Pulse
It may be hard to tell, but agntdrake and I have returned alive after the 3 week tour.
I tried reading all the LJ posts to relive the moments which happened on this side of the planet, but it is true that you can not be in two places at once -- so much reading. I also attempted (very briefly) to summarize the events as they occurred from my perspective, but this also proved to be futile. Words can not possibly do justice to the experience and will just make it sound like a movie or a sight-seeing itinerary as conducted by some old man with an annoying sense of humour in a dirty old flight attendant uniform.
As such, I am going to cop out by summarizing some brief highlights for those interested:
I tried reading all the LJ posts to relive the moments which happened on this side of the planet, but it is true that you can not be in two places at once -- so much reading. I also attempted (very briefly) to summarize the events as they occurred from my perspective, but this also proved to be futile. Words can not possibly do justice to the experience and will just make it sound like a movie or a sight-seeing itinerary as conducted by some old man with an annoying sense of humour in a dirty old flight attendant uniform.
As such, I am going to cop out by summarizing some brief highlights for those interested:
- Sister gets married on the roof of the Rio in Las Vegas. Agntdrake and myself are better dressed than even the groom. (Probably a fashion faux pas but whatever.) Incidentally, heavy black cotton is unpleasant at 45°C when there is no shade.
- Made a token bet for $10 on "00" at the New York, New York. Lost. Saw a hypnotist at the Paris who made people have sex with their chair.
- It is wise to be moderately familiar with the Japanese language before attempting to take the Tokyo subway.
- Anywhere you go in Japan, you can be sure there is a vending machine within a couple blocks. I don't know how they do it, but be assured you will never go thirsty in Japan as long as you have 150¥ ($1.50) for a 500ml bottle of the Sweat of the Mighty Pocari.
- Shrines and temples and castles, oh my. So much gold; so much spirituality. Tried hard to not look like a dirty western heathen.
- Kappabashi plastic sushi!
- Revelation at the Sega store in Akihabara explaining the phenomenon of those weird card games (i.e., Pokemon) that the kids play: Picture a video game console consisting of a monitor at the end of a small table and add a few controls to the side. Now imagine this table is also a monitor that can sense where a card is placed (and which card it was), and suddenly it all makes sense. I always figured we were missing something in the translation, and there it is.
- Claw games. Good god, do they love the claw games.
- Hello Kitty, Minnie Mouse, and the Playboy bunny are very popular, adorning every schoolgirl's bag or emblazoned on their socks; these seem to be outside the jurisdiction of the catholic-girls-or-sailors dress code.
- Lolita-goths in Shibuya -- nuff said.
- "Roppongi -- High Touch Town." Creepy. English pub with only white men and Japanese girls. Creepy. Looking for internet, found a dimly lit manga kissa. Creepy.
- First full-on Japanese-style accommodations in Nikko.
- Typhoon. We mostly avoided it, but were met with some downed trees in Inuyama-Yuen.
- Expo 2005. Saw the robot girl briefly. Didn't get a chance to ask her out.
- Danjiri festival in Kishiwada. Marched with the Fujii clan. Heavy black cotton is also unpleasant when running around the city in a humid 37°C.
- Confirmed beyond doubt that spark808 does not exist.
