Daikanyama Blurb

Daikanyama is a well designed, pictureseque neighborhood. Most of the buildings have a modernist design to them. We surmised that this is where the yuppies of Tokyo live, shop, and play. A nice respite from the other craziness of Tokyo.

Ramen in my Underwear

We thought we could hit up the Tuna auction at Tskuji. So we got up around 6:00 to head out around 6:30. It turns out the auction starts at 5:15. We headed out there anyway to check out the public market - which is the biggest fish market in the world- and to have some awesome sushi. The market itself was pretty standard, albeit huge. Stalls selling seafood of all sorts( fresh, frozen, dried); cookware; spices; herbs; medicine; and produce. The highlight of the visit, at least for Carlos was the sushi. I had a tuna nigiri sampler plate of sorts; three different types of fatty tuna, seared tuna, and minced tuna with green onion. I tried to have a cucumber hand roll, but it was drenched in wasabi. I think some of my tastebuds might've been burned off. I'm not that into sushi, but I must say my favorite was the toro;(fatty tuna) it just melts in your mouth. Carlos was in sushi heaven. He had 12 pieces of toro nigiri, two pieces of salmon nigiri, raw shrimp, fried shrimp head and shell, amber jack nigiri, and uni. I don't think I've ever seen that much elation; he insists that we return before our trip.
The real highlight of my day was Odaiba. Odaiba is one of the quieter, slower parts of Tokyo- so quiet its a little spooky. On our train ride there, we got to see Tokyo from across Tokyo bay. It was breath taking. The purpose of our trip to Odaiba was for an onsen. An onsen is a public bathouse. Thats right, a public bathhouse. We figured it was like a public pool only with no chlorine and cleaner. Upon entering the onsen, you have to first remove shoes and place them in a locker.(Key #1) Also, if you have tatoos, are drunk, or part of the Yakuza, you're assed out. Then the entrance fee is paid and you get key #2, which is attached to a wristband and also has a barcode on it. The barcode is used to keep track of any purchases you make while inside the main hall. Next, a yukata is picked out. A yukata is a pretty much a bath robe with a sash. I thought it was cool that we each had four different designs of yukata to choose from and we could pick our own color sash. After that, you head to the dressing room. Key #2 has your locker number on it. You strip down to your underwear and change into your yukata. Once the yukata is on, you're allowed into the main hall.
The main hall is kind of designed like a courtyard. There's food stalls that serve sushi, udon, soba, ramen, pasta, gelato, shaved ice etc. There's even a couple of bars. Of course there's a couple of souvenir shops. You can also get other services such as massages, facials, wraps, and pedicures. Carlos and I both got 30 minute foot massages. I was a bit man handled by this rough looking lady. She would massage my feet, then my calf, and then my upper thigh(getting dangerously close to the Bad Lands!) But out of nowhere, she starts elbowing my ass cheek! I let out silent whimpers of shock and pain. This was supposed to be a foot massage; what the hell does my butt cheek have to do with my foot? She did the same thing to other side, and after beating on my other cheek, she proceeds to push my cheeks together. I really don't know what her deal was, but the actual massaging of the feet and legs felt divine.
We parted ways after the massage. The onsen is gender segregated. Why? Because you're NAKED! I thought I could get away with wearing a swim suit and that nudity was optional, but a sign in the dressing room states that "No clothes or big towels allowed in the bath house". In the dressing room, you're given a big towel and a small towel. You strip down to your birthday suit and head for the baths. (This is where Key #3 comes in) I'm someone who doesn't wear anything past the knees and even wearing sleeveless tops makes me nervous. I'm very self conscious, so you can imagine what harrowing experience this was for me. It was like one of those nightmares you have, being naked in front of a bunch of strangers, except this was real! I kept telling myself that I was on vacation as I sashayed into a sea of naked women.
You shower before entering the baths; there are stalls that provide shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I made sure to keep my eyes forward, but it proved to be difficult. When I was in there I had mixed feelings; I was grateful for what I had, but then I was reminded of how much I need to start losing weight. I was also a little squeamish. I was thinking "what if one of these bitches has the crabs or weird rash?" Or "Ew, someone's naked ass was just here!" But again, I got over it knowing you have to shower before entering the pool. There are many different warm baths; jacuzzi, milk baths, outdoor pool, one cold bath and barrels that hold about 1-3 people. There's also a sauna, a steam room, and place to get another massage. I pretty much tried every pool and did a Russian Bath. A Russian bath is sitting in the sauna, then dipping in to the cold bath. It actually feels pretty awesome.
After the nudy bath, you shower once again and put back on your yukata. Carlos and I met up in the main hall again, exchanging our stories for. After ramen, gelato, and Sapporo, we went into a common seating area with mats and pillows and took a nap.
We ended the evening back in Shinjuku, where the majority of it was spent at the Black Sun Jazz Club. We climbed up a steep staircase to get into this tiny venue (it can hold a maximum of 12 people) and there was a duo playing a set. The jazz loving patrons (who it seemed were regulars) looked at us with curiosity but ended up being really nice. We were referred to as "Cah-Ros" and "Andison", from "Cawrifonya". A few men in suits would walk in, have a glass of Jack and water, and listen to the music. A cute little man, who also was a jazz pianist, served as our translator. His wife plays the banjo, and he told us she played for the Sacramento Jazz Festival. Small world.

Ginza Fail, Akihabara Win (sort of)

The first two days here in Tokyo hot and humid. I came to realize how much of a weakling I became living with beautiful, mild weather in Oakland. It was 90 degrees, but the humidity was stifling. Anyway, on the third day it rained. We decided that we weren't going to let some precipitation interfere with our plans of going to Ginza and Akihabara. Once again, we threw ourselves into the madness that is the Shinjuku Station and hoped for the best.

Ginza is pretty much an asian fifth avenue. Building after building of high end merchandise. There were also plenty of cute little cafes and dessert place with either French or Italian names. Compared to Shibuya and Harujuku, Ginza was less vibrant and colorful. There wasn't much going on or much to see - maybe because of the fact it was raining or because it was a Wednesday morning.

After having udon, we decided to head over to the Imperial Palace. One problem: it was storming. We walked but two blocks and we were soaked from head to toe. Again we weren't going to let precipitation ruin our plans. We found out that the Imperial Palace is referred to as Kyoko - this after a series of gestures and word play to explain to the cab driver to take us there. It was still stormy when we arrived at the Imperial Palace. There were no other tourists/people there; only us in the pouring rain. The security guides looked on with a mixture of curiosity and concern. We shivered our way through the compound and tried to get as many photos and video as we could manage. It was a very beautiful place. There were rows of gigantic, 300 year old bonsai trees and the palace itself was gorgeous. I can only imagine what it was like in its hey day.

Akihabara was our next stop. Akihabara is a mecca for aficianados of gaming, anime, manga, and all other things electronic. There's this one place called "Club Sega" which is seven floors of intense arcade gaming. Groups upon groups of boys so intensely focused on the screen. Those that weren't playing were cheering on their friends or simply looking on in awe. I swear it was like a casino in there. We walked into this hentai place. You can only imagine what was in there. I won't go into detail as to what I saw, but I will say that they were also selling the soundtracks to these movies. I guess hentai must have some awesome music. There were girls in french maid costumes who will feed you by hand, if you paid the right price. Come to think of it, there were lots of girls in costumes on the street; Lord knows what they would do if you paid them enough. In conclusion, Akihabara is geek heaven - hot girls in costumes, fast food, and games. Enough said.

We got back to our hotel smelly and damp, but it was well worth it. Being here is worth it. Next stop Tsukji and Odaiba.

LOST in Translation

Contrary to Carlos' Facebook post, we are not at the Hilton, but we are at the Shinjuku Washington Hotel. Our hotel room is in a word, petite. Seriously, you walk into room two steps and theres the bed. Carlos fondly refers to our room as "Grandpa's Inn Part Two". (see post "Midnight bus to Vigan") It's not the Hilton, but as far as I'm concerned, it will do. What I do like about the room, is the the toilet situation. Without giving to much away, I must state that using the toilet here is an awesome experience. Theres this control panel on the side of the can, that has various functions such as music, sound effects, and different ways to spray your ass. I am not ashamed to admit that I am now a bidet advocate. If I ever win the lottery, I will buy everyone I know(whether I like you or not) a bidet.

Shinjuku is a neighborhood of Tokyo built around the busiest train station in Japan, if not the world. (More on that later.) I work in San Francisco, so I guess I'm used to big buildings and crowds of people, but this is unlike anything I've ever experienced. The buildings are numerous, gargantuan, and in close proximity with each other. And people, oh my God people. Everywhere you turn, theres a herd (all in white dress shirts) coming for you. At every interesection, it felt like Carlos and I were the Spartans and the oncoming crowd were the Persians! You would think that one would it would be easy to get lost in that crowd crossing the street, but its very organized. People make way for each other. We spent our first evening trying to familiarize ourselves with Shinjuku, which is pretty daunting considering that we don't speak the language. There are big, pretty lights attached to buildings but of course most are written in Japanese. So after a while, things start to look the same. We would walk down different alley ways and see all sorts of restaurants, cafes, shops, and seas of people. We ducked into a small tempura joint to have dinner. Thank the Lord for pictures on the menu, or we wouldn't have eaten.

The next day, we decided to go to Shibuya and Harujuku. Navigating our way through Shinjuku Station was nothing short of a nightmare. It was helpful that Carlos had downloaded an app on his iphone called "Zuti", which is Tokyo rail navigation. We knew where we wanted to go and which lines to take; I guess we thought we were really bad ass and could handle getting tickets all on our own. Aside from the fact that we couldn't read any of the signs, it was sweltering and it was like the New York Stock Exchange in there. It must of been a funny sight for the station workers to see two sweaty tourists yelling our "Harujuku"! If you're a shopper or an "apparel geek" than Shibuya and Harujuku is the place for you. We breezed in to stores such as Opening Ceremony (a 7 floor department store with high-end independent label) A Bathing Ape, Beams, Billion Boys Club, Supreme, Neighborhood, Visvm (F.I.L) etc. etc. Even Forever21 is huge out here (yes I went in, don't judge me) Streets are lined with shops and there are countless alley ways filled with these obscure shops and cafes. I'm pretty sure we only scratched the surface of both neighborhoods given the fact that there are so many stores and streets that make them up. We made it a habit of both wandering into alley ways and getting lost.("Getting lost is part of the adventure" - Carlos A. Gonzalez) Again, there were enormous amounts of people. They too were a sight to behold. I've seen some of the craziest shoes and hair on both men and women. It's almost as if one is expected to stand out. I wonder if people were actually there to shop or just to be seen. We made our way back to Shibuya during rush hour, which turned out to a big mistake. These people do not mess around with their commute. We were literally pushed on the train and pushed off the train. The madness followed us until we actually left the station!

It's been a hectic couple of days for us here in Tokyo. The language barrier being the biggest issue. At first arrigato for us meant "Thank You", "hello", "can you help me" and "I don't speak Japanese". Our way of communicating is by smiling and gesturing, making us look like mongoloid mimes. Yes we've had lists made for us and apps downloaded but for some reason that just went out the window. However, since we've been stumbling through neighborhoods, I'm proud to say we've gotten better. Just don't ask us to read anything. Two things I will note is the 1) People are incredibly polite here. When you enter an establishment, the employees smile and say hello. When you leave the say goodbye and thank you. Especially in restaurants, people there have really made an effort to help us understand what was going on and 2) There is so much structure and a high level of efficiency here. In most place rules are treated as suggestions, but here people actual follow them. I guess its partly because there are so many people here that if there was no structure it would be total chaos.

Enjoy the pictures below. More pictures to follow. Next stop Ginza.