hairfish

There were ridic amounts of girls squeeing "kawaii", and "kakkoi", and "ikimen" after the show. The kid is pretty gorgeous.

The show begins!

Last night was, hands down, of the best nights I’ve had in Tokyo. There was a torrential downpour during my walk to Akasaka with my friend Alyssa, which added the complication of getting dry while trying to get ready for the show. The temperature has finally decended into a crisp, fall coolness, so I knew it was going to be a good night based on that alone. My only, only qualm is that the show was so short — but any good concert is always a short concert!

Justin’s set was only an hour long and he basically sang all of Holly save for two songs which he replaced with covers (Ain’t No Sunshine and Sittin’ At the Dock of the Bay). Having had Holly and listening to it almost religiously over the past four or so months I was happily suprised to see two guitars and a keyboard on the stage. Astro Hall is suuuuuper tiny so the show was very intimate; he interacted with us throughout and we did back. I was really amazed how much better he sounds live, as in the album (which is wonderful, go get it if you haven’t!) does his voice no justice. You have to see him live to really appreciate the tone and texture of his voice. He sang one song, ‘Oh Momma’ with out the mic and it was just beautiful.

I waited a bit after to see if I could get an autograph but having to take a two hour commute back home, I really couldn’t wait very long, so I didn’t get my autograph nor did I manage to snag a setlist. However, the show is definitely one of the highlights of my time here and has made me fall all the more in love with the album. I’ll be excited to see where he’s at in the next few years; it seems he just gets better with time.

We weren't supposed to take pictures but I'm not one to follow rules often. Heh.

I was really, really close! This is the view from where I was standing

A really awesome woman let me take a picture of her setlist since I didn't get one. I think Justin wrote himself. LUCKY!

Ambience~

I finally visited Shinjuku although it may not be the Shinjuku you have in mind. I, myself, was completely suprised at the solitude and quietness of the Shinjuku go-chome area. It's primarily a business area. In fact, the Metropolitian government buildings are within walking distance of the area. The JR Yamanote line, which drops you off right in the heart of Shinjuku, is a good twenty minute long walk away so the area is seriously removed from the flashing lights, huge department stores, and constant flow of tourists. It was beautiful!

Serene.

Saxophonist in the park. He sounded really good!

Skater boys, busy being too cool for school

Fall leaves in Shinjuku Niagara Falls

More on these hooligans, later...

Neko-chan with statues. Cats aren't really kept as pets in Japan, but they're all over the place, just wandering about.

So those hooligans I mentioned before were models being photographed in the park. I've come to realize, photography is synonomous with older men in Japan. I have yet to see a woman with a camera who isn't part of my study abroad program.

A work of art made from umbrellas and garbage? I think...

Unlike in Chicago, it's very rare to see homeless wandering around the city here. They aren't even in the Subways either. Instead, they seem to be located in "camps" such as this one.

Shinjuku Niagara Falls -- No kidding, this is what it's called!

Another view of Shinjuku Niagara Falls

I love how hidden that couple was up there.

Finches! I love these little guys

Shinjuku traffic through the trees

On the way to Tokyo Tower

Paper lanterns at a Temple near the Tower

TOKYO TOWER

Blurry view of Tokyo from the Tower

I know I’ve been more than a little silent here lately. I’m finding my second month here, (six weeks into the trip to be exact) is hectic. I’ve had midterms over the past three weeks, I’ve managed to drop my keitai in the toliet twice thus rendering it non existant and I’ve had to deal with the inconvience of that (ie. waking up twenty minutes late, not being able to do anything but go to class and come back home, etc). I was supposed to video chat with the Japanese III class from my home school (Hey guys!) but due to my alarm playing tricks on me, I woke up too late to do it plus my connection was giving me ~issues~.

And if homesickness wasn’t enough, I encountered something truly horrific on Monday: a train “accident”. As the entire incident is still very fresh in my mind, I won’t be discussing it at the present moment, but if you’ve never been in Japan, and you don’t know much about what train “accidents” actually are in Japan-speak, do some research and you’ll understand why I’m just a bit hesitant to talk about it. Needless to say, it’s been a bit rough around these parts lately but I’m getting back on my feet, and looking forward to better things, for instance, that Justin Nozuka concert next Monday night.

Until then, get out and VOTE!

My host mother and a few other mom’s from our neighborhood had a small, Japanese-style bbq two weekends ago. Most of the kids in my neighborhood are all in Middle school or Elementary school, and since it was a relatively nice night, we played with hanabi (fireworks) until it started to rain. I haven’t had so much fun in a long while! All the kids were so sweet! And the food was fantastic. I was too busy stuffing my face to really take any pictures of what I ate but the sausage, grilled pumpkin, and yakisoba were my favorites, by far.

A peek of veggies grilling on the bbq

Food on the table lit by a lantern.

Good company in Kita-koshigaya

Hanabi all laid out, ready for the kids -- and me!

The boys divvying up the hanabi

FIRE!!!CRACKERSSSZZZ!!!

A small shop in the Gotokuji area of Setagaya-ku. Gotokuji is known for the Gotokuji Otera, or temple, which is populated by those famous waving cats thought to bring good luck and prosperity to businesses.

Images of the maneki neko are all around Gotokuji, leading you towards Gotokuji Otera.

Example of said college aged person known to frequent Shimokitazawa.

Lots of graffitti, mural art, and stickers to be found all over the Shimokitazawa distric.

A Couple. Awww.

I think this is Wendy's (On a second look, it might be some Japanese fast food chain though). I'm so loyal to McDonald's here I haven't tried Wendy's yet but I ought to. Fast food that I would NEVER eat back home is amazingly delicious here. Oh, and fast too!

When the Japanese do something, they do it ALL the way. Naturally, a "Western Cowboy" themed food joint would have an Confiderate flag. You know, for that added touch. It's a pity the Japanese don't take the time to research because I'm sure, somewhere along the line, if they did, they would have realized how potentially offensive this is to certain people.

HARDER BETTER FASTER STRONGERRRRR. This shop was ridic! Lots of things like panda ski masks, Kayne's stronger glasses, skullies with 'shroom designs, little knick knacks. Sort of like Chicago's (actually Tokyo's) Hollywood Mirror but smaller.

Setagaya-ku is one of Tokyo’s 23 Special Wards; it has the second largest population and area, after Ota, of the 23 wards.  Near to Kanagawa Prefecture, it is seperated by the Tama River. Shimokitazawa is probably the best known entertainment/nightlife district of this area. I’m planning on heading out to Shimokitazawa for karaoke and a bar crawl to see the area when it’s at it’s best. During the daytime, it sort of reminds me of a smaller, less gaudy version of Harajuku. I recommend eating at Seven Colors resturant and bar. I had THE hands down best Spaghetti there since being in Japan. It actually tasted authentic. It was about a 700 YEN plate, to which I have to admit, they could have given me a little bit more but I’m a pretty voracious eater. There was a dope Indian resturant that had a great lunch set I think I’ll have to try out.

Over all Shimokitazawa was a lot of fun. The atmosphere definitely reminded me of being back in Chicago but I also would encourage some trips around the area, especially to Gotokuji Otera — I have to go back seeing as though I got lost and by the time I found the temple it was closed. Later that evening, I met up with some friends for shopping and karaoke in Shibuya. The following day, I took a small trip to Kawagoe for a dog show, which was ridiculous. But I ate some type of DELICIOUS sweet potatoe sweet. I didn’t get a chance to check out penny candy lane mainly because having an eight and seven year old near a place of that magnitude can be very costly, so the parentals decided steer us in the direction of some old buildings for our viewing pleasure.

I must admit, I was disappointed. Kawagoe is supposed to be OLD. And it didn’t look very old save for like one small block of buildings that were definitely from the Edo era. Other than that, it was a cute place that seemed to have caught up with modern times. After that, I came home and PASSED OUT only to awake to a great barbecue my host family and some of our neighbors had. All of the kids were middle school aged and younger, much to my dismay (I need to know more people my age!), but they were a lively bunch and we had a great time playing with fireworks. Of course, pictures will come later this week. I have homework that should have been done an hour ago…

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m slacking. Actually, I’m just really enjoying life here in Tokyo and because of the rain lately, I’ve been keeping my camera at home. Two Sundays ago, I made my way out to Ikebukuro in which myself and two friends ended up buying the most expensive meal of my life. This is why it pays to 1) read Japanese carefully, 2) ask questions if you aren’t sure about something. What we thought was going to be a 10 dollar meal (per person) ended up being a 90 dollar meal (about 30 bucks per person). Needless to say, I was horrified but the food was DELICIOUS, so I can’t complain too much.  Last Saturday night, I went out to a House club/lounge in Roppongi. It was the LONGEST night of my life. We left at around eleven and got back home Sunday morning, around seven, and it was COLD out. Fall is finally here in Japanland!

At any rate, I’ve got quite the scheduel lined up for the next few weeks, sheesh, for this month in general. This Saturday, I’m heading out to the Festival of Nations at Seisen International School. If you read Metropolis, you know what I’m talking about. It should be a lot of fun and I haven’t been to Setagaya-ku (home of Shimokitazawa, which I will most DEF be checking out) — I’m excited. Next weekend, I’m hitting up Nikko for some fall foliage photographing and R&R — college is *so* hard! But what I’m most excited about will be happening at the end of the month

I’M SEEING JUSTIN NOZUKA LIVE AT ASTRO HALL IN HARAJUKU!!! I am a hardcore Nozuka fangirl, minus the teenybopper posters and rabid foaming of the mouth when I see him on tv (well, youtube mostly). This kid put out one of the most solid albums I’ve heard this entire year. He can SANG, he can write (the entire album was written by him between the ages of 15-17; the maturity of the lyrics is suprising), and he plays the guitar. Oh yes, he’s SUPER gorgeous too. Enough said. (Please ignore the fangirl who is near passing out on the video)

Lest I forget, shout out to Black Tokyo for all the interwebz love. I truly appreciate it! On that note, please do youself a favor and check out Suzi Analog’s Mad Baby Blog. She’s DOPE, fuureal. She’s getting pretty deep into the Tokyo Hip hop scene as she’s a great vocalist/beat maker/brown girl soldier so it’s great perspective of that scene from the view of another brown girl in Tokyoland.