I have been in the Tokyo area for 2 1/2 weeks now, and although the experience of being in an asian country as a westerner continues to blow my mind, in a certain way, I feel very much a part of it all. As opposed to feeling like a tourist along with all the others, I have had the fortunate experience of living with people that live here all the time- both Japanese and Foreigners.
My first week was spent with Chris and Koichi- friends of a friend of mine. I did go off in the day and see all the things one should see when they visit Tokyo- the crowded markets of Ueno, Akihabara- the electronic area, the busy and hip areas of Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shibuya. But what really kept my mind occupied, (besides repeating the phrase, "Oh my god, Im in Japan!") was what fun and delicious thing i would be doing with Chris, Koichi, and their friends when they got home from work. And it would always be amazing Japanese cuisine for dinner, or some drinking place with a great atmosphere, or my personal favorite: Karaoke! Tokyo is a great city- but it really comes alive at night, and Chris and Koichi have given me some memorable night time experiences. Thanks guys :)
Phase II of Tokyo was staying with my friend Terrie- an awesome Japanese girl I had met 3 years ago on my European tour. Thanks to the powers of facebook, we have kept in touch.
So Terrie and her boyfriend, Hiroki have shown me some amazing parts of Tokyo that one might call "Edgy". (see entry for "Edgy Japan")
Terrie had to do intensive training last week, so she has actually been staying with Hiroki, who lives closer to where she works. So I have had the apartment to myself! For two days I went sightseeing for the day as if it was my 9-5 job in Tokyo (although in TOkyo people work from 7:30am-8:30pm it seems) and came home, cooked dinner, journaled and read, wrote emails and bummed around on facebook. I sort of pretended I lived alone in Tokyo- it was fun, but got a bit lonely. Luckily, the rest of the week was filled with little dates with people; dinner/karaoke with Chris, Koichi and their Jet friends, an EDGY JAPAN day with Hiroki (I'll get to that) a lunch date with a girl named Yuki that I met on the plane, and an adventurous day with Jumpei- a guy I met lost on the New York City subway some 2 years ago.
Phase III- exploring the area. Yuki lives near Mt. Fuji, so we made plans tosee it together in a town called Kawaguchiko. After 3 hours and 4 trains, I finally found myself outside the hustle and bustle, durm and strang, crazy timely complexities of pollution and shopping that is Tokyo. Mountains. A lake. One main street. What I was not expecting- SNOW. Lots and lots of snow. Everything looked quite beautiful and magical covered in white powder- and I love the softening of sound effect that snow has- however, I never got to see Mt. Fuji.
I did have a great time with Yuki. We went up in a cable car to the top of a mountain, and had Houto- a brothy udon that the region is known for.
A down side; I now have a cold.
Please check out my next entry on Edgy Japan, which features the lovely day Hiroki gave me a tour of what he calls, "edgy Japan." He is starting up a website for travelers to find adventures you wont find in Lonely Planet Guides, and tested some of his spots on me.
Peace Love and Travel
