with drawings on it and slits on the opposite side, when you look through the slits, the object looks animated). That was impressive, but next up was probably one of the most amazing things i have ever seen. We peered into a glass tube and saw about 30 sets of statues all surrounding a big tree. After a few seconds the whole platform of characters starts spinning. Next the lights start to flicker at a specific rate. And right before my very eyes the statues start to come to life. I've seen animations before, and i understand how they work, but i never thought I would be seeing this. It was as if I was watching a live action stop motion cartoon, but in live action right in front of me. It probably doesnt sound all that exciting in writing, but I highly recommend the trip to the museum (if your in town) just for that exhibit. The rest of the museum was also very magical, but diddn't make as much of an impact on me like that spinning doohickey did. The museum in whole was very magical. There were some rooms that were built right from childrens story books, we got to wander through goldie locks and the three bear's house, sat in baby bear's chair and played with his or hers poridge. There was also a rooftop garden with a giant metal robot (statue), and replicas of some home animation studio (all the signs were in japanese, so I could only assume what I was looking at).
After the museum, we took another one of our famous accidental detours around the town, which was very nice. From there we headed to the Harajuku district. Despite not having a map we found our way, thanks to Deena's lip reading skills. She noticed some other people across the street asking for directions to Harajuku, so we just followed ever so stealthily behind them.
We navigated our way through very tiny streets, crammed with people and checked out some of the most fasionable people in japan. I kind of felt more like a bum wearing plaid shorts and a t shirt, instead of being dressed up like a vampire (i left my costume at home). There were some really interesting people there, wearing the strangest costumes i've seen so far. Some covered with blood, a few wearing eyepatches, and even a girl dressed like strawberry shortcake. Alot of the stores were selling band shirts, the most popular being the sex pistols, the clash and the misfits. I couldn't find any leftover crack shirts.
Tonight will be our final night in Tokyo (for now). We will be in Nagano tomorrow if all goes well. Playing with macaque ( snow monkies) and enjoying the (hopefully) quiet countryside.
Happy Passover
avi
Saturday, September 22, 2007
tokyo game show day
Today we hit up the tokyo game show. The biggest video game convention in the world. It was pretty hectic with flashing lights, crazy sounds and lots of people dressed up as their favourite gaming characters. Most of the lineups were too long for me to bother standing in, just to taste some games of the future. But, boy howdy, there are some great looking games to look foreward to. Mainly Metal gear solid 4, and metal gear online looked pretty badass. as well as some sword fighting game for the wii. Although the best game i played there was spaced invaders for the DS. There was no line, so I grabbed a DS and played away. It was great fun, and I am really looking foreward to playing it again in the future.
Getting there and back took some time, so we diddnt do much else today. We ate some tempura, which was delicious of course. And i think i may have eaten jellyfish too.
Right now I am in a namco internet cafe which is pretty amazing. Im in a little booth with a nice reclining chair, a fast computer with a large screen, and all you can drink beverages. There is also a DVD room with a large TV and a huge selection of DVDs and manga books. I guess living quarters in japan are soo small, that its more worth while to go to a place like this with your friends, then having to pay lots more money for a bigger apartment or house. I could even get used to this life.
Tonight we are staying in a capsule hotel, so stay tuned for an update on that. As well as some pictures if i can get them online.
peace out
Getting there and back took some time, so we diddnt do much else today. We ate some tempura, which was delicious of course. And i think i may have eaten jellyfish too.
Right now I am in a namco internet cafe which is pretty amazing. Im in a little booth with a nice reclining chair, a fast computer with a large screen, and all you can drink beverages. There is also a DVD room with a large TV and a huge selection of DVDs and manga books. I guess living quarters in japan are soo small, that its more worth while to go to a place like this with your friends, then having to pay lots more money for a bigger apartment or house. I could even get used to this life.
Tonight we are staying in a capsule hotel, so stay tuned for an update on that. As well as some pictures if i can get them online.
peace out
Friday, September 21, 2007
day two and thre3
So much has happened since i last updated ... where to begin? I guess i'll start at the beginning.
Our second day in tokyo started off pretty early, since we are both still jet lagged. We started off by trying to buy sumo tickets. We left the hostel without a proper map (i thought Deena brought hers, and she thought I had mine) so we decided to go on an adventure in tokyo without a map. After almost getting lost we managed to find the sumo stadium, and had stumbled across a very lovely temple dedicated to war heroes along the way. The early sumo matches were amateur wrestlers only, so we decided to go to Shinjuku until the pro tournament started.
Shinjuku was really nice, and not at all what I had expected. The streets were long and wide with huge department stores all along the way. T'was a very fancy shopping area much like yorkville in toronto... only in japanese. We hit up a few record shops in Shinjuku that had a very bad ass selection of records that I never came across in toronto, and at really cheap prices too. Sadly I diddn't want to cary a stack of records along for my trip so I opted to just browse instead. What really surprised me the most is that there were alot of posters and promos for The Shaggs, who were (or still is) a 60's rock trio consisting of ... (3) girls that don't really know how to play their instruments very well. I don't think they were very popular in North America, but are apparently hot shit in Tokyo. We also stopped into a pachinko parlour along the way and were mesmerized by the flashing lights and exciting sounds around us. I think we were doing pretty good for our first time playing, but really, we had no idea what was going on. nevertheless it was a great time. However, I would have to say the biggest and best surprise in Shinjuku was when we got off the subway. There was a Japanese guy walking towards us, and I noticed his shirt from a distance. I thought to myself "that guy looks like hes wearing a leftover crack shirt". I continue to walk down the street towards him, and to my surprise, he was actually wearing a leftover crack shirt. Even the Japanese (or at least that one guy) can't seem to get enough of that crack rock steady beat!
From Shinjuku we went to the sumo tournament which was very exciting. I thought I knew what sumo was like, from watching it on TV, but I never realized how much goes into the tournaments. Each match would start off with a clensing of the ring by throwing salt onto the floor. Then the wrestlers would stomp out (at least to my knowledge) all the bad spirits within the ring. They did this many times before the actual fight took place. The process would take about 5-8 min, and the actual fight would only last a few short seconds. After one of the wrestlers won, some guy would come out and sing a few short notes, and the whole thing would start all over again.
As we were walking back to the hostel for the night, we saw some kids playing catch (with a ball of course) across the street. One kid misses the ball and it bounces across a busy 4 lane street, Which I then caught with my ninja (ferret) like reflexes. I then threw the ball back to the kid, but I seem to have been out of practice, because the ball slipped from my hands, landed short in front of the kid, and then it bounced right into his gonads. He let out a litte yelp and cupped his naughty bits. I felt pretty bad about it afterwards, but it was a good laugh at first.
I also bought some Black Black chewing gum (highly caffeinated gum) and rose gum (supposed to make you sweat out a sweet rosy scent). I think the rose gum actually worked, but I bet Deena would say otherwise.
As for day 3, we started off by waking up at 5 am to check out the fish market madness. After taking a very long and out of the way walk, we finally arrive at our destination. The Fish Market. There were lots of fish. Afterwards we went for breakfast sushi, which isn't always the best idea, but I just had to try some fresh sushi straight from the market. It was pretty damn good, but I still felt a little ill, as did Deena. The sushi we had was much much bigger than back at home, and I was not expecting them to be so big (surprisingly enough, im not much of a fish eater).
After the fish market we headed to my old home, around roppongi. This was to be the most exciting part of my whole japanese trip. We get to Hiro-o station, and we find my old local grocery store, National Azubu market. It was just how I remembered it looking, not much had seemed to change. Across the street was a really nice park that we walked. It diddnt look familiar, but im sure I played in there. Next up was my old home. I was very excited to visit it, and the streets seemed somewhat familiar to me. As I walked towards the side of the house, I notice there is no driveway. Then as I get closer, I notice there is a big white barrier across the front. Shortly afterwards I am standing right in front of the house, only to realize it had recently been demolished.... sacré bleu! It was quite the letdown and very anticlimactic. We then walked very slowly down my street towards the peacock grocery store and eventually find the Wendeys restuurant I used to frequent as a youngster. We ate a greasy burger that made me feel like poop, and headed off shortly after.
From there we hit up Akibhara, the electronics district of Tokyo. There were lots of neon lights and the largest electronics department stores I had ever seen. They had some really nice TVs set up too, and properly hooked up to HD sources for the best possible picture. Unlike future shop and best buy, who look like they connect their HD TVs to VCRs for display. We saw lots of really cheap and elaborate cell phones and itty bitty laptop computers that caught my eye. We even came across a store that sold nothing but robots (for mucho dinero)
From Akibhara we headed back home via a few trains in rush hour. That was loads of fun. Now I'm about ready to hit they hay, after this long day. I hope I'm not forgetting anything. I feel that this entry may not be long enough. maybe next time I can elaborate more.
Evi L. Salem
Our second day in tokyo started off pretty early, since we are both still jet lagged. We started off by trying to buy sumo tickets. We left the hostel without a proper map (i thought Deena brought hers, and she thought I had mine) so we decided to go on an adventure in tokyo without a map. After almost getting lost we managed to find the sumo stadium, and had stumbled across a very lovely temple dedicated to war heroes along the way. The early sumo matches were amateur wrestlers only, so we decided to go to Shinjuku until the pro tournament started.
Shinjuku was really nice, and not at all what I had expected. The streets were long and wide with huge department stores all along the way. T'was a very fancy shopping area much like yorkville in toronto... only in japanese. We hit up a few record shops in Shinjuku that had a very bad ass selection of records that I never came across in toronto, and at really cheap prices too. Sadly I diddn't want to cary a stack of records along for my trip so I opted to just browse instead. What really surprised me the most is that there were alot of posters and promos for The Shaggs, who were (or still is) a 60's rock trio consisting of ... (3) girls that don't really know how to play their instruments very well. I don't think they were very popular in North America, but are apparently hot shit in Tokyo. We also stopped into a pachinko parlour along the way and were mesmerized by the flashing lights and exciting sounds around us. I think we were doing pretty good for our first time playing, but really, we had no idea what was going on. nevertheless it was a great time. However, I would have to say the biggest and best surprise in Shinjuku was when we got off the subway. There was a Japanese guy walking towards us, and I noticed his shirt from a distance. I thought to myself "that guy looks like hes wearing a leftover crack shirt". I continue to walk down the street towards him, and to my surprise, he was actually wearing a leftover crack shirt. Even the Japanese (or at least that one guy) can't seem to get enough of that crack rock steady beat!
From Shinjuku we went to the sumo tournament which was very exciting. I thought I knew what sumo was like, from watching it on TV, but I never realized how much goes into the tournaments. Each match would start off with a clensing of the ring by throwing salt onto the floor. Then the wrestlers would stomp out (at least to my knowledge) all the bad spirits within the ring. They did this many times before the actual fight took place. The process would take about 5-8 min, and the actual fight would only last a few short seconds. After one of the wrestlers won, some guy would come out and sing a few short notes, and the whole thing would start all over again.
As we were walking back to the hostel for the night, we saw some kids playing catch (with a ball of course) across the street. One kid misses the ball and it bounces across a busy 4 lane street, Which I then caught with my ninja (ferret) like reflexes. I then threw the ball back to the kid, but I seem to have been out of practice, because the ball slipped from my hands, landed short in front of the kid, and then it bounced right into his gonads. He let out a litte yelp and cupped his naughty bits. I felt pretty bad about it afterwards, but it was a good laugh at first.
I also bought some Black Black chewing gum (highly caffeinated gum) and rose gum (supposed to make you sweat out a sweet rosy scent). I think the rose gum actually worked, but I bet Deena would say otherwise.
As for day 3, we started off by waking up at 5 am to check out the fish market madness. After taking a very long and out of the way walk, we finally arrive at our destination. The Fish Market. There were lots of fish. Afterwards we went for breakfast sushi, which isn't always the best idea, but I just had to try some fresh sushi straight from the market. It was pretty damn good, but I still felt a little ill, as did Deena. The sushi we had was much much bigger than back at home, and I was not expecting them to be so big (surprisingly enough, im not much of a fish eater).
After the fish market we headed to my old home, around roppongi. This was to be the most exciting part of my whole japanese trip. We get to Hiro-o station, and we find my old local grocery store, National Azubu market. It was just how I remembered it looking, not much had seemed to change. Across the street was a really nice park that we walked. It diddnt look familiar, but im sure I played in there. Next up was my old home. I was very excited to visit it, and the streets seemed somewhat familiar to me. As I walked towards the side of the house, I notice there is no driveway. Then as I get closer, I notice there is a big white barrier across the front. Shortly afterwards I am standing right in front of the house, only to realize it had recently been demolished.... sacré bleu! It was quite the letdown and very anticlimactic. We then walked very slowly down my street towards the peacock grocery store and eventually find the Wendeys restuurant I used to frequent as a youngster. We ate a greasy burger that made me feel like poop, and headed off shortly after.
From there we hit up Akibhara, the electronics district of Tokyo. There were lots of neon lights and the largest electronics department stores I had ever seen. They had some really nice TVs set up too, and properly hooked up to HD sources for the best possible picture. Unlike future shop and best buy, who look like they connect their HD TVs to VCRs for display. We saw lots of really cheap and elaborate cell phones and itty bitty laptop computers that caught my eye. We even came across a store that sold nothing but robots (for mucho dinero)
From Akibhara we headed back home via a few trains in rush hour. That was loads of fun. Now I'm about ready to hit they hay, after this long day. I hope I'm not forgetting anything. I feel that this entry may not be long enough. maybe next time I can elaborate more.
Evi L. Salem
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The beagle has landed
Ahoy!
Deena and I have arrived in tokyo! And so far we only got lost once, which is pretty good i think considering We dont know any Japanese.
After the flight , we immideatly got our train passes and hopped on a train to asukasa station where our hostel is. On our way to the hostel we saw a giant golden turd, at least thats what it was according to a friend of mine {thanks jen}
After looking for our hostel for about 30 min i ask a younger person on the street if he knows where it is. He does\t speak english, but he tells us to go to the police station across the street for directions. Not really understanding him , we walk the opposite direction, only to have him run after us and take us to the station himself. He explaoins to the officer where we are trying to go and the officer draws us up a little map {that was of little help}. We took a spiral pattern around the blocks to look for the hostel, only to find it in the centre of the spiral we took.
I will post some pictures of our adventures soon.
also, its interesting to note that of all the bikes that we saw on teh streets, only one of them was actually locked.... hows that for trust?
avi and out
Deena and I have arrived in tokyo! And so far we only got lost once, which is pretty good i think considering We dont know any Japanese.
After the flight , we immideatly got our train passes and hopped on a train to asukasa station where our hostel is. On our way to the hostel we saw a giant golden turd, at least thats what it was according to a friend of mine {thanks jen}
After looking for our hostel for about 30 min i ask a younger person on the street if he knows where it is. He does\t speak english, but he tells us to go to the police station across the street for directions. Not really understanding him , we walk the opposite direction, only to have him run after us and take us to the station himself. He explaoins to the officer where we are trying to go and the officer draws us up a little map {that was of little help}. We took a spiral pattern around the blocks to look for the hostel, only to find it in the centre of the spiral we took.
I will post some pictures of our adventures soon.
also, its interesting to note that of all the bikes that we saw on teh streets, only one of them was actually locked.... hows that for trust?
avi and out
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Pre flight part 2
Europe was great, I got back July 31st.
Japan awaits...I'll be eating sushi in no time*.
*about 4am EST
Japan awaits...I'll be eating sushi in no time*.
*about 4am EST
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