No Maps for These Territories

For the full gallery of pics, see here.

Man, it’s really hard not to fall behind on these posts, the days are so jam packed with action that setting aside time to blog is hard.  But I’m gonna try to stick with it!   Day 2 started off with a trip to Akihabara, where I dragged Kevin and Range, as it is my spiritual home on the planet.  So many nerds and games.  I’ll be going back again to actually PLAY games instead of just doing a drive-by.

Catching the Hibiya line.

Everyone’s got a cell phone, and the trains are completely quiet.  No talking, and no cell phone conversations.  It’s really pretty awesome.  In such a crowded place, the Japanese have taken great lengths to safeguard the precious little time they have to decompress after work.

First thing on the agenda, food.  We pop into a soba noodle joint.

Curry soba.  Fantastically delicious.

Here we are, Akihabara.

A UFO catcher game, where you can win… Ritz crackers.  The game costs about as much as it would cost to just buy the damn things.

I am so totally going to try this Gundam game.  They don’t allow photos in the arcades, so I risked my life and limb to get this one.  Full 180 degree screens, each person gets a pod, and they have screens displaying the games live.

The number of stores just selling analog components like wires and resistors and what not is truly stunning.  Anything you could possibly need is in Akihabara.

This shop sold police batons, stunners, handcuffs, mace, pepper spray, you name it.

The density of stuff for sale is staggering.  Another component shop.  Kevin needed a cable for his camera and was able to find it no problem.

This vending machine will sell you a ticket for hot food, which you then pick up upstairs.

How many Japanese workers does it take to replace a few planters full of flowers?  The answer you’re looking for is four.

The imperial palace is near the Tokyo station is pretty, but disappointing, since it’s all locked off.  This is as close as you can get, everything is blocked off by police.

I ran ahead to get a shot of Kevin and Range towering above the armies of Japanese tourists.

This tonkatsu dinner only cost $8 and was fantastic.  You can get some amazing meals in the Tokyo metro station.

Sadly, these large delicious beers were also $8, which doubled our dinner bill!

Yes, this does appear to be a hot dog wrapped in a tortilla.

The density of the concrete jungle around Ueno station is crazy.  Layers upon layers in every direction.  Escher would be proud.

Poking women’s eyes out with your newspaper is discouraged.

Clorets ICE will punch your bitch ass in the face with its freshness.  PWNED.

We found a beautiful cemetary near our metro stop.  (Menami-senju).  This is on the walk back from the metro to our hostel.

They actually have rags and other scrubbing implements available for you to clean the grave of your loved one.  I found that really touching.

A side street near Minami-senju.

Please note that not ONE of these bikes is locked up.  Not a single one.  Again, a first world nation is one that should be full of adults that don’t steal from each other.  The lack of theft is a constantly mindblowing element of Tokyo, and a kind of depressing one when you think about how long these bikes would last in the US.

That is a four LITER bottle of sake.  That’s what I call the “living under a bridge” size.

The “lots of fried shit” section of the grocery store.  I would like one of everything, please.

Okonomiyaki!  I’ve always wanted to try this.  Our friend Deanna took us out for dinner at her favorite place in Shinjuku.  You get a bunch of meat mixed in with toppings and batter, dump it on a grill, and make a meat pancake.   It was so good my mouth waters just thinking about it.

Kevin tends to his meat pancake.

Ah, Shinjuku.  Absolute wonderful chaos 24/7.  It’s never dark.

The Park Hyatt.  I’ve never in my life been in a place that exuded affluence more.  Everything is subdued and rich.  We went to the 52nd floor to check out the bar made famous in Lost in Translation, but it was a $20 cover charge each to enter, and we decided to pass.  The view from the 40th floor has to be seen to be believed.  I’ll post the videos I took later, I think they came out better than pictures would.

At night the Shinjuku station turns into a homeless shelter of sorts.  Dozens of men (no homeless women?) camp out their spots in cardboard boxes.  Not a single one of them is begging for money or harassing people.  That’s another thing that’s stunning about Tokyo, you never get approached by scammers or panhandlers, everyone just kind of sticks to their own space.

Range passed out sitting up, next to his Japanese twin.

That’s how I like to end my evenings.  Oh one cup sake, how you treat me so well.  I’ve been informed by my new Japanese friends that one cup is the equivalent of Mad Dog here, it’s kind of a homeless sort of drink.  I still don’t care, it’s my sweet mistress.