Day 6 - Tokyo

Still don't have internet access at home. I'm currently sitting in a parking lot typing this out wondering how I've ever gotten along without the internet. I forgot to mention in the last post the rest of Day 5's events after Shibuya. All we did was go back to Shinagawa station and eat dinner at McDonalds. I know, I know. All the way to Japan and we Mc-y D's? I have to admit I was sick of eating noodles and needed a little taste of home. And it tasted good. The burger was a bit different (they don't cook things for as long over there) but the fries were exactly the same. I imagine they are shipped from the same place as ships to the US. Lucky us. Then it was back to the hotel to wait out the storm (we were told every day and night that the typhoon was coming. I guess this night they meant it.) So I head a beer and went to bed. The End.

Until...Day 6!

Woke up and had a big breakfast at the buffet. All of the food continues to be good. And guess what? The storm had passed and the sun was out. Yeah! The first day in Japan without rain!!!

I had been in brief contact with some friends in Tokyo (of course not until I was actually in Japan, but I'm not the best at planning ahead) and had arranged to meet them around 12pm. This left the morning free. And what is one of the big things Americans think of when one mentions Japan? Electronics! So we decided to go to one of the more famous electronics hubs, the Sony building. It also gave us to explore another Tokyo neighborhood, Ginza. This required our first foray into the subway and I'm happy to say nobody got lost or lost a toe. Upon arrival in Ginza it was clear this was a more upscale part of town (though it all looks nice.) Lots of department stores and famous brand name shops.





When we arrived at Sony, it was closed. Doesn't open till 11AM. And it was maybe 9:45. So we walked. We ended up in a large department store looking for the men's section. 1st floor - nothing but jewelry. 2-6 floors - women's clothing. Finally, the 7th floor was guys. It was expensive and a little boring until the earthquake. At first I thought I might be passing out. We had been walking all day, everyday without a lot of eating and nobody in the store chose to acknowledge the building shaking. Plus, my dad said he didn't feel it. Then the signs started to sway and things fell off the manikins. But people still shopped and store attendants still attended. Only after it had stopped did anybody break out of character and it was only to quickly replace the man-purse a manikin had dropped. The earthquake wasn't that big but it turned out to really mess up a nuclear plant up north. Not good. So we left the building a bit shaken and found a cool little nissan show room. And this car made me happy.



Back to Sony and a world of personal bliss. A guy's heaven; everything in crystal clear HD, salespeople speaking broken english, and even stuff that wasn't out on the market yet. Ah yes, shangri-la. I found the coolest little Sony ipod-type player about the size of an ipod nano but with a bigger screen that played movies. I drooled a little and proceeded to the checkout. But once again, the Japanese custom of not accepting credit cards foils me. So I bought a pair of noise canceling headphones for cheap. Yeah Sony!

I wish we would have had more time but it was off on the Subway to meet my friends Chiharu and Ayako. I had gone to the U of Oregon with both of them but had no idea Ayako was back in Tokyo. Chiharu was working at Yodobashi camera and only had time to have lunch with us (once again, my fault for not planning ahead.) Having arrived 15 minutes late and having not set a meeting place (real smart, matt) I raced around the store until, luckily, I found them. Chiharu had to work another hour, hour and a half so Ayako took us to the new government buildings. It was quiet because it was Sunday but you can really imagine (with how big it is) just how many people probably work there. And they even had a free, yes FREE observation deck. So up we went. In the photo looking down, those tiny dots are people.







Then it was back to eat lunch with Chiharu. He lead us through a maze of buildings to a basement restaurant that served traditional Okinawan food. It was delicious and surprise, full of noodles. After chatting and eating for about 45 minutes, Chiharu had to go back to work. Sadly, not planning ahead had cost me a day with a friend (he said if I had told him in advance what day I was going to be there, he would have taken me and my dad to Mt. Fuji.) Sad!



So that concludes the first half of the day. I'll leave the 2nd half till later because my computer is running out of battery. Hope everyone is doing well. Peace!