Tokyo Ｄａｙ２
I have decided that if there ever was a real live scifi city, Tokyo is it.
I am in love.
Pictures of hot men continue to be elusive (my Japanese is nowhere good enough to come up to a complete stranger and go: "excuse me, do you mine posing for me in all your hotness?" My nerve is not good enough either) but other than that, it is all perfect.
This morning started with seeing swarms of people cross and get into Shinjuku station which was amazing. Not as amazing as the rush hour back which was even crazier: literally people so thick you moved where the crowd went. Everyone is so orderly and the train stations are so clean it is unreal. You could probably eat off the floor, though I do not recommend as I am sure someone will faint.
This morning started with that wonderful little staple known as money exchange. Now I know how agents of evil powers feel, as our money was: checked against counterfeit charts, ran thtough a machine, taken all over the bank. Meanwhile, the polite but hassled clerk tried to make small talk even though his English and my Japanese was about even. Aka none. I kept nodding and smiling, hoping I did not just agree to sell a kidney.
We went to Hakone (a nature resort) and ate eggs baked in sulfuric hot springs and took a toy train and a ropeway, but about those later...
I love nature and all, but the coolest thing is the people. Most of my pics are going to be people photos.
People watching continues to be great. Favorite thing this evening was a young couple, he in a sharp suit and a briefcase, holding hands with a girl in jeans capri pants and really casual shirt, They were walking down a large street and it was adorable.
I have decided that Shinjuku is the coolest thing ever. I have never seen so many lights, signs, hawkers, small restaurants, pachinko parlors, and sheer amount of people anywhere. If you are not energized when you are there, you are dead. We went to the "seedy" side too, but I have to say it is the nicest, best lit, most elegant area of that nature I have ever seen. I felt completely safe abd all the ads were so discreet and nicely shot, they could as well have been band ads. There were a lot of ads for host clubs too :P and I took pictures of that as the boys were justifiably yummy. Coolest thing by far in that area was seeing an elderly businessman in a suit walk by with a young, geisha-looking woman on his arm.
Oh, and for those curious? Best place to find hot guys (and gals) to look at? So far, definitely Shibuya. Unless you got $$$, in which case unless those billboards are doctored, Shinjuku is the place to be (there was one for a particular host club, which had ginormous photos of its four "stars" and I started cracking up because one of them was named Tsukasa which is, for me, with my lack of familiarity of Japanese names except from manga anime or doramas, associated with Domyouji, so my first thought was "so THAT is how the family is paying their bills for their lux lifestyle!" :P)
We concluded the lovely day with a really good and fancy meal in a restaurant with a most amazing view. So far, point nad pray method of orderibg is working wonders.
I have seven billion pics of everything so far.
Tomorrow, we go off to Kyoto!
P.S. I bought vol 12 of Hot Gimmick in airport on the flight over and heeeeee. Bad thibg to read in crowded ariport back home. Hellllllo nudity!
I am in love.
Pictures of hot men continue to be elusive (my Japanese is nowhere good enough to come up to a complete stranger and go: "excuse me, do you mine posing for me in all your hotness?" My nerve is not good enough either) but other than that, it is all perfect.
This morning started with seeing swarms of people cross and get into Shinjuku station which was amazing. Not as amazing as the rush hour back which was even crazier: literally people so thick you moved where the crowd went. Everyone is so orderly and the train stations are so clean it is unreal. You could probably eat off the floor, though I do not recommend as I am sure someone will faint.
This morning started with that wonderful little staple known as money exchange. Now I know how agents of evil powers feel, as our money was: checked against counterfeit charts, ran thtough a machine, taken all over the bank. Meanwhile, the polite but hassled clerk tried to make small talk even though his English and my Japanese was about even. Aka none. I kept nodding and smiling, hoping I did not just agree to sell a kidney.
We went to Hakone (a nature resort) and ate eggs baked in sulfuric hot springs and took a toy train and a ropeway, but about those later...
I love nature and all, but the coolest thing is the people. Most of my pics are going to be people photos.
People watching continues to be great. Favorite thing this evening was a young couple, he in a sharp suit and a briefcase, holding hands with a girl in jeans capri pants and really casual shirt, They were walking down a large street and it was adorable.
I have decided that Shinjuku is the coolest thing ever. I have never seen so many lights, signs, hawkers, small restaurants, pachinko parlors, and sheer amount of people anywhere. If you are not energized when you are there, you are dead. We went to the "seedy" side too, but I have to say it is the nicest, best lit, most elegant area of that nature I have ever seen. I felt completely safe abd all the ads were so discreet and nicely shot, they could as well have been band ads. There were a lot of ads for host clubs too :P and I took pictures of that as the boys were justifiably yummy. Coolest thing by far in that area was seeing an elderly businessman in a suit walk by with a young, geisha-looking woman on his arm.
Oh, and for those curious? Best place to find hot guys (and gals) to look at? So far, definitely Shibuya. Unless you got $$$, in which case unless those billboards are doctored, Shinjuku is the place to be (there was one for a particular host club, which had ginormous photos of its four "stars" and I started cracking up because one of them was named Tsukasa which is, for me, with my lack of familiarity of Japanese names except from manga anime or doramas, associated with Domyouji, so my first thought was "so THAT is how the family is paying their bills for their lux lifestyle!" :P)
We concluded the lovely day with a really good and fancy meal in a restaurant with a most amazing view. So far, point nad pray method of orderibg is working wonders.
I have seven billion pics of everything so far.
Tomorrow, we go off to Kyoto!
P.S. I bought vol 12 of Hot Gimmick in airport on the flight over and heeeeee. Bad thibg to read in crowded ariport back home. Hellllllo nudity!