I suppose I should say something about my recent trip to Japan. It just might be worth mentioning...

I mean of course it is! But since I have 438 pictures to present, this'll be like the slideshow from hell. So, let's get started.

Friday - 060317

I got out of lab early to make preparations to fly out early Saturday morning. The night before, I made a detailed checklist over what to pack. When I say detailed, I mean detailed down to which shirts I needed to bring along. Making this checklist was very necessary for me since I tend to forget something incredibly important whenever I travel. I'm not sure how many times I've had to buy a toothbrush on the road because I brush my teeth right before I head out and somehow I manage to forget to pack it. Anyway, it was my latent paranoia about forgetting my passport at home that convinced me to make this list especially detailed. I also wanted to be really efficient with how I packed my luggage since I didn't want to have to check any of it in. I remember whenever I'd go somewhere with my parents as a kid, I'd always overpack. I mean, I would use only 30% of the clothes in my luggage before coming back home. I mean, that's like 70% extra weight I was lugging around. I always hated that, so I've made it a goal to be efficient with this sort of thing.


It's all about the Yenjamins, baby. That's my term for $100 in Yen, which is roughly ¥10,000 [man en]. The exchange rate when I converted my cash was 117 yen to one dollar. I did it at the bank, and if you need to do this allow a couple of days before you fly. I mean, I had to pay an extra $20 for next-day delivery, so make sure you do this about two weeks in advance so you won't have to pay extra.

Anyway, thanks to the list I got all my packing done in about an hour and a half. While I was doing this Jess stopped by since she agreed to drive me to the airport at 5am so I can make my 7am itinerary. She's awesome. And for that, I owed her a couple of gifts [omiyage].

In return for staying at Star's apartment for free, I needed to pick up a couple of things for her that aren't available in Japan. She asked for two jars of Nutella, Maple Syrup & Brown Sugar Oatmeal, and Kudos bars. She didn't specify the amounts she wanted for the Oatmeal or Kudos bars. I managed to pick up 50 oatmeal packets and 40 Kudos bars and shoved them all into my backpack.


Saturday - 060318

Jess and I hung out until 4:40am, which was 'go time' for the airport. Meanwhile, we watched a couple of movies and had a late dinner.

We left on time and I got to the airport right on time. I owed her. Good stuff. Getting to the terminal wasn't a hassle. There was no line to the e-ticket kiosk and they didn't ask me to take off my shoes at the metal detector. The only hitch was when my backpack was scanned through the x-ray machine. They scanned it twice. So they've never seen 50 packets of Oatmeal, 40 Kudos bars and two jars of Nutella taken on a flight before? Geebus, it's a long flight. I might get hungry.

So then I take a one hour flight on a puddlejumper to Newark, NJ, wait three hours and then take a 777 straight to Narita airport. I didn't sleep Friday night so I could have a chance to sleep on the long flight. It's always hard for me to fall asleep on an airplane since the air is so dry and constantly blowing at your face. I usually turn those things off, but then I get the pleasure of smelling the guy sitting next to me. And that guy usually tends to be the nervous one on the plane. I can tell... I can smell it... It smells like BO.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to get that good of a rest on the plane. The flight attendants kept waking me up every couple of minutes to feed me peanuts. Now I know how the noctornal animals feel at the zoo.


Sunday - 060319

I lost a day flying west over the International Date Line. Oh well, it's a day I get back when I fly east back to NY. That'll only make the travel day that much longer. Yippee!

I decided to bring new shoes for the trip. Of course when I decide to wear new shoes for the first time, that's the day everybody decides to step all over my feet. That's just great. I'll soon regret bringing these shoes.

The plane landed in lovely Narita airport and since I didn't check in any luggage, the only things separating me from the rest of Japan are the customs inspectors. While in line, I heard something a little disturbing over the intercom.

"If you have fallen ill during the course of your flight, the quarantine officer would like to have a word with you."

Quarantine officer? Sounds pleasant.

So at customs they asked me if I had any gifts to declare. I had snacks. Lots of snacks. The officer looked up at me from my bags and just told me to move along. He's not going to waste his time on oatmeal. And I wonder if anybody actually does put a check in the little boxes on the customs slip and admits they're illegally carrying marijuana into a foreign country.

Exiting customs, I found Chan standing there waiting for me. I was a bit surprised since I was expecting Star to be there. Turns out she was working late in the lab. Yeah, this becomes a recurring theme for the entire week.


Alright, so Chan and I took the train from Narita Airport towards Star's work at the Keio University Medical Campus. And if I remember correctly, it's in Shinanomachi.


Two hours later we transferred to the JR lines at the Tokyo station and we found this advertisement rather amusing.


It would've been soo much better if the sign said "FAP FAP" instead of "FAI FAP" or whatever the hell it says. I think the "WTF?" hoodie adds a nice touch to the picture. Yay, my first picture in Japan... how appropriate.


The next train we took was the Chuo-Sobu line which would drop us off at the station where Star works.


So on the way there, Star messaged Chan some directions on how to get to her lab. Too bad the directions were a little vague like "Exit the station, go two crosswalks up, turn left..." Yeah, the station had three exits. She needs to be a little more specific.

I arrived on a windy day. Chan tried to strike a Michael Jackson "Black or White" pose. The gust of wind kinda died down before I could whip out my camera and boot it up. Sad, I was.


After a couple of frustrating moments, we managed to get Star out of the lab to meet us outside of the train station. I promptly handed her a couple of business cards and we were on our way back to her lab.


We shared a moment in the elevator. What the hell am I looking at?

So at the lab, she gave me the quick tour of the facility. Looking around at all the equipment and tools, everything was disturbingly familiar. Even though I was in a foreign country, I grew up around this stuff. There was a Rainin Pipetman, a Beckman Ultracentrifuge, Eppendorf Tubes, 50ml Conicals, yadda yadda.

My first Japanese exam in nearly a year and a half happened here. After a quick introduction, a conversation started between Star's coworkers and myself. Trying to talk in Japanese reminded me how much I've forgotten over the months. And like most languages, the less you use it, the easier it is to forget it. That was tough and painful.

She then handed me the JR map in romaaji which saved my life several times throughout the course of the week. Love the thing.


I'm not exactly sure where we went, but the next objective was to get some dinner. Star's co-workers suggested a ramen place a couple of stops over.


The food was great. I haven't had good ramen in a long time. Not since the last time I went to Takohachi back in Seattle before moving to NY.


Obligatory 'peace sign' shot.


We took the train back to Star's place in Asagaya. Her place is a 15-minute walk from the station. When we got there her roommate, Ikue, was still awake.


I had already dropped off the Kudos Bars at her lab and I dumped the Oatmeal out at her place. My backpack was now empty, awesome!


Fifty packets of oatmeal is a buttload of oatmeal.

So then we walk across the street to the 7-11 to buy some alcohol. I wanted to take my camera but Star protested with 'It's just 7-11.' I left my camera back at the apartment. On the way there I was explaining how something 'picture worthy' was going to happen now that I didn't bring my camera. "I know I'll want to take a picture of something. Something like... THAT!" I found a shelf of Final Fantasy XII potions sitting amongst the energy drinks. Chan took a look over and replied with "Holy shit!"

We picked up one can of Chu-Hi each for some mild alcohol-induced buzz action.


Chan and I picked up two potions each. These things cost ¥200 a piece. So, that means the Yen to Gil ration is 4:1. Well, that's if potions are still 50Gil in FFXII They tasted awful, but it's an energy drink, right? mmm, potions and vodka...

So I found them first, but Chan was able to upload and report it first. I lose at the internet.


Chips and cheap liquor. Life is good.


Obligatory alcohol, potion and alcohol shot.

Chan made his way home around 11pm. You don't want to miss the last train in Tokyo or else you're boned. Trains stop running for the night around midnight. Chan's host family is in Musashi-Sakai, a couple miles east of Asagaya.

So then Star broke out the new Futon and gave me a spare key to her apartment so I can officially crash at her place. Star is TEH awesome! She even injured herself making the spare key. She da man!... or the equally (if not more) awesome female equivalent.

Monday - 060320



So Star got up real early to go to work and I ran out to meet with Chan. I decided to take the train down to his station and not pass the gates so I won't have to buy two tickets on the way to the Tokyo Station. I is a smart!


This is the north exit of the Asagaya train station facing west.


North exit again facing northwest.


North exit facing east.


The platform with an oncoming train.


The Tokyo train station.


More of the Tokyo train station. This is the Marunouchi (west) side.


Chan and I were planning to see the gardens at the Imperial Palace.


After quickly checking a map, we started west towards the Imperial Palace. This highway runs along the eastern side of the grounds.


Straight ahead to the gate indicating an entrance to the palace grounds.


The first moat surrounding the outside wall.


Moat swans guard the emperor against invaders.


We decided to check out a little plaza on the way to the gardens entrance. I have a lot of pictures of this fountain, so if you can't see much in this picture, don't worry about it.


On the catwalk...


The fountain thingy again.


A building on the edge of the palace grounds.


Tokyo Tower to the south of the palace grounds.


That outer building again with more buildings in view.


If you can read that little tag on the left side, the imperial gardens are closed for the day. We didn't take into consideration that most of the touristy stuff is closed on Mondays.


Yay, the main gate... which I can't enter.


Yay, the main gate... which Chan can't enter.


Tokyo's skyline is ever changing. Buildings get torn down regularly only to be replaced with even taller buildings. This one's got four cranes so there's a chance it'll be completed before it'll have to get torn down.


Nijubashi.


The southeast moat. They ALL keep the black knight at bay.


A little park just south of the Imperial Palace.


Me plus fountain.


Fountain.


Chan plus fountain.

I'm not sure why we took pictures here. Well, it is pretty.


So we were on our way towards Tokyo Tower. We weren't sure how far away it was. We just knew that we could see it in the distance and we were going to move in that direction. The thing is farther than it looks.


I just had to. It just felt like the right thing to do.


Chan was encouraged to do the same.


And then we turned around.

"Hey look, a Buddhist temple! Let's check it out"


A pebble garden surrounding a walkway lined with paper lilies.


The entrance to the temple on the other end of the walkway.


The view down the street from a raised crosswalk. And then I realized if I had taken the picture from the adjacent crosswalk, it wouldn't be in my way now, would it?


The other side of the crosswalk... without a crosswalk in the way.


Tokyo tower. Almost there.


Really almost there.


Dog statues at the base of a tower support.


This is the northeast view from the tower.


This is the northwest view.


The north view.


The northwest view again.


The western view. The day wasn't clear enough to see Mt. Fuji from here.


The southern view.


The southeast view.


The eastern view.


The northeast view again.


Chan horribly backlit in the tower.


Me horribly backlit in the tower.


The lower observation deck.


The view looking up through the tower's struts. Can't do this at the Statue of Liberty now, can ya?

We then walked down to the Roppongi area. Apparently they say the area in Roppongi that isn't near the Mori building is ghetto. Well, obviously they haven't visited South Salina in Syracuse.

We stopped at a Cold Stone for some ice cream. All this walking was starting to take its toll and we needed a break. The line for Cold Stone wrapped around the corner and took about forty minutes to get to the register. The employees still sing for tips in Japan so I made them sing for 50 Yen. That's right, I did that.

I don't know why but for some reason Chan didn't want to share a cone with me. Geez, what's up with that? We'd just start on the sides and meet in the center. What's wrong with that? Haha.

Yeah, I think I officially grossed him out. And at that moment, we coined the new term "Dude, that's hella Brokeback." And it works.


After the break, we then walked our way out to Roppongi Hills, namely the Mori Building. In the plaza, there's a spider sculpture that was pretty creepy.


It's even worse when you get up close. That 'abdomen' is full of freaking eggs. Freakin' ostrich-sized eggs. That's just great.


Entrance into the mall.


Looking back out towards the plaza.


A couple floors down to the indoor plaza.


Tokyo Tower from Roppongi Hills.


We then made our way back to the train station and hit up Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics district, known to the locals as 'Akiba'. Since Chan lost his precious on a ski trip, he needed to find a new precious.


Yeah, we were in Akihabara while there was still light outside. It's all about checking out Akiba once night falls and it lights up.


Electronic stores and arcades dominate these buildings.


Now THAT'S an arcade.


Waiting for 'walk'.


Networked Virtua Fighter 4 machines.


A Nightmare Before Christmas UFO catcher in Don Quijote.


The Final Fantasy XII store. That can't be its real name, but it's the name we lovingly dubbed it. We checked out the store to find 'premium potions' or 'Hi-Potions' which we eventually settled on calling them.


As the sun started to set, the shops and signs started to light up.


Yay for Gundam.


The stores light up real good, but it's hard to get a good picture since overall light isn't that bright.


Since Chan was looking for a new Point and Shoot camera, I started talking about my latest obsession, the Cybershot T9. We hit a couple of camera stores and after a while, I could tell he was all over it too. If the T1 was sexy, the T9 is sex. That's it, it's 'SEX'. He swore to come back for it.


Next, we hopped a train to Shinjuku in hopes of meeting up with Star for dinner. Shinjuku bustles at night.


I took this picture because the sign reads 'dick' in katakana.


I swear every other building in Tokyo within a block of a train station has a TV glued to its side.


We walked along a couple of streets to kill some time. Star wasn't answering her cell so we had no idea when and where to meet her.


Alleyways and blocks of buildings are made as flashy as possible to try and attract customers.


A lot of buildings are leased on a floor-by-floor basis. These signs tell you what you're going to find on each floor.


The buildings light up and the people make their way to the streets.


Movie theater to the right and bowling alley straight ahead.


The crosswalks are loco this side of town.


Star finally called back and said she was stuck at work. So then Chan and I started to look for food. We checked out the Takashimaya Times Square building. It was already around 10:30 at this point and the restaurants close shop around this time. As we were making our way around, the closed signs would spring up as we got close. I swear this had to be scripted or something. As we were leaving the building, we spotted a 'dirty' ramen cart right outside. "Why not?" we thought. Then we had some dirty ramen love.


Star thinks these carts are gross, hence the 'dirty' part. Even though she's never tried one, she still insists. Oh well, she's missing out.

Alright, so I admit that I got lost on the way back to Star's apartment from the train station. I thought I was walking down the right road when I should've made a left at the fork. Maybe if Japan had road names it would be a little easier to find places. Well, I did find a little shopping district in southern Asagaya. I stuck around and did some window shopping. All I really needed was a permanent marker for my burned mini-CDs for my camera. I was out an extra hour and a half or so just mulling around. I found a marker and made my way back to the apartment. I stopped by the 7-11 and picked up three potions and a Chu-Hi with my 'spare change'.

That's my problem with coins. I hate carrying them around so I tend to spend them just to get rid of them. The thing is that in Japan, coins go up to ¥500, or the $5 equivalent. The smallest bill denomination is ¥1000. So as I plunk my change into a vending machine, it's always right afterwards when I think to myself "Hey, I just spent five bucks." Yeah it's bad. If the US does something like this, people like me will give the economy a little boost. At least until we run out of change.


So I come home to find Star hitting the Plum Wine and Sake hard. I finished my Chu-Hi and partook in the wine/sake drinkage. I was soo tired that I was starting to get a mild buzz off of a few cups.


If Star was gone, then Ikue had been missing for days. She drank herself asleep... on the floor. But it's alright since it was under the kotatsu. Star had a reason to drink. She thought she had Tuesday off work, but the boss said she had to come in. That's just great. Exactly what she needs.

I also learned why I shouldn't have brought new shoes to Japan. Especially if I was planning to do a lot of walking. Stupid things aren't broken in yet and my feet were in incredible pain. I seriously stayed off them for the rest of the night. I crawled around the apartment if I had to. I just blamed it on the drunken-ness. I slept well that night. I was out within five seconds of the lights going out, or so I was told.

Tuesday - 060321

Star had this day all planned out for a while, which is why it really pissed her off when her boss told her that she had to go to work. It's a freakin' holiday. Well, she ran off to work early in the morning so she could get everything done by noon. She had to cancel plans of visiting an onsen (hot spring) and picking strawberries with her labmates. The only activity she could keep was to play tennis with them for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

The plan was to meet up with her at the Ikebukuro train station at 12:30pm, the west exit next to the police station. So I slept in and I left the apartment at 11am to give me some allowance for mistakes or something. Good thing I did because since it was a holiday the Chuo line wasn't running (the train I'm used to) and I had to take the Sobu. Well, one thing I didn't know was that the Tozai runs on the same tracks as the Sobu and I unknowingly jumped aboard.

I figured things were fishy when the train wasn't stopping at the stations I thought it was going to. After comparing my romaaji map with the stations we were stopping at, I figured it was the Tozai line. I got off at Takadanobaba and took the Yamanote to Ikebukuro. Had I known that I could've purchased a transfer ticket, I would've. Instead I bought a separate ticket and it cost me like ¥400 to get there. D'oh desu!


So there I was at Ikebukuro station finally. I then remembered about the west exit in front of the police station. I was at a west exit, but there wasn't a police station around.


I ran back into the station to look for another west exit. There are like six of them. Great. Luckily I found a map outside of one of the west exits that indicates a police box right outside a neighboring exit. I made my way towards it. 12:20 passes... no Star. 12:30 passes... no Star. 12:40 passes... no Star.

I then called up Chan to figure out where he is. It's funny what he told me. It turns out he's also at a west exit next to a police station. I got the specific exit he was at and made my way there. So then we waited. Star didn't pick up her phone until 1:00. She said she was running late and she's going to be at the west exit in front of a police station, McDonalds, bank, and Nova banner. We were there, and we didn't see her. After walking around, we found the one she was at. Turns out that the exit we were at and another one a block away are nearly identical. Very strange. McDonalds, bank, Nova banner and everything. Frustrating.


So then we met up with her labmates in McDonalds.


I swore to myself that I didn't go to Japan just to eat at McDonalds. I don't even eat it back home.

Well, after the rendezvous, we walked towards the tennis court. The court is on the roof of an eight-story building. Impressive.

I was in the mood to play a bit, despite my still-aching feet from walking around the day prior. However, my spirits were suddenly shot to hell and I didn't feel like doing much anymore. At least I got to get off my feet for a couple of hours.

Chan was funny. He was out for blood. He had his suit on and his shots centered. It looked like he was about to hustle these other guys. It was great. I sat back and relaxed. Tried my Japanese with the labmates on the bench. I suck at the Japanese. These guys are into research and naturally they'd ask what I do in lab. Yeah, it's hard enough to explain in English, it's just about impossible for me to attempt to explain it in Japanese. That didn't turn out so well.

After tennis, I stuck with the pack since I heard murmurings of lunch. Chan went back home to shower. I was hungry and I was very ready to eat. It was a little disappointing for me when we filed into a bakery for cakes. I didn't really want to fill up on cake. I had one slice and followed Star home. She too was hungry and we stopped for some tenpuradon in Asagaya.

When we got back to Star's apartment, Chan wanted to meet me in Akihabara. I scuttled off to the train station and boarded the Sobu towards Akiba. Chan's been waiting and he was excited to purchase the sex. The sex being the camera. None other but the SONY DSC-T9. He got a pretty good deal out of it. About ¥44000 for the black camera with a 1gb Memory Stick. Thanks to my passport to make it duty free... and loaning ¥20000 of my money... Oh well, I got him hooked on the damn thing and I also wanted to see it.

He summoned up his friends from Waseda to meet him at Shinjuku since it was his birthday. They called back a couple of minutes later and told us to meet them in Takadanobaba instead.

So then we hop a train there and we're waiting for them again. Turns out one of them is waiting for a soccer game to finish before heading out. Ok... so we waited at McDonalds for them.


After a while, they pull up on a bus and we walked around town looking for a Nomihodai (all you can drink).


After checking out several places, some of which were packed and others too late to be worth it, we settled on a nomihodai which included a full course dinner.

At this point, I was becoming real impatient. I was also feeling under the weather. I also already ate. I didn't really feel like staying out. I thought about it and I wasn't sure if I could stay out without getting really sick the next day. So then I called it a night and went back to Star's.


I helped him get the sex (T9, that is), but I wasn't up to staying out. As soon as I got back to the apartment, I was out.

Wednesday - 060322

I woke up early this morning since I passed out pretty early the night before. I woke up before Star did. I was up, but I didn't get out of bed until she did. It's cold out there.

So I've fallen into the habit of watching the news in the morning under the kotatsu with Star and Ikue. Japanese news is a lot different that what they have in America. I'm used to "20 dead, blah blah blah...", "Suicide bombers in Iraq, blah blah blah...", "Multiple car pileup, 7 dead, blah blah blah..." "Inferno engulfs orphanage blah blah blah..." In Japan, the big story is that there's a radish growing through the sidewalk in Tokyo. The cherry blossoms in Ueno park have 7% bloomed. And Japan wins the First World Classic. It's a completely different atmosphere compared to what I'm used to. Apparently nobody dies outside of suicide or natural causes in the country. That's real super. That and the commercials are something else. If there was a channel that showed nothing but Japanese commercials, I think I'd just might watch it.

I was wondering if Chan had connections to get us on a Japanese game show. That would've been interesting. We'll be playing for plane tickets to Springfield while screaming "For God's sake, I don't speak Japanese!" Unfortunately, he didn't know where to get started. Oh well, it was just an idea.

My feet were feeling the same as they were yesterday. I should've bought some not-new shoes since I knew I was going to be walking around a lot all week. I hoped I wouldn't have too many problems about that.


First things first, I hit the streets of Asagaya towards the JR station. The plan was to meet up with Chan at Musashi-Sakai at noon so we can check out Asakusa.


Asakusa is the ancient shopping district of Tokyo. I didn't really come to Japan for shopping but since I need to pick up a couple of things as a 'thank you for going out of the way to drive me to the airport at 5am so I can go on this trip while you don't really have a spring break' to Jess, I might as well buy something while I'm here.


The entrance of Asakusa. It's a very touristy spot, as you can see.


They say this lantern is the most photographed object in Tokyo. Look familiar?


There's some kind of torch looking-like building down the street.


It took forever to get enough people out of the way to get a decent picture of Chan under the lantern.


And for myself as well. I had to push all the other people posing for their shots out of the freakin' way.

No, not really. Just had to wait a while.


The shopping going on just inside the gate.


All the shops have their springtime fake cherry blossom branches out for decor.


If you're looking for souvenirs, this is the place to be.


Chan and I saw our opportunity for both our pictures under the giant Asakusa lantern. A lady asked me to take her picture with the lantern in the background in broken English. I went ahead and helped out so now she owed me one. Ha! I asked her to take a picture of us under the lantern in Japanese. [Shashin wo totte moraimasuka?] Then she gave me a look that was a distinctive "Crap, I didn't have to use English with him in the first place..."

I got my picture with Chan, she got hers, the world is at peace and all is good.


Rows and rows of shops.


I wasn't exactly sure what to get Jess so I went windowshopping for a while. I eventually picked up a Kamikaze headband and a Kitsune Noh (Fox Mask). About the mask, I don't know. The shopkeeper was trying to tell me something about a curse or something, family dead, I'm not sure since I couldn't really understand him. Oh well, I'm sure Jess would like it.


A gate leading down to more shopping.


A couple of shops down here were selling yukata and I was tempted to pick one up. But then I would always think about the practicality of buying it. First of all, I'm traveling light. There will be no space in my luggage for it. Second, what am I going to do with it once I DO have it? Nothing, that's what.


Man, I'm just trying to get a picture of the gate down the aisle when some jerk gets in my shot. What's up with that?


There we go, but it could be better.


We got closer to the gate. Once we got past the shops, it's a lot easier to see the temple grounds.


There's a shrine to the right.


And there's a six story pagoda to the left.


I'm not sure what this is, but I got a picture of it anyway.


Man, jerk in my shot again. Facing back towards the shops.


Through the gate and here's the temple on the other side.


A better view of the pagoda.


Here you can buy Omikuji which will tell you what kind of luck you'll have in the future.



A giant sandal for some kind of god-like foot, I assume. That and another jerk in my shot.


A giant incense burning pot thingy. I'm not an expert, but they were wafting the smoke towards them. I assume that's a good thing.


The pot again with bonus complete pagoda in the background. Oh yeah.


A fountain next to the temple.


A better look at the statue. I'm not sure who it's supposed to be.


The front of the temple.


The view off the temple steps facing the gate.


The temple grounds.

We then left the temple in search of food. We found a little restaurant not too far away.


After having katsudon for a late lunch, we started walking towards Ueno park.


We stumbled across this gate on the way to Ueno. I believe there's a shrine at the end of it but I can't really say for sure since we didn't stop to check it out.


What really got me was its location. It was smack dab amongst some significantly taller buildings. It's was like a little sanctuary amongst the hustle and bustle.


There's another Final Fantasy XII store in Ueno. How many can there be?


Cars travel on like the other side of the road and stuff. That's like weird or something.


This is the highway that runs through Ueno


Well, then we got to the park and things looked promising. The trees at the park entrance were in bloom. I was excited about the rest of the park and the rest of its thousand plus trees.


A lot of other people were out with their cameras too.


However, a look into the park's main walkway was a little disappointing. (mada sakimasen.)


I guess this is what the news meant by 7% blossomed. The other 93% are the rest of the park. Who makes up these statistics anyway? Even the jerk in my shot is disappointed.


Well, the lanterns were pretty, though.


In Ueno park, there's a shrine on an island in the middle of a lake.


The little food vendors were out in full force to take advantage of the Ohanami (flower viewing).


Well, we found two more trees along the path in bloom.


Might as well get its picture while we're here.


I find this picture to be strangely hypnotizing. It looks two-dimensional, like shattered glass.


There were a few trees blossoming in white.


The majority was almost there but not quite.


This building is a museum of some sort. We didn't really check it out.


Since the majority aren't blooming, I decided to go macro crazy with the camera. After Chan got into it, I noticed more people started doing this too.


I was holding the camera above my head on outstretched arms trying to get the camera as close to the blossoms as I could.


Then I got a little smarter and decided to pull the branch down to get them closer to the camera.


I hope I wasn't instigating some kind of curse onto my family for manipulating the trees to get a better shot.


Froggie water fountain.


More macro goodness.


You can see the little pink veins that run through the petals. Maybe I've been in lab for too long, but they're looking like mouse ears to me.


The trees at the entrance decided to make with the blossoms before the rest of the park.




Ueno park and its sponsors. As if the orange lanterns weren't enough.

The standard thing to do while observing the cherry blossoms is to bring a blanket, some sake and something to eat and just hang out underneath a tree for the afternoon. Since most of the trees haven't bloomed yet, not that many people partook in Ohanami that day. I do remember seeing a group with a Chafing dish set up underneath a tree. I hope your blanket's fire retardant.


The park was a little disappointing seeing how most of the trees haven't blossomed yet. I needed to return to this park later on in the trip to check it out again. Maybe more trees will be done in a couple of days.


We walked back to the JR station which is just across the street from the park.


Hey the train's coming for the Yamanote line. Too bad there's some jerk in the shot.

Ha, the jerk in the shot was a recurring theme for the day. I was in just about as many of his shots as he was in mine if not more often. It was all about spontaneous photo opportunities and when it comes down to that, you don't really have time to tell people to get out of the way or else you'll be doing that all day.


The next area to check out was Harajuku. Chan mentioned that this area was the place to be on Sunday morning. I'd have to check it out right before my flight out.


This is the view to the north of the Harajuku station off the pedestrian bridge.


Across from the station.


And then the station itself.


We started down the street and checked out the Harajuku Condomania. There's a bunch of weird shit in there. The little store was a little too cramped and crowded to stay in there very long. The most interesting item has to be the condom in a walnut. It's a normal-loooking walnut but there's a condom inside for whatever reason, intent or purpose.


Crossing the street and mixing with the crowds.


Oh yes, the crowds. No this isn't some kind of casual marathon, it's rush hour and the sidewalks are packed.


Well, it seems there was a celebrity interview going on right inside this building.


Omotesando Hills is a mall in the Harajuku area. It's real expensive. I could only afford to go window shopping. Besides, I didn't really bring along a lot of money with me in the first place.

After Harajuku, we went back to Musashi-Sakai since I was invited to have dinner with Chan's host family. Walking back to his house, it had started to rain and it was picking up. By the time we got there, we were pretty damp. It wasn't too bad.

Chan's host mom handed out a couple of dry towels and after some sit-down time, dinner was underway. Dinner was truly extravagant. We had sashimi, salad, yakiniku, steamed bamboo shoots, steamed asparagus, broiled eggplant, fried mushrooms, some large peas whose name I've forgotten, a potato-like vegetable that I've had before but can't remember the name, and rice. It was incredibly good. And to top it off, we had pastries and fruits for dessert.

Once again, I was struggling with my Japanese but it has been all slowly coming back to me over the week. The boy in the family is amusing. I think they keep him busy with extracurricular activities so he'll burn out his energy before he gets home. And the father doesn't stress his syllables which is something I need and that made it hard for me to determine what he was trying to say. I did what I could. Chan helped out a bunch with my explanations. And then of course, the topic turned to where I work and what I do in lab. Yeah... about that. [Eigo de setsumei shinikui. Soshite, nihongo de setumei dekimasen. Sono kotoba wo zenzen benkyou shimasen.] It's too hard, I didn't know any of the right words to explain it. I can say I do research. [kenkyuu shimasu.] But I can't really describe it. And that's all I have to work with.

I think we impressed Chan's host family since he hangs around with graduate students. I explained how I was staying at Star's and she's also a grad student. [tensai saakuru] Genius club.

After dinner, Chan's host mom was kind enough to drive me back to the train station since it was still pouring rain. However, once I made it to Asagaya I had to brave the elements once again.

Speaking of driving, Chan mentioned to me how awesome the drivers are in Japan. Earlier in Asakusa, he pointed out how the elementary school kids have to wear yellow hats. It's so they can be more visible. I suppose enough kids got hit by cars to instigate such legislation. Driving in Japan is that awesome. Awesome to the max. Hmm, unless it's just a preventative measure. Well, the roads weren't originally built for cars so sometimes the clearance to the sides of a vehicle may be two inches per side. That's a pretty tight squeeze. Also, the roads aren't exactly straight, so there are many, many blind corners.

I was kinda hoping that I would still have some time to go out into the city after dinner. Dinner started at 6-ish but then we were all done by around 9:30-10. It's not that big of a deal. I also wasn't sure where I wanted to go if I had the time. I made my way back to Star's and called it a night.

Thursday - 060323


Crunky:
"Enjoy the luxurient moments with the elegance of this crunky chocolate biscuit."

"Enjoy the caca"

I had some extra time in the morning. I was supposed to meet Chan at the Tokyo station at 12:30 and I was up rather early. Star and Ikue had left already so I took this opportunity to take a couple of pictures.

Star needs to stop working. She gets home around 11-12-ish at night and leaves around 9am. Her working makes me sad.


So this is my mess in Star's room. My camera bag. Hair gel and toothpaste and potions in the back. MD player. Japanese grammar books. Sudoku book. Laptop. Watch. All scattered about.


My collection of potions at this point.


The 'intimidating' angle. I'm not sure why I keep taking pictures of these things. Especially since I keep buying more of them as I walk past the 7-11 to the train station. Actually, I decided to buy out all the potions from that store this morning. I saw that they weren't restocking them and there were only four left so why not?


These mirrors are nearly on every curve or intersection in rural roads. They allow you to see around the corners so you can drive awesomely and not slow down.


A little more zoomed out.


Next to one of these ubiquitous vending machines.


The pigeons... they don't fear man.

I got to the rendezvous point about an hour early.


I ran around and took a couple more pictures of the Tokyo station. I then ran around into the other buildings. Most of the surrounding buildings are for offices. The basements are interconnected and those are usually retail areas. I primarily checked out the Marunouchi building.


I ran into a Lawson's looking for coffee. I didn't know Mt. Rainier made coffee. I had to pick one up. Yep, it was alright. I've had better.


One of the statues outside of the Tokyo JR Station Marunouchi (west) exits.

I don't know who this is exactly. He was probably important or something seeing how he has a statue.


So I met up with Chan and headed west. This day was round two to try to visit the Imperial Gardens.

It's this fountain again. I said that I'd have more pictures of it. This time the large one in the back is on. I'm not sure why it wasn't working earlier.


Behind the large fountain.


Then the torrent of water shuts off and the misting weak sauce turns on.


That's right. Legend, baby. What better shirt could I have taken to the Imperial Palace?


This is how the main fountain looks like when it's on.


The outer building and the moat again.


The entrance to the gardens.


Alright, we're in!


I'm not sure what the purpose of this building is, but I thought it would make a good picture.


The gardens have many different species of plants on site. Yep, that's a palm tree up ahead.


Admission is free so Tokyoites can spend quick breaks from work in the gardens.


A teahouse.


The Cherry tree in bloom over an observation area... with a sweater on the bush ruining my shot. Whut tha hella?


A flower. Not sure what it is. I might have wrote it down somewhere... but if I did, then I have lost that as well. Oh well, enjoy the picture.


Overlooking the pond.


A different angle without a tree in the way.


An artificial waterfall.


There was a lot of crud in the pond.


Cherry blossoms over the bridge.


It took forever to get this shot in. There were a couple of people that were hanging out on the bridge for the longest time.


We had to do a quick swap while the going was clear.


The guys that were hanging out on the bridge were checking out the koi.


Cherry blossoms over the lake.


The lantern and the waterfall.


Reflection.


Another teahouse in the gardens.


An incline to the upper level of the gardens.


The inner moat.


The old foundation to a former castle.


The buildings poke up above the canopy.


This is the old stone foundation of the main tower of Edo castle which ruled Japan in the Tokugawa era.


The music hall in the upper gardens.


Tall buildings surround the gardens at all sides.


Looking down towards the lower gardens.


Dwarfed by the highrises.


The bustling city in the distance.


After checking out the gardens, we started walking towards the Ginza district, or the rich district in Tokyo.


We spotted a statue of Godzilla in a little urban park. This one's much better than the ugly American hermaphrodite freak. Yeah, I prefer the guy in the foam rubber costume knocking over model buildings.



The Fujiya building in Ginza


Down the street


The Sony building.


Down the other street.


So then we checked out the Sony building. It was a seven-story advertisement for anything and everything Sony. It's presented in a museum exhibit type fashion. For some reason there was a BMW on a turntable on the second floor. It looked out of place. I was hoping to see a PS3 shell or a Blu-Ray exhibit, but alas. No love.


But then we did see Aibo locked up in its glass coffin. I was a little disappointed leaving the Sony building. It felt more like a giant Sony store since at the end of the trail, there was a service desk where you can buy anything you've seen on the way there. I was also looking for Ken Kutaragi. I was hoping he'd be around... because I want to punch him.


Disappointed, we walked some more around Ginza taking random photographs.





Oh well, back to the JR station.


We came back to Akihabara for some Hi-Potion love. The sun was setting and the buildings were starting to light up.


Gotta love the escalator/hamster tubes.



The usual exit we take out of the station is the electric town exit. It dumps you right in the middle of this mess.


We were feeling a little under the weather from walking around all week and needed to sit down for a bit. We stopped at a Beck's coffee here in Akiba Plaza.

Rich: Think you can go for a Hi-Potion right now?
Chan: Oh yeah.


Glass-front restaurants across the plaza.

After the coffee break we rushed the streets trying to find the best deals on high potions since Akiba is all about haggling. It turns out that individually, they're all the same price. If you want a deal, you're going to have to buy a case of the stuff. I don't need an entire case and if I did get one, I wouldn't be able to take it back with me without buying another piece of luggage. I only wanted two of them.

In the end I bought two and Chan bought two. We returned back to the station for the next destination.

In transit, we opened up the collectors cards that came with those potions. My first one was... Ashe. Alright, yay for girls. And the second one was... Vaan... In the gayest pose a guy can ever do ever. Chan opened up his cards and got the same two cards. At least none of us got Vaan twice. I'm sure he has the largest number of pictures in the 27 card set. And what are the chances of us getting the same two cards and opening them in the same order. Wow... math... moving on.

The next stop was Shibuya.


Mmm, big TV


Mmm, 2 big TVs.

Man this place is busy at night. The crowd here was dense and it was also after rush hour.


This building has a camera on the roof which is focused on the crosswalk below. It's to show the crowd how insane it looks from above.


Yes, lots of people.


Chan and I tried to get into that Starbucks for a better vantage point of the crosswalk. However, we were greeted immediately by Starbucks staff at the door. I guess you can't really come in without buying anything. I'd imagine a lot of people would want to take pictures from there.

So we just stayed on the ground and took pictures from there.




What do you want?
Fry's dog!
When do you want it?
Fry's Dog!

Actually, the story of this dog is a pretty sappy one. You can read up on the story of Hachiko if you want to.

iPods are ubiquitous.


I tried to be smart and took this picture while balancing on a concrete pillar. I managed to keep the camera still, but there's not too much of a difference between the ground shots and this one.


Chan and I then started walking down the streets of Shibuya.


The streets are just as busy as the crosswalk in front of the JR station.


They close down most smaller streets to vehicle traffic so people can run around without being worried about cars.




This is the best picture of me EVAR. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while and watching the motion blurred people in my shots reminded me about this idea so I had to try it. My neck hurt for the rest of the night. Boo.




Back at the station.

So Chan and I went back to Ueno to look for Star and Kristi. Kristi took a Shinkansen [bullet train] from Kamo since she needs to fly out of Narita Friday afternoon to visit several graduate schools.

They were having Yakiniku at a restaurant which I forget its name. Too bad we found several of them in the area and none of which had Star and Kristi dining. It was starting to get late and so we gave up on finding them (since last orders were coming up) and sought out some food for ourselves. Ah well.

Chan headed home and I met up with Star and Kristi at the Asagaya JR station. We took a taxi back to Star's apartment since Kristi was dragging her luggage around.


Snacking out in Asagaya.

After a bit of talking and catching up, we set up three Futon mattresses in Star's room and crashed for the night. I didn't think her room could fit three mattresses. Will wonders ever cease?

Friday - 060324


I slept in a bit because I can. And besides, I shouldn't be taking up the bathroom in the morning until Star and Ikue are done with it. It's not like I have to go to work or anything. So I sat around watching TV from under the kotatsu for a while. I might as well take a final picture of the potion collection.


It's not like I can buy anymore. I cleaned out the only 7-11 that I knew carried them and I don't think I'll be needing more than two Hi-Potions. So yeah, this is it.


It took me a little longer to get ready in the morning since I needed to pack some clothes and stuff for Yokosuka. I wanted to check out Ueno this morning to see if the rest of the cherry blossoms finally decided to do their thing. Kristi and I made it to the train station but the trains were all running slow. Apparently there was some kind of accident on teh Chuo line that's causing widespread delays.

Kristi was supposed to check out Ueno park this morning with me but since the trains were running slow she decided that she needs to go directly to Narita to make her flight. I saw her off at the Tokyo JR station and I made my way towards Ueno.

So the accident's effects were a little more widespread than I thought. The Yamanote line completely shut down. They didn't announce it until I've been sitting in the train for five minutes already. Well, the Yamanote line runs in a circle around Tokyo, so you I guess you can call it the main Tokyo line. It connects the smaller lines that branch out from the circle. So I took an alternate train to Ueno. It was packed to the brim. I swear that train was under pressure. One small breach in the hull will instantaneously expel humans at a rapid rate and velocity.

::shakes fist at Yamanote::


So now I came back to Ueno park to find... almost nothing's changed. Oh well, what else is there to see.



Ueno doubutsuen (zoo). Chan said this zoo makes him sad. Something about the animals being sad too or something.


More white cherry blossoms.


Reddish blossoms. I'm not sure if these are plum or wild cherry.


I still can't really tell what they are.


Well, they look nice.


This one looks like it's almost ready to bloom.


The fountain in front of the museum.


White blossom macro shot.


Mada sakura sakanai.


I guess I didn't really need to come back since they're not ready yet. This is the last chance I'll be able to get to the park before I have to fly out.


Despite the flower shortage, people still came out in numbers.


A gate with a blossoming cherry tree growing through it.


I had to run over in front of it to get a better angle.


Since I was down there, I might as well check out the shrine and the food vendors on the lake.


The stairs back to the main park.


Japanese fair food.


Something about eyeglasses and how great they are, I guess.


Not exactly sure what this marks, but it looks cool.


The shrine on the lake.


Chill with the ducks.


The city on the edge of the lake.


These ducks have black heads and yellow eyes. It's a little creepy actually.


Stone monuments.


I bought some Takoyaki from a food vendor. It translates directly to 'baked octopus' and translates roughly to 'octopus balls'. Take your pick. But they do taste better than how the rough translation sounds.


This section is looking better than the other side.




When you get an omikuji that predicts what kind of luck you're going to have, you're supposed to tie it to a tree branch to make it come true. Since sometimes there aren't enough tree branches to go around, a rack will have to do.


Just outside of Ueno park.


An outbound train from Ueno JR station. It's the Yamanote line, I can tell.


Back into the park. It seems some are breaking out their kimono today.


The popular trees at the front of the park.


A sad, sad bear. Nobody wants to hug it... so I took a picture of it.


Gates leading downstairs.


A news crew came out to report on the cherry blossoms. It's tonight's top story. I noticed that the leaves were starting to sprout on some of the trees before they're blossoming. I'm not sure how this happens, I thought there was a formal syntax to it all. But if those trees blossom, it'll be some kind of ugly leaf and flower mix.


The museum and a lady donning a kimono. She has her bento and was ready to go at it. And solid colors for the kimono, I likey.


Pedestrian walkways and raised highways in Ueno. Don't get the two confused.

So after Ueno, I took the train down to Shinagawa to meet up with Chan. Due to the widespread delays in the JR system, Chan just arrived at the station as I got there. He needed to go to Shinagawa to get his re-entry Visa since he was planning to fly back to Seattle a couple of days after my trip is over.

Well, since he was going to be waiting for a while, I grabbed some food and went ahead and took the next train to Yokohama.


I checked out the area around the station. The place definitely wasn't as busy as Tokyo and it felt a little different since I've gotten used to the controlled chaos over the past week.

This is a little alleyway leading into various small restaurants. At least that's what I think they are.


Yokohama JR station with its army of taxis ready to take you anywhere in the city.


A shopping center across from the station.


More shopping close to the rail station.


Busses and taxis circle around for their prey.


Yokohama was a little boring especially since I've been in Tokyo ever since I landed in Narita airport.


After a while, Chan showed up and we headed towards Minato Mirai. It's designed as the amusement center and tourist attraction in Yokohama. This is at Queen's Square.


The Minato Mirai train station is connected to Queen's Square. Queen's Square is pretty much a large mall.


Right outside the mall is Queen's Park. Restaurants flank the little plaza here.


I believe this ferris wheel is one of the largest ferris wheels if not the largest ferris wheel constructed. I'm not sure, I haven't been reading too much into ferris wheels lately. The thing was huge, though.

It took forever to get a good shot of this thing since night had fallen already. A tripod would've helped a lot.


This picture is of the amusement park and hotels on the waterfront of Minato Mirai.


Oh yeah, I dominated the Hello Kitty piano musical ride thingy.


Chan had his turn on the Anpan Man train ride dealy that goes side to side. Since trains... uh,... go side to side... sometimes.

After checking out the amusement park, we took the train back to the Yokohama station and started heading towards Yokosuka.

The best part of the trip there was that I caught this girl checking us out. It's real sneaky here. Some people use the reflections in the train windows to check others out. The train was rather busy so she probably thought she wouldn't get caught. It makes me feel good knowing I'm worth looking at, I guess. Or maybe she could've been thinking, 'Man, those two dudes seem to be pretty close with each other. That's hella Brokeback.'

Aww, I just made me sad.


So we reached Yokosuka and got a hold of Nikki. Since she had already eaten, Chan and I had to fend for ourselves for food. We found a restaurant that Nikki recommended and it was good stuff. I had a cutlet, tempura shrimp and shredded beef topped with a fried egg. It was like the 'Good Morning, Japan' meal or something. Tasty!


I was taking a couple of shots of the city from the elevated walkway.


I didn't think we were going to really tour this city since the primary objective was to give Nikki a visit.


We made our way toward the Naval base. Before we got to the gate, I needed to stop by a convenience store. I picked up two melon Chu-His, two melon sodas, and a melon pan. I was melon-ed out that night.

Nikki met us at the gate and she filed an overnight stay form for me. She gave a quick tour of the base which consisted mainly of the buildings leading up to her apartment. We got back to her place and we sat around and talked for a few.

It sucks Isaia couldn't be around. I was really hoping to see him again. Oh well, no love. Nikki had a long day so she went to bed after a while. I found the internet in the spare bedroom and got on it for a few hours to catch up on what I've missed. Which is why maybe I shouldn't have gotten online. Once I'm on, I can stay on it for hours doing absolutely nothing. That's where all my time goes.

Anyway, Chan and I decided that we needed to leave by 9am so we can be back in Tokyo with a full day ahead of us. Things didn't really turn out according to plan.

Saturday - 060325

So, I woke up just after 9am. Chan was still passed out. I surfed the net for a couple of minutes until Nikki got home after working out. She woke Chan up and started on breakfast. Nikki's awesome. She got it all done by the time I was all showered and good to go. French toast, breakfast sausage and fruit. We all talked about missing home and the current ongoings amongst our distant social circles. There was a melancholy and nostalgic theme over it all.

Not before long, Chan was ready to go and we headed back to the train station two and a half hours behind schedule. Nikki was kind enough to drive us there in her awesome car. Although, she hadn't learned how to drive it awesomely yet. Awesomely enough to require kids to wear yellow hats. I'm sure someday she'll learn. Nikki wouldn't let me take a picture of her since I only saw her while she was either sleeping or tired right after her morning workout. So yeah, no pictures.

Fruit is ridiculously expensive in Japan. A six-pack of strawberries has a market price of ¥1000, or about $10. However, those are probably the most perfect strawberries you'll ever see. Well, if you're from the United States at least. Each one of those strawberries are bright red from tip to stem. None of that green or white bitter, unripe crap on it. They're also swollen with their sweet, natural flavor to the size of a plum. They're absolutely perfect, but you've got to pay. Don't let me get started on watermelon prices.

So the next station we stopped at was Shinbashi. We had to come here to take the shuttle (Which pretty much is an automated train with rubber tires on an elevated track) to Odaiba.

So Odaiba is the most popular spot for dates in Tokyo. So, what are two strapping young lads doing in Odaiba together? Hanging out, that's what.


It's hard to not notice the 'miniature' Statue of Liberty. It's 'miniature' in the sense that it's smaller than the real deal but still too big to purchase and take home in your backpack.


It does look a little out of place being in Tokyo and all.


This bridge is called 'Rainbow Bridge' which has got to be the manliest name for anything ever named in all eternity.


The city past the bay.


It's funny how Odaiba was built to house cannon batteries to protect Tokyo from American naval vessels. Now it has a replica of the Statue of Liberty on the waterfront.


Aqua City and the Fuji television building.


The buildings along the waterfront.


The waterfront itself.


The walkway in front of the statue.

So then Chan and I went to check out Aqua City. It was pretty much just shops, restaurants and arcades inside.


The best part (being photographers and all) was when we got on the roof to take a couple of pictures.

The big city in the distance


The rainbow bridge that connects Odaiba with the rest of Tokyo. Three highrise buildings in construction in the distance. I told you the skyline keeps changing.


A miniature shrine on the roof dedicated to the Kitsune, or fox spirits.


Kitsune to the left.


What is this?!?! Is this a shrine for ants?!?! It has to be at least.... three times this size!!


Kitsune to the right.


We noticed that this boat was getting PWND by the birds. We didn't know what the guys on the boat were doing to aggravate those seagulls but it must've been big. The only help I could give them from here was to take a picture. To preserve their memory in a way, once this is all over.


The observatory atop the Fuji Television building.


Aqua City.


Rainbow Bridge in the distance.


The Telecom Center building with more construction going on to the left of it.


Up into the Fuji Television building.


Another Ferris Wheel. These things are all over Japan, I guess.


The giant clock with the actual time in the plaza of the Fuji Television building.


The giant clock with the actual time in the plaza of the Fuji Television building touching me... in places.


Inside the Fuji Television building we found KAO-MAN, or 'FACE-MAN'. It was too freaky to pass up this photo opportunity. I think it had to be the hair on its legs that got me. The world will rue the day it escapes from its stasis chamber.


A service robot... with uh, 'happy ending'.


The pirate ship from One Piece.


Taking the escalator down to leave the Fuji Television building.


A fancy schmansy park taken off the Odaiba shuttle at one of its stops.


Another shot of the ferris wheel from Palette Town.


A public interview of various celebrities. It may have been broadcast over the radio since I didn't really see any television cameras. When we came back later, they were interviewing Angela Aki. She sings the main theme of Final Fantasy XII


Inside Venus Fort. The building's theme is some kind of ancient Roman motif.


The mall is eerily similar to Caesar's Palace down in Las Vegas. The ceilings were painted to look like the sky and the Romanesque architecture deliver a striking resemblance.


The fountain again from ground level. Star says they're planning to tear this place down soon. Nothing really indicated any trouble. This was one of the busiest buildings we visited in Odaiba.


There is a mango store there.


We checked out the Toyota showroom next. That place was pretty fun. This is a display informing people about the benefits of owning hybrid vehicles. However, it didn't explain why the first batch of hybrid cars were the epitome of butt ugly.


This is the Toyota hybrid engine.


The Genki Supra.


Another Supra. And this one you can climb inside. Woo-hah!


Formula racers, Go Karts and other fun stuff.

So here we were in line to check out the theatre. Basically, the seats are hydraulically powered and synchronized with some dude playing Gran Turismo on bumpercam. I need one for home.


Chan being pimp on the MR5.


"Wan wan, wan wan!!"


Toyota racing concept.


Toyota personal transportation concept. Extra style points for the rimless wheels. However, minus practicality points at the same time. Besides, who wants to be seen driving around town in something that looks like a transparent athletic cup on four wheels.


Toyota Passenger car concept.


You could drive around just about any commercially available Toyota vehicle for ¥300. We declined. I think if you drive it they expect you to buy one or something.


Teleport bridge.


The Tokyo Big Sight Building. It pretty much houses several convention centers.


Up close.


Screw Sakuracon. The Tokyo International Anime Fair was underway. I can almost guarantee that nobody would bring up the phrase "Are you genki?" in conversation at this convention. It was like ten bucks to get in so yeah,... moving on.


I assume there was a photography or digital imagery convention going on in the Tokyo Big Sight that day. I base my assumptions on seeing a lot of people leaving the building with expensive cameras and carrying Kodak, Sony or Canon bags. That's right, I can put two and two together.

So we left the building and we walked towards the Panasonic Center.


The Panasonic Center was pretty neat. Unlike the Sony building, they actually put some Blu-Ray players and discs out for display. It was another showroom, but it also covered the histories of various product lines. For some reason, there was a complete brontosaurus skeleton in the middle of a showroom. I also didn't know Panasonic makes the LCD screens for the last several incarnations of Nintendo's portable systems. Interesting...


Chan and I walked back to the Tokyo Big Sight since that's where the shuttle stop is. Since the sun was setting, we climbed its stairs to the upper plaza for some photographs. Since a lot of people were running around with big, expensive cameras (there has to have been a convention, I swear!) they whipped theirs out for the photo op as well.


It was funny. There was this girl trying to take a picture of the sunset with a huge and obviously expensive camera. Chan waited a second before walking through her shot. From her reaction, it seemed she took the picture while Chan was in her frame. Ha!

Funny, it seems I have something sexy stuck to the end of my lens


The sun was setting quickly. We got on the next shuttle and we were supposed to get off at the stop before Rainbow Bridge so we can engage in the very heterosexual activity of walking down Rainbow Bridge together as we're leaving Odaiba. But alas, since it was a late shuttle the thing was packed and we missed the stop. We couldn't push our way out the door before it closed. Oh well.


We got a hold Of Star and decided to meet up with her in Shinjuku. She told us she was on the seventh floor of the Tokyu entrance in the Takashimaya building. We easily found her and she had bought me a 5ml syringe for some reason. I don't know. The next item on the agenda was to look for some food.


After a lot of discussion and uncertainty we found a Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) tabehodai (all you can eat).


Star actually had the day off on Saturday. I was impressed. The same way I was impressed how she got off work early enough on Thursday to pick up Kristi in Ueno.

Little known fact: at UW Star and I were in the Microbiology club, the Microphiles. (Not to be confused with microphallus.) She was the club president as I was the vice-president. Forever united in nerdiness, we are.


Chan was supposed to move the camera further to the left to achieve the desired effect. I guess the wall was in the way or something. Another great idea flushed down the tube.


Mixing up the batter and other ingredients for her ebi (shrimp) okonomiyaki.


Flipping the okonomiyaki takes some mad skillz. Of course, I was the only one to mess one up that night.


Hold up. She flipped Chan's for him?!? That's soo cheating.


Taking a hardcore photo with the okonomiyaki spatula. Yea-yeah!


For our second rounds, I got a mix, Star got monjyayaki and Chan got cheese.


Monjyayaki is a runny okonomiyaki. I don't think it uses batter which is what firms up regular okonomiyaki. It looks like fried barf. And I thought Japanese food was all about presentation.


Oh yeah, that's a good stuff.


We all returned to Asagaya and bought some Chu-His on the way home. Since this was my last night in Tokyo, we needed to get together and celebrate a bit.


Apparently, I'm a toilet.


"Ganpai, bitches!"


Ooh, breaking out the snacks.

Chan left for home soon afterwards so he wouldn't miss the last train and get boned.

I started re-packing my stuff for my departure the next day. Star was passed out. She told me to wake her up in ten minutes so she can change and properly get ready for sleep. It took me a while to finish packing since I needed to remember everything that I needed to bring back with me so I wouldn't forget something behind. (And that's something I'm good at.)

Something was amiss. I couldn't find the gifts for Jess I bought in Asakusa. I searched her room for it (which only took me 5 seconds). Then I thought Kristi might have packed it with her stuff Friday morning. Ah crap. But then I remembered her luggage was way across the room from my stuff. Then I remembered seeing the giant garbage bag in the kitchen and the bag from Asakusa was tied off and next to my duffel which was next to the garbage can in the room. A quick search of the garbage bag revealed the omiyage (souvenirs). Alright, safe!.

So repacking took about an hour longer than I had planned. It was time to wake Star up. It was tough. She had already crossed the point of no return. So she'll kick my ass if I didn't wake her up and she'll kick my ass if I did wake her up. Classic Catch 22.

It took me five minutes to get her talking and another ten to convince her to get up to go prepare to sleep. She was wide awake for a bit after washing her face. Funny thing is that she doesn't remember the ten minutes of talking before she got up. Hmm.

We stayed up for a bit and talked about boys. It was a bonding experience. Well, we also talked about other stuff. And I must admit that confessing weakness for me isn't something that I can do to anybody. I don't feel enough people treat me seriously enough to trust with such things. I've had this backfire on me in the past and I've been pretty apprehensive with such information ever since. That's why Star's so awesome. Maybe she doesn't remember what we talked about that night so I don't have to worry about it. heh.

Sunday - 060326

Alright, up and early. Since I wasn't returning before going to the airport, I collected all my belongings and lugged it all to the train station. Since it was a weekend, the Chuo line wasn't running and I had to take the Sobu line to the Yamanote line to get to Harajuku.


So Sunday around noon is when the gothic lolitas show up at Harajuku.


These girls spent the equivalent of hundreds if not thousands of dollars for these outfits.


Some design their clothing to be cute while others scary.


Many photographers, especially foreign ones, come here to take pictures of these girls. I mean if they didn't want their picture taken, why would they wear such outfits and show up in the first place?


But, I've always found it nicer to ask rather than run up to them with the lens out and aimed at them.


But sometimes I would just jump in if there was already a group snapping away.


I never really wanted my picture up there amongst them since it seems so unprofessional. I don't really consider myself professional in the first place so that's a little internal conflict right there.


The two on the left have retained more of the classical gothic lolita look. Originally it borrowed from the Victorian era style. However as styles and trends go, things always shift around to different looks.


I took a little break from photographing these girls since I was there pretty early. Unless I wanted to take several pictures of the same ten or so girls, I thought I should wait for a couple more to show up before jumping into the photo-happy crowd again.

So this is a gate leading to a temple in Yoyogi park.


I didn't really wander off too far since I was still looking for Chan in the area and he was looking for me.


I climbed the pedestrian bridge and took a couple of pictures of the ruckus below.




Some of them may look scary but if you'd talk to them (politely, of course) you'll realize a lot of them are really nice. It's kinda weird since it contradicts the visual style in a way.


Chan also mentioned that the bigger the camera you have, the better the chance they'll pose for a picture for you.


I'm not sure why the 'big camera' rule is in effect, but I've seen several people with point and clicks ignored by some girls.


The way I was asking for a picture was: "Anoo, sumimasen desu ga... Shashin wo totte mo ii?" (Well, excuse me... alright if I take a picture?)

It may have been a little too formal. Well, I've never met these people earlier so I just stuck with it. It seemed to work though.





I liked the white motif since it was so different from what everybody else was doing. I asked if I could have their friend in the back up with them but she was on the phone. Oh well.


Actually, it took me a while to get a picture of these two. Some old man dragged the girl on the left away from her friends and took like 50 pictures of her. Strange...


Hanging out.


More file into the area.


The pedestrian bridge with Japanese and American flags lining the avenue.


Fixing the makeup, bandages or whatever.


I really liked this one. Actually, I was hoping to see a dark kimono before arriving at Harajuku. And it was everything I've ever dreamed of or something.


Onlookers gathered atop the pedestrian bridge.


There were a lot of tourists checking out the area.


There was this one girl that was surprised that I could speak Japanese when I asked if I could take a picture. "Aa, Nihongo shirabeta!" I don't look that foreign, do I?


There was this one lady that was there who was an obvious tourist. She was pulling around a standard sized rolling piece of luggage. The thing was that she'd open it occasionally and you'll see several high-end cameras in there. She'd switch them out every so often. Dood, she was a pro.


More and more file their way towards here.


So then friends show up and I have to get another picture with everybody.


The crowds thicken.


Obligatory loli shot submitted for approval from these guys.


Bye bye, Harajuku. It's been fun.


Waiting for the first of many trains that'll deposit me at the airport.

Since Chan still had to make preparations for his trip back to Seattle/Bremerton, he couldn't see me off at the airport. It's all good.


Star took me all the way to Narita airport. It's about two hours away from downtown Tokyo by train. On the way to the airport, you get so see some really rural sights.


You get to see some places with some land available for a little farming.

And that's the end of the pictures (thank goodness!)

I would like to thank Chan and Star for being TEHSUPRAWESOME!! Star you work way too much and it makes me sad. Thanks for giving me a place to bunk up and get in your way being inconvenient and everything. Chan, thanks for letting me drag you around the city for an entire week. I know it was tiring after just Monday, but thanks for being there and showing me around. It felt like I condensed a two week vacation into seven days.

I've had some overall impressions from the trip. It wasn't really so much of a culture shock since I've been to Japan seven years ago and I've taken various classes and from those I had a feeling of what to expect. Seven years ago, when I went in Spring 1999, it was a very touristy visit. It was so superficicial seeing the things that are prepped and meant for tourists' eyes. This time I got to stay in Tokyo in a residence and take the trains and see a lot of things people living and working in Tokyo see on a daily basis. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this trip makes the previous experience seem so artificial. This one was a little dirtier. I had to go out and find food rather than having restaurants pre-picked out for me on the tour weeks in advance. It's a little hard to explain, but I'm sure you've figured it out by now.

One thing that kinda bothered me as something a little awkward for a while were the guards at the train station gates. There would sometimes be a uniformed guard at the train station gate to make sure nobody would jump the turnstiles. What really struck me as awkward was sometimes that guard would be a really, really cute girl. I mean the official uniform already adds bonus cute points, so it may be a little overwhelming. And when you'd pass the gates they'd say 'Irrashaimase' (thanks for coming) with a little head bow. Wow, too much. I bet she knows how to kick serious ass too, in case somebody does jump the turnstile. I never tried testing that out.

Another thing is that it's hard to find public garbage cans in Tokyo. I would be carrying around an empty soda can or coffee can for miles before I would find something. And surprisingly, Tokyo is very litter free especially if you'd compare it to American cities. Maybe they didn't install garbage cans because the KNOW people will carry their garbage around to the next can they find. Hmm...

I wouldn't mind living in Japan for a bit. Maybe I'll reach the maximum of 90 days on the standard visitation Visa. I would love to live there, but it's just so freakin' expensive I know I'll have to dig a little into savings every month or so even with a decent paying job. I'll have to visit again since I didn't get to see Isaia and Star was working the entire time. Hmm, if I don't make it out there by the time Star needs to come back to the states... Rosalie's trying to live there. Muahaha..

So there it is... Haruyasumi 06 (spring break 06). It took me a little longer to write this than I had anticipated. And no, I did not just waste several hours of your life if you were planning on holding that against me.

music: Angela Aki - Kiss Me Goodbye

So I'm told the proper term for a storm with snow and lightning is called 'Thundersnow.' Well, I noticed the lightning first. My webpage, my rules! So, yeah!

So where I left off wasn't too exciting. That week, I had to read a grip of Journal publications. I had to read three for my next rotation and two were 40+ page reviews on Major Histocompatabilty Complex Type I expression and regulation with CD8+ T-cell recognition. I was dizzy after reading all that since I sped through it. I also had another paper to read for Journal Club and two others for discussion over Virology class. So I was just plowing through papers all week. Fun stuff.


Last, last Wednesday was AD's paper. It was a funny discussion since it was on excercise and depression. The study used rats as the model. So how do you know if a rat is depressed? The standard way to measure murine depression is the Forced Swim Test. So the method is to put the rat in a tub of water in which the water is too deep for the rat to touch the bottom and the walls are too high for the rat to climb out. So they time these poor bastards and see how long they take before they give up. And if they give up early, that indicates rodent depression.

So the variable in the experiment was to allow a group of rats access to an excercise wheel and the control set didn't get to run around. And the hypothesis was that the rats that had access to the excercise wheel would not be as depressed as the rats without excercise.

I had a problem with this experimental design.

So they let a group of rats excercise and see how long they tread water. Then they take a second group of rats, don't give them excercise and see how long they tread water. They expected the un-excercised rats to give up sooner. Well, maybe the variable group could tread water longer because they had excercise. The forced swim test was probably not the best test to determine depression levels in excercised versus non-excercised. I don't know. It's just my opinion. I'm just a stupid grad student, what do I know? And if you want to check out the paper, it's right here.

When I threw that question into the discussion that nearly stopped it in its tracks. The faculty proctor even stood up to defend the author's methods and he was the one who encouraged all of us to pick apart the paper and not accept the data at face value. Ha! I had my fun.

That was on Wednesday, the 1st. So later that night Amber, Jess, Justin and I went to Faegan's since Justin and Amber slaved over their Neuroanatomy exams that morning. Jess left eary feeling a tad ill. She didn't miss much. Apparently, Wednesday night is ugly night at Faegan's. We had nicknames for some of the patrons hovering about the bar. If I remember correctly, there was 'Rhinoplasty Girl' as in she didn't have it but desperately needs some. Then there was 'Creepy Leather Jacket Guy with a Scarf' who kept inching closer and closer to our table until he finally got to us. Yeah, we had to go. I don't really feel like waking up in a bathtub full of ice and missing a kidney. Not that night.


Friday the 3rd was funny. My lab boss is the Cheif of Surgery of University Hospital. He's a great guy. You'd expect him to be strict as hell but he's pretty laid back as far as I can tell. He has a relaxed sense about him but at the same time it seems he has everything under control. That's how I try to operate. And I have to admit it takes a lot of energy to keep that up while being in charge of the hospital's ever busy ORs. Anyway, he doesn't have much time to pop into the lab and when he does it's pretty unexpected. So that long and unnecessary introduction was leading to how he caught me during Sudoku time. D'oh.

It was one of those 'oh shit' moments when you're fooling around on your computer at work and feel a presence behind you. A presence of authority. Then you slowly swivel around in your chair and there's your boss peeking over at what's going on in the monitor. You want to ask "So, How long have you been standing there?" But you can't. Out of fear of persecution and/or trying not to make things worse.

Then we started talking about Sudoku and how he sees everybody on airplanes working away at it. He never really got into it. He didn't think much of it. Or maybe I was lucky since he just got back from spending a week and a half in India. Oh well, I suppose I need one of these as some kind of detection system.


The weekend of the 4th and 5th was pretty tame. I slept in until late on Saturday. At this point I was still straddling that thin line between healthy and sick. I never got sick, but in the meantime it was really draining my energy. I believe I was out for a good 13 hours. I felt so much better afterwards.


On Sunday, this is where the subject for this entry comes in. Academic suicide is buying SimCity 4 on a weekend in which you need to take two exams during the subsequent weekdays. I guess the purchase was somewhat spontaneous. I decided to pick it up after watching the GDC 2005 video of Will Wright demoing Spore. This guy created the first SimCity, The Sims and Sim-whatever.

I haven't played SimCity in a long time. I remember getting addicted to SimCity 2000, which was something I received as an 8th grade graduation present from my parents. I knew it would be pretty much impractical to ask my mom to go digging through piles of crap to find it and then ship it here when she finally does find it. Yeah, that's not going to work. I sped off to Target early Sunday morning. And early being before noon. I picked up a copy of SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition without really reading the system requirements for the software. I thought it was just SimCity and it was three years old. How demanding could it be?

It was after I got home with it when I noticed the 1GHz reccommended processor speed. It also requires a dedicated video card. Wow. Luckily, I satisfy these requirements. Good thing I built my current rig from the ground up as a gaming PC. I haven't done anything to it since it was built besides replace a hard drive and cooling fan. Good 'ol 1.7GHz, 32mb GeForce2. Top o' the line many a year ago. Now I want to build a new one.

I fired it up and saw why the game needs these requirements. It's retarded detailed. I mean, down to the very citizens of your town. If you would zoom in to a shady part of town, you just may catch two sims duking it out. Then in high traffic areas, you get to see the occasional car accident. Then when you use the 'demolish' tool, the razed buildings look like they're imploding. Well, I took a couple of screencaps.

This was my city about last week. At this point my population just hit 150,000 and my funds just crested over 1,000,000 simoleans. The city is named 'B town' because it's the second city I've made. I'm real creative here. The first city ended up being pretty messed up. Well, as first cities usually turn out. I wasn't sure if the second city would also end up retarded so I just called it 'B town' after 'A town.' And if you're really smart, you've probably already sensed a pattern emerging. Oh well.

As I was saying, this game is retarded detailed. From the previous screencap, zooming into the right side next to the waterfront, you can see the stadium. And I'm not sure if you could spot this on the wide angle, but there's the University just a little to the left of the stadium. And when I was playing, I noticed something weird was happening at the University. I sped up time and watched it. When I saw it again I realized they were having commencement. Freakin' commencement in the quad at the end of June!. I'm impressed.

So, a week later. I managed to use up nearly all the usable map space. I have a population just over 225,000 sims with 1,220,000 simoleans in the bank. I'm just trying to promote High Tech Industry while trying to weed out Dirty Industry. I also need to keep the budget balanced at the same time. Easier said than done.

So I don't suggest buying this game the weekend before two exams. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.


Well for lunch on Sunday, Amber, Jess, Pavi and I went to lunch at Sudipta's. She's the post-doc in the lab. She didn't really want me bringing people she hadn't met so the group remained small.

We brought up the subject of having lunch on the weekend after eating at the Indian buffet in Marshall Square. Sudipta just wanted to show off that she could cook better than what they offered.


The apartment was pretty tiny. I'm a self-declared space whore. I need my space. I'm not exactly claustrophobic but I do value the aesthetics of open space.


This is the first new picture of me on this website in months.


"Hea, yeah."


The food was awesome. I'm all about trying everything and having a broad range of experiences. Said philosophy includes my palate. This sure ain't how momma used ta make.


We sat around for a while and talked for bit. Afterwards we all ran back home and I fired up SimCity. Woo-hah!


Alright, buying it was a mistake. I ended up playing it most of Sunday night. That left only Monday for me to study for my Genetics exam. The third exam is also the shortest. It wasn't as big of a deal, but I guess it would be wiser to study a bit before taking it. I can't believe we were given bluebooks for this exam. Not one, but five. I thought I was through with those horrid things.

The exam wasn't too bad. I ended up getting an A- for the course. OMG!! Werst grade Evar!!1! Heh. Well, grades don't really count in grad school. All I really need to do is enough to stay above failing. I just need to publish, publish. publish!! Ugh.

But seriously, I really do study. I just learned how to cram, and from years of doing it I believe I'm more efficient at it than most. Like I said about the lab boss, I do try to emit a relaxed state with everything seeming confidently under control. I could be freaking out and not indicate it.

So Tuesday was the exam. Good stuff. Played SimCity 4 when I got home. Wednesday night, I fought the urge to play SimCity but got on it after studying half as much of the material I wanted to get through for Virology that night.

On Thursday, I needed to plow through the material before thinking about doing anything else. As I was getting started, I got a call from Brandy. It was an odd request to trade cars for a while. I guess she was being awesomely hardcore on the volleyball court and managed to sprain an ankle in the process. Bottom line is she's not able to manipulate the clutch for a couple of days. So we traded keys and I went back to my notes. I did end up finishing earlier than I planned. I got a good two hours of SimCity in before sleeping for three hours.

Friday morning, I was up bright and early. I had enough time to swing by Krispy Kreme for a dozen of donuts. Ya know, after reading about how Penny Arcade received 1200 Krispy Kreme donuts as a joke, it's kinda hard not to want one. So I picked up a dozen to feed the brain some morning glucose and to share with the fellow test takers. Good stuff.

The exam was farly decent. I tried to get some last-minute cramming done as the proctor was announcing the exam instructions. I managed to miss the part when he mentioned that we were going to have two hours to complete it insead of one like last time. I was frantically rushing through the exam. Most of it was essay format with the rest being single sentence answers. My downfall is that when I'm rushing, I tend to not read the directions in full. I accidentally answered three questions in one part when all I needed to do was answer one. Stupid me. Oh well. Ugh, they were hard ones too. And when I got done with it, I looked at the clock. It's been 75 minutes from the start of the exam and nobody else is done yet and they're not rushing. It was then I realized we get two hours to take it. Stupid me again. Well, it's done and over with.

That night was Breakfast for Dinner. We held it at Amber's and had some Fried Rice, French Toast, Waffles, Fruit Soup, Fresh Fruit, Hash Browns, Breakfast Sausages, and something Pavi brought which I can't remember what it's called for the life of me. Am I forgetting anything?

After we stuffed ourselves stupid, we threw on some Karaoke Revolution. I, once again, matched my character in the game. I changed his clothes from last time. Red button up shirt and dark pants. Awesome.
Justin was eagerly waiting for his turn on the mic.


Brandy, Pavi and AD.


Melissa and Anandita. We've lovingly adopted Melissa into our graduate studies family. She comes from the med school. At this point she hadn't learned to not fight the camera. It'll only get worse from here. Careful, Justim just might restrain you.


Woo, Jeanine! She stopped resisting, so I only took this one picture. They learn so quickly.


Me with my mimosa hooch and Amber trying to kill me with the mic.


"Ahh!! Da Hooch!"


Almost there.


"Who's taller n- Aww..."


Because Crazy in Love is hard to keep up with.


Evil?


Don't worry, it's all part of the show.


'Ignore him and he'll go away.'


It's Melissa's turn and like most modest people when they say they suck, she was pretty good and she lied to us.


AD was pretty good on the mic as well. Second time he lied to us. First about carving pumpkins then about singing. When will the lies end?


Pick your song.


That was fun. Maybe if I wasn't a caffeine zombie from cramming/SimCity I would've been able to enjoy it better. I passed out as soon as I got home.


On Sunday, I brought Justin and Pavi out to BJ's and Krispy Kreme. I needed a few things from BJ's and they decided that they needed to get away from campus for a while. At Krispy Kreme, we all got a half-dozen donuts each. I managed to get Pavi hooked on these things when I brought a dozen in for Friday's exam. Oops. She curses me under her breath as she eats her donuts. I'm sure of that.


Monday is 24 night. It ended with a shocker. Yet, I have some theories that make me believe other than the obvious. So as fair warning, I'm designating a SPOILER ALERT for this paragraph. I do not believe Tony is dead. I have two strong pieces of evidence that indicate he doesn't die. First of all, he didn't get a silent clock at the end of the episode. The silent clock typically indicates the death of a main character. Teri Bauer, George Mason, Ryan Chapelle, and Edgar Stiles all got silent clocks at the end of the episode when they died. I don't see why Tony wouldn't have one. He is more of an important character than all of these other guys. Secondly, according to IMDB, Carlos Bernard, who plays Tony, is credited for four more episodes. Unless Tony's decaying corpse is paraded around for the next couple of hours, I believe he'll be playing a living role in those episodes. Keifer Sutherland (Jack Bauer) is also credited up until 11pm. So that's as far as the database goes on 24 season 5 so far. And as a negative control, Louis Lombardi (Edgar Stiles) is credited up to 7pm, which was just his frothy corpse on the floor.

Alright, done with that.


So Brandy and I have traded cars again. We're now back to original spec. I guess the ankle's healing up fine.

I'll be in San Francisco from April 3 until 6 for the FASEB conference. I have two posters to present. ... yay?

Pavi is a true 24 soldier.

CarLo and Thanh Thanh are going to be in NYC while I'm in Japan. Boo!

I'll be flying to Japan in three more nights. Woo-hah!

Man, it's snowing again. Just when I thought things were getting warmer.

music: Weezer - Photograph
If you want it, you can have it.
But you gotta learn to reach out there and grab it...

i think i need a c.h.i.m.p. too. the guy who sits in the cube across from me tends to sneak up behind me al ot
-Kristen - 060319 - 0201EST