gutterTrash: Japan Entry 2

Mm, finally awake. I passed out in my bed around 9 and slept solidly until around 2:00 A.M. when I was suddenly wide awake. I could hear a group of people speaking quickly in Japanese and laughing just down the hall, where there's a small lounge. Though they weren't the source of my waking, I was kind of put off by them being so loud after the curfew.

"Whatever," I thought, "They'll go to bed soon..." And rolled over to try and get back to sleep, finding slumber until 3 A.M. when some North American guests arrived who were also loud though not nearly as noisy as the first group. I drifted off using my beanbag pillow that was hard as a rock and woke up again at 5, and then 7 (now). Jetlag is something I haven't experienced for a long time, but I think I can get a handle on it by tonight. I made myself stay in bed all these hours and woke up at a good time that I can hopefully replicate tonight. That, or I'll just drink a ton of coffee during the day.

I'm thinking my plan today is to head out to Akihabara until Lunch, and then from there... well, I was going to try and see about going to a Sumo match but the wifi I was able to locate last night seems to have run out. Ah well, the best I'll do for now is go to Akihabara, try and find a prepaid cellphone so I can contact Shohei to see what he's up to (yet I don't have his phone # yet. Hope he's checked his FB), so I'm off for now.

PS: Karate Kid is called Best Kid in Japan.

So now that I've cranked the A/C up and am sitting here half naked, I figured it'd be time to finish the blog post for the day. I did, indeed, go to Akihabara "The Electric Town" and perused the shops and arcades there. The guide book was completely right in that this was a complete geek's wet dream. There were stores and stores of anime comics and videos that, although I don't really care much for, I went into anyway just to see what it was like. Most of these stores are so compact that they are rather small at first, but then have 6-7 more floors above full of even more japanese animation. Once such store I went into (an indie gaming store, trying to find a gift for a friend who is an indie game creator) turned into a porn store the second I went above the first floor. There were widescreen tv's showcasing scenes from various DVD's and loud ... porn sound effects playing from them. I quickly turned around.

From there, I moved into various arcades just to see what they were like. I went to Sega World as well as Taito Games although no one challenged me in SF at either location... how depressing. Finishing up at the arcade, I went to the very first Japanese restaurant I'd visited and got some chicken/egg/rice dish akin to what I make at home but, obviously, much better. While I ate, I took the time to pull out my guide book and look for my next destination which I decided would be the Tokyo Nat'l Museum in Ueno park. Only problem was, once I got back on the subway and disembarked at Ueno station, I got lost and spent a long time hoofing around side streets and generally going the completely wrong way. I decided instead to head back to the station and in doing so found the park. By this time it was just an hour before the museums were going to close, so I just walked around the park instead. The issue here was that it's hot and humid all day and being in public looking l

ike you just got outta the shower is... not desirable. I'm going to have to be more careful when planning my days so I spend most of my time.. in airconditioned locations.

Jetlag caught up with me at around 4pm and so I called it a night and decided to come back tot he hostel. It's already 5:30 now, but I feel pretty lame sitting here all exhausted watching T.V. I don't understand. (a white dude comes onto the tv as I type, and he speaks better Japanese than I ever could)

My laptop's battery is going to die pretty quick here, I think I might head out in a few to find a converter and grab a quick dinner before coming back and doing some research for my activities tomorrow.

GT out [pictures below]

The Japanese Burger Menu

Gorilla Curry shop. I should've eaten there.

Gundam Cafe is where I'd decided on for lunch, but when I finally got back there to eat, there was a giant line out the door, and I decided against it. Maybe another day.