hairfish

I’m down to my last three days in Tokyo. On the one hand, I’m stupid excited to come home, but, on the other hand, my everyday rituals are starting to bring tears to my eyes. Looking back on the rough patch I had here a few months ago, it’s hard for any of those feelings to register anymore. I didn’t realize just how much I really love it here until, of course, it’s time for me to leave; but I think most experiences (of this sort) can do that to you.

Last Sunday, my host mom and I went out, just us two, to hang out in Harajuku. We caught a glimpse of Togo Shrine Flea Market and walked around Yoyogi Park on what seemed to be one of the colder days in Tokyo. It was really an awesome day.

I’m going to miss her so much…

Togo Shrine Antique Market happens once a month, every first Sunday of the month at Togo Shrine in Harajuku. It's well worth it too; so many treasures to find.

This guy was loads of fun. And very drunk. Just look at that smile!

Vendor's table filled with rare knick knacks and whatnots.

More goodies!

I didn't ask how much those advertisements were but I really feel like I should have bought them >_<!

Togo-jinja. The shrine is located near the intersection of Takeshita Street and Meiji Avenue, and is accessible from Harajuku Station. Besides the Antique market, Togo was really quiet but that's probably because most people were at Meiji-jinju.

Me and Megu-chan, myspacing it up :p

The pond area in Togo was really beautiful

We were feeding the koi, which I'm sure wasn't allowed, but you know. They were hungry!

Golden ginkgo trees! The leaves fall on the pavement, people walk all over it, and suddenly you've got fairy dust all over Tokyo. It's gorgegous!

Yoyogi Park! Despite the fact that visiting Harajuku on an almost daily basis for a month was my favorite thing to do, last Sunday was the first time I was actually inside of Yoyogi

People watching the Rockabillies perform and dance. They've been gathering on sundays at Yoyogi for years...

Totally posing for the camera~

Rockabilly "gang"?

Creepy, but they were nice. They did, however, scare the crap out of some small child. KAWAI SO~

See, they really were nice! Very well mannered and polite

Mama <3

Me!

Yoyogi-koen is MASSIVE huge.

That "little" hump in the background is Fuji-san, or Mt. Fuji. It was such a clear day, we could see Fuji-san as we rode the train into Saitama

Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple, located in Taito-ku’s Asakusa District. The temple is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate, and Nakamise-dori (pretty good for omiyage shopping) are also part of Senso-ji’s ground, and all are equally as infamous. Asakusa, to me, feels like Japan. Many of the buildings, however, are not that only, most being from the 50s and 60s due to the firebombing of Japan during WWII, nothing older survived; despite that, it still has that “old” feeling.

Nakamise-dori around 10am on a Saturday

Adventuring with crew in tow

Looking up at the huge lantern which has an impressive wooden carving at the bottom

Maneki-neko (good luck cats) with SOLAR POWER!

Purification ritual in Senso-ji. You have to wash your hands and your mouth before entering to pray at Buddhist temples.

All dressed up for her shichi-go-san

Bad fortunes are tied up in hopes of them not coming true. I had to tie mine up :3 lol

Incense used for good luck and for intelligence. There is a huge thing of incense buring and you walk up to it and use your hands to waft the incense over your head. This is said to make you smart. I was standing in front of that thing for a good five minutes

I don't know the significance of this particular ritual but its a pole with different colors, each one representing different Buddhist virtues I think. There was a very, very long line for this.

Inside Senso-ji, people praying, lighting cameras, tourists touristing

Kimono shop on another popular shopping dori

Clothing hanging to dry. My absolutely favorite small Tokyo detail.

Oba-chan and her dog near the Sumida River

Side street near Nakamise-dori

Creeepy...

Asking for donations, I think. Yeah, I know he looks like Rayden from Mortal Kombat.

If you go to Asakusa, shopping is best done on the side streets, away from Nakamise-dori. Food is also cheap and DELICIOUS, if you just look around a bit. I had the best curry rice for 500YEN I’ve had in Tokyo since arriving. I also managed to buy loads of omiyage for friends and family for a little under 10,000YEN ($100USD) — and I’m talking about over twelve people. Up next in sightseeing: Nikko (in a Day!), Kamakura and Enoshima (in a Day!), Tokyo DisneySea, and maybe some schoolwork in between

From 11pm to 5am, I karaoked with a group of friends in Shibuya. I highly, highly recommend trying this if you ever come to Japan. It’s a really fun experience. I usually karaoke for about two hours but it’s a nice challenge to try and do it for six whole hours. I took the challenge — and I conquered it!

Step 1: Hydrate yourself! Nomihodai karaoke, or all you can drink, during the weeknight cost us 980 yen. That's about ten dollars for six hours of karaoke plus all the Melon soda you can handle. For alcohol nomihodi, it's 1980 yen, or twenty bucks per person. -- this however is only offered during the weekend at the particular karaoke place we went to

Step 2: Everyone should participate in someway, preferably by joining in with the tambourine and sporadic yelling of song lyrics, as seen here.

Step 3: Cameras must be ready at all times to capture and record mayhem with in the karaoke room. (hide doll optional.)

Step 4: Lubricate those vocal chords!

Step 5: Sing your HEART out!

Like this.

Perhaps a more mellow approach...

Duets are always fun and encouraged

Solo air guitar to unleash the rocker within

Please feel free to bust a move

And finally, group participation is the key to a successful night of karaoke

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!

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.