I had to

Sakura

A great way to end the trip. The Sakura trees are pretty much in full bloom. Everyone is celebrating in the parks having picnics and drinking sake. I still can't believe I'm in Japan.

Yoyogi Park

The man dancing is absolutely brilliant. He was there all weekend and dances about 6 hours non-stop.

A little more Kamakura

Kamakura

A few images from Kamakura.
It was breathtaking.

Guess where I went...

the beach!



I went to Kamakura on friday which is only 45 minutes away from Tokyo on the local train.

When the sun comes down

I indulge in mysterious Japanese sweets. I believe that's where all my money has gone to. I especially love rice cakes with bean paste. A day just isn't right without sugar.

Gwen Stefani would die...

OMG bunnies!!!

I went to a temple today...

and it was under construction.
But I did get a chance to walk through magical healing fumes and hopefully my hives will disappear (Alex rechristianed me as Toad-hands). It meant to be a place of spirituality but was flocked by tourists. Oh well. I still have hope in the fumes.

Chinese food

The scariest restaurant I've been to. I'm not sure if you can read anything in this picture but it says : Giant shark fin stew, Fried silkworm's larvae, and Fried Scorpion. The menu was full of other delicacies like pig intestine and pig's feet. The cat and dog were probably on a special menu. They also didn't skip on the MSG. To complete your experience they had erotic paraphernalia as decor. In the centre of the restaurant (right above the main table) was a vagina-shaped (fake - en plastique) bell with a golden penis beam (complete with christmas lights). Also stucco boobs, vaginas, and ass everywhere. I apologize for being so vulgar but this place really was.
It seemed everyone was there just for our entertainment. Across of us sat this couple. The man was this huge Japanese business man with suspenders and glasses and all. In front of him and his wife about 20 different plates (I'm not even exaggerating!), they were just gorging themselves. At the end of their meal, the much smaller Japanese little woman starts saran wraping all of the left overs... individually (at this point a box of saran wrap appeared what seemed like out of the blue). After saran wraping each little tiny morcel of food - with much precision I must add - she neatly placed all of the items into a plastic container. What killed me though is when she took the left over sauce and poured it into the centre of a piece of saran wrap and twisted the ends. SHE SARAN WRAPED THE SAUCE TOO!!!! I died. I will never eat there again.

Sure is Golden

Deep in Shinjuku, after combing through a bunch of "modern-day-Geisha" buildings (into which foreigners are not allowed to enter), I refer to them more as prostitutes but apparently there is no sexual exchange... only 'conversation'... anyway, once you've walked through street and street of those buildings and Tokyo gambling-arcades you find an area which I believe is called Golden Gai: a whole network of allies with small bar after small bar. Each of the tiny bars embraces a theme and they seat at most six people, sometimes only two. Not all are welcoming to foreigners though. It really dazes you about how surreal some things are here. It caught me off guard and it's one of the many reasons to love Tokyo.

The cat is

Stray cats everywhere! And they have really short tails and are really friendly. People feed them and leave water bowls for them in community parks.

This must be one of my less interesting posts.

My wrist hurts and the weather sucks.

Also I'm allergic to Japanese apples. Now that the negativity is out I'm going to go through my camera and give an idea of how I actually just read books and magazines all day. But there are a lot of events coming up and I'm hoping I will summon the strength and will to go.

while I'm waiting for the images to upload there is a Japanese band that has sparked some curiosity in me. I have only a very slight idea of what their music sounds like (think noise, a la Gang Gang Dance) but I will try to find and capture their music in a bubble. They are called the Boredoms. They do have a myspace but myspace is ...well... yea.

Pictures uploaded yay!

Request for you guys...

Now since I left a lot of you have changed hair I hear. Please send pics!!! I'm so curious and a slight change in hair is always like a cheap thrill. Miss you guys!

xx

Only in Tokyo.

Thoughts (long post)

I used to be so disciplined and write about every experience no matter how banal. Now I seem to like to be selfish about them. I want to keep them framed in their context and let time do its natural blurring as the memories become further and further from my everyday reality. But then I remind myself that I meant to document everything, but I left out the experiences and left for you the banal. The un-emotive and very matter-of-factual experience of Tokyo. The context isn't relevant to the readers, rather the readers aren't relevant to the context; so to begin already a sense of experience is lost. I decided to present it as is, unfiltered by opinion... but then I feel something else was lost. I haven't even left a skeleton for you because I ate all the marrow and now the bones are malnourished. So here is my promise to those who take the time to read. I will add more photos and make an effort to make the text at least remotely exciting.

Having said that...
There is a time when we all need to realize we are adults and take responsibility for our actions. That time usually comes around when you reach that not-so-exciting physiological threshold: when you realize your body doesn't react to things the way it used to, when you realize your brain isn't as sharp, and gravity has more profound effects on your shape (especially for women). With all that in mind, our aging bodies also become our responsibility. I'm somewhere in between those thresholds of aging... all to say that I managed to get a bladder infection and mild heat stroke soon after. Ugh, I've been sick here but I'm better now after some costly doctor visits (VERY COSTLY!!!)

So.... if you do travel to Tokyo, take care of yourself. Travel health insurance is NOT overrated (which I don't have). But it is also good to know that there is an International Clinic right around the corner. Also drinking a lot of water is always a good idea.

...

And to finish off the Sunday saga here are two videos (both by Alex):

kawaii

This is pretty much the first thing we were confronted with on Sunday... People are very mobile phone friendly here.

KAWAII!!!

Everything is Kawaii here.

The weather's finally looking up and I've been terribly ill for a few days so I haven't been enjoying myself. Sunday, I think I can say spring has officially started in Tokyo. Alex and I went to Yoyogi park in hopes to find some Harajuku girls but the only ones we found weren't even Japanese... they were some American goths just pretending... pretty unexciting.

I feel I'm losing my edge and just getting sucked in by all the Kawaii. The following videos and photos will give you an idea of how the day went.

a few recommendations

These are two restaurants you absolutely must try if you come to Tokyo.

1. Gonpachi
http://www.sobatempura.gonpachi.jp/en/casual/home/index
You probably would need to make reservations to go. It's the infamous restaurant where our good ol' friend George W. regurgitated it after having a tad bit too much sake. Make sure to order a lot because it's basically many little appetizers, some stranger than others but all delicious. Definitely have Sake! They have a variety you can choose from. The decor is very pleasant and you might recognize it from a few films (ie: Kill Bill). It isn't cheap though. It's not hard to find and it is in Roppongi, which also means there will be a lot of foreigners.

The photo is Alex and I at Gonpachi for our anniversary, we were both quite drunk when we left.


2. Umai Sushikan
The best sushi I've had thusfar. For all those who know me well, you are quite aware that I am repulsed by fish... but I loved it here and ate everything. It's so fresh and of such great quality that it doesn't have that strong (aged) fish scent or taste. I have yet to go to the fish market but this sushi place takes the cake out of every other I've tried. I recommend you try perhaps something off of the seasonal menu (it is completely in Japanese though). This restaurant is in Akasaka so you won't see too many foreigners, but that also means their might not be anyone who understands you. I've been to this restaurant twice already and the first time a Japanese woman sitting next to me fed me tempura (really good!) so we I can say we managed quite well with Alex's limited Japanese.

for Lea and Vanessa

to be continued...

I have much more to write especially about food!!!! I have several restuarant I absolutely recommend but I need to get the names and areas right. Also art, so far I've only gone to one major museum here and it had a breathtaking view of Tokyo. I'll leave you guys with my shitty photos (because we all know Alex's are much better than mine)

Alex being shameless with a camera.

In Shibuya...

Food from the future...

Noodles! Nothing fancy but very exciting. It's a vending machine restaurant. You order and pay everything and it prints a ticket and then your food is made.

Consume!... ?

I've been really turned off by shopping here because they have everything and that is all there is to do. When I put that aside and embraced shopping I enjoyed myself. My adventures always start with physiological needs. usually along of the lines of "I really need to pee..." and then I find myself in a shopping mall. There are tons here!!! It's truly an experience. You get immersed into these individual worlds in these micro boutiques which spare no detail to really absorb whatever style they represent. Specifically Paraca (I'm going to have to get back on the exact name) mall in Shibuya.

Upon one of these little adventures I discoveries something spectacular. In Omotesando Hills (main shopping mall in Omotesando) I came across a Magazine Library. And it is what the name suggests. You walk into this dimly lit area with all these black bean bag sofas aligned perfectly. The room is lit up by a series of lanterns on the ceiling. You can buy yourself some nice Italian (illy) coffee while you're there. In between these little black sofas you have these boxes with an array of international fashion and art magazines, but the more underground ones, which you can pick up and read. I spent an hour there. This is only going on for a week though.

Check out the site: http://www.magazinelibrary.jp/

Shibuya Crossing

This one is especially for you Martin!


I am not big in Japan.

I've been trying to come up with something witty to say but I've grown tired of my own opinion. One thing that has deceived me though is my ongoing search for cultural shock. I ranted on and on about it the other day but I won't submerge you into this not-so-pleasant realization other than those who are truly interested in hearing. To put things short, globalization is really ruining our sense of discovery, culture... etc. You expect everything to be different and when you arrive there is Starbucks waiting for you and taunting you at every corner. But... my fellow camarades... there are NO, let me repeat NO American Apparel hipsters here! And even then the store isn't so obvious, I accidently stumbled upon it and had to go in... and even in there there were no AA hipsters! For that (and many other reasons) I love Tokyo!!!!

Photo: View from my balcony.

東京都

Hey all!
Sorry about the delay. I would surely love to tell you that I was so blown away and running around so much that time had slipped me by and I wasn't able to update you on my fabulous journey. Well, what can I say? That wasn't exactly the case. It has been raining a lot here and I don't know if it's the low pressure system or the cold (these are clearly just excuses), but I've been lazy. Nonetheless my discoveries have been amazing and I'm thrilled to share them with you guys.