back to tokyo. now this half of the trip was really a blur. as soon as we get back, we meet up with Blake for more exploring. we ran through the streets of Harajuku but this time, we hit up everything designer. louis vuitton, chanel, prada, comme des garcons, and marc jacobs. and for Vini, the GAPE and billionaire boys club shops. oh boy did i drool.

that night we ended up going to what Blake and his friends called “the chicken place”. it was in the korea-town of tokyo, apparently a place you don’t really want to go to. so of course around the corner, down some alley, up some unmarked stairs, we find our way to this “chicken place”. i had some vegetable dishes and Vini gorged on various dishes of chicken on skewers. the best part was that they had steins of beer for $2.80. the table next to us had some very loud and obnoxious japanese college students. we thought it was this dating thing that japanese youngsters do – it’s like a double date but with 5 guys and 5 girls. this is how they date. one of them knew english and was eaves dropping on our conversations about them. it was absolutely hilarious because at one point, we rescued him from his crazy drunk friends. ends up, he lived in diamond bar for 5 years!

the highlight of the night was one of the drunk girls dancing beyonce. needless to say, our dinner parties were some how intermixed, we had some beers, had some laughs, and had some more beers. somehow we all make it home safely.

the next day was absolutely useless. we finally got up and out of the hotel at around 3pm. made our way to the taxi depot to pick up our backpack. so…. before leaving for yugawara, we had accidentally left our backpack in a taxi. the concierge at the hotel we were staying at after yugawara helped us track down the taxi and gave us an hourly report on the status. it was amazing customer service. they found our bags, and we slowly inched our way to get it back. we were baffled that no one could remember what happened after japanese beyonce. how did we get home? who paid the bill? where am i???

our backpack had nothing but a bottle of water missing from it. that’s just amazing. you would never be able to find a missing bag anywhere else in the world. there is just so little crime in japan, it’s mind boggling. vini and i wander through the malls connected to Shinjuku before meeting up with Blake for dinner. at this time we were still feeling awful from the night before, so what’s best to cure a hang over? SHAKEY’S! yes that’s right, we went to shakey’s again.

the next day, nice and refreshed, we hit up Roppongi. this place was weird. i mean don’t get me wrong, i love seeing american things. banana republic made my day. but after the past several days with Blake showing us all the “local” spots and going to yugawara… i don’t know, i just wasn’t ready to be a westerner again. Roppongi Hills is a weird place. you live there, work there, eat there and shop there… that was the intention. don’t get me wrong, i like having things close but this was a bit too close for me.

we had lunch at Suji’s. it’s american home cooking, owned by a korean-american lady. and the funny thing is that the USC alumni association was right upstairs. we tried to pop in for a visit but we couldn’t figure out how to use the buzzer. then we went to mid-town roppongi where Vini drooled outside the Konami building and i found some funny art things. after that we made our way over to Ginza to meet up with Blake.

oh Ginza. gigantic flagship stores for every single label i can dream of. i fell in love in the burberry store… i was so close to walking out with a raincoat. if i was going back to America, i would have made the purchase, but since it’s going to be summer in Sydney… i couldn’t justify it. we also went into the chanel building, the sony building where they had all the new products on display, and a really big department store. there is just so much shopping everywhere you go, i’m in heaven.

we made our way to Gody’s for dinner which was okinawan food. it was amazing food, definitely a cuisine i had never tried, egg with bitter melon, shredded green papaya salad, seaweed grape things and okinawan beer. i couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the trip. oh but wait! in true japanese form, we weren’t done for the night. we ended up going back to Baba (the area around Waseda) for a bowl of ramen. well the boys had ramen while i sat waiting patiently. we had missed the last train but the walk back to the hotel wasn’t too bad. we had a nice last walk through Shinjuku in all its lights and red light district shadiness. tokyo is a crazy place filled with fantastic food, generous food and lots of alcohol. i don’t know when i’ll be back but i sure hope it’s soon.

tokyo was a bit of a blur. by a bit, i mean mostly. luckily, my friend from college – Blake – was a fabulous tour guide. we went all around tokyo, even parts he never goes to. each night ended with delicious food and copious amounts of drinking.

we arrived in tokyo from kyoto by bullet train (SO COOL) on thursday sept 18. We wandered around Shinjuku where we were staying and then had a great lunch that Vini STILL talks about. Blake had made dinner plans with his Japanese pop star friend and then drink plans with his semi-work colleagues in Shibuya. we tagged along for all of that. we started off at a chain pub for happy hour, then Soma for some yummy italian food (yes italian food in japan, it was so good!) and all you can drink for 2 hours. that was bad news. met Blake’s pop star friend, who was very sweet and nice. after Soma we went around the corner to meet up with one of his colleagues (who happens to own several boutique sneaker shops!) at an Okinawan food place. this was when SHOCHU was introduced to me. the night ended at the hotel bar… and me falling asleep in the cab. what a wonderful start to Tokyo.

the next day.
boy was i hung over! strangely enough, vegetable tempura bowl helped a lot! we roamed around the big towers of Shinjuku before going on any moving vehicle anywhere else. off to Harajuku!! we actually went to Meiji-Jingu first. it was a very beautiful, serene and misty walk through the park before reaching the shrine. we said our prayers, got our fortunes, and took some photos.

after the shrine, we walked around to the other side of the station which brings us to…

i was definitely an experience. girls with orange hair, thigh-highs and heels for days. i went a little crazy in the 99yen shop there were so many funny shops. including one where you can find pictures and posters of your favorite pop star. we looked for Blake’s pop star friend but i don’t think she’s that famous yet. we continued our walk through out Harajuku from boutiques to brand name flagship megastores. i could live here.

we ended up going to okonomiyaki with some of Blake’s American friends. it was again a fabulous meal. food here is SO good! the night took a turn when someone suggested karaoke. this would be my first attempt at it… same with Vini. it was about $15 each for 2 hours…. and all you can drink. i mean, completely unnecessary but well worth the fun. some backstreet boys, some mandy moore, some jpop and some random bohemian rhapsody later…. we bid farewell to our new friends and took the last train home before the typhoon hit. yes we were in a typhoon.

the next day was absolutely beautiful after the storm. we decided to go up the tokyo metropolitan government offices for a view of tokyo. it really reminded me of LA. there’s no where else I’ve been where you can get a view of endless city. it just keeps going and going. after that, we had lunch at a japanese pasta place. wow that was yummy! i had a pesto spaghetti. i had been craving food other than rice… i’m not a big fan of rice all too much. next stop after lunch, akihabara!

well akihabara wasn’t all that it was cracked out to be. it just smelled like geek as soon as you walked out of the station. there were way more men then women walking around. we stopped into a video game arcade so Blake and Vini can live up their boyhood dreams. i watched as each go killed in Street Fighter 4. there are guys that just sit there all day and master their hadouken skills. there was no competition. we wandered around akihabara for a bit including the don quiote where they have the maid restaurant and have 8 levels of wierd cosplay and sex fantasy costumes. then we walked in an anime porn shop, purely because we’re curious, and immediate left, purell’d our hands, and decided we needed to go somewhere holy.

we went to Senso-Ji in Asakusa. it’s the one with the big red lantern. there were lots of just stuff to buy along nakamise-dori – the street leading up to the temple. there were lots of yummy things being sold. after we cleansed ourselves of the filth from the anime porn shop, we decided it was time for a snack.

after wandering around a bit more, we made our way back to our end of the city for another night of eating and drinking. i don’t know how they do it! Blake had plans to meet up with his Waseda friends – Waseda was the college he went to in Japan. we got to know them well… after dinner Blake took us on a nice walking tour of the red light district. it’s weird, they have these guys with really big orange hair standing outside to lure in the women. i didn’t exactly find it attractive. they had a poster where you can “pick” your companion for the night. we ended the night with some snacks from the convenience store and some drinks back at the hotel.

the next day was spent sleeping in. finally! it was pouring rain outside so we decided to find something to do in doors. we headed over to Blake’s apartment – in a very swanky designer building by the way! we started a load of laundry and wandered towards Waseda for some yummy curry for lunch. it wasn’t japanese curry, it was “ethnic” curry. which i think means, anything non-japanese. it was still pouring rain so we watched Sukiyaki Western Django. wow that was a weird movie, but strangely summed up how japanese culture mixes in american culture… it’s lots of cut and paste with no explanation or making sense. we spent the day indoors, enjoying a break from our daily adventures and eating and drinking. it was much needed. along with the clean clothing!

we end the first part of our tokyo trip with sushi in meguro. oh boy was it amazing. we spent only about $22 but had all the fancy dishes, each had a big bowl of soup. i even tried some! it was absolutely amazing. we went to ebisu to the beer restaurant after to sample some of their famous premium brew and headed home to pack for our next adventure.