Caught up in Tokyo madness

It has been a couple of days since I last updated the blog, apologies. It seems that Tokyo's boundaries are endless and without a limit on its districts. Alongside Marc, we have visited a number of districts in the last few days.

We revisited Shibuya a couple of days previously to taste Tokyo's nightlife. Marc knew of this one club called "The Womb," which is apparently a worldclass club. The place was huge; it had 4 floors and 3 DJs total for the night. On the night we went, they had been playing drum and bass on the mainstage. Here's their website for pictures of the inside area: http://www.womb.co.jp/

Lily asked a good question about the difference between American and Japanese clubs. Although it wouldn't be a fair comparison, Japanese clubs seem to fall in line more with the type of atmosphere I would like. Rather than an overflow of hip-hop, they are very good at offering a variety of music. The clubs are also more spacious and give special attention to the ambiance; Austin's cool, but some of the bars/clubs there seem rundown or altered warehouses in comparison.

However, the one drawback to clubbing in Japan is that it will cost you. Just for a night at The Womb, we had to drop 4000 yen, which is roughly $40. In America, paying that much would get you a world famous DJ. Then again, the atmosphere of a Japanese club doesn't really require anyone famous for DJing.

Another interesting side to clubbing in Japan is the restrictions of public transportation. Tokyo's subway system shuts down by midnight, so you are expected to stay at the club or in the district by next morning; the subways don't start running unil 5 AM next morning. It's not so bad, however, because the music and the dancing seem to make 4 hours become half an hour.

While Tokyo has its nightlife, there are chill areas. Marc took me to a really nice park in Ueno district, where you can see all ages strolling through treecovered walkways that surround a big pond of lilies; it's what you would expect from a postcard.

Here, Marc's enjoying a nice snowcone treat; that one didn't have milk in it, but Marc said that the snowcones normally do. Behind him is the pond full of water lilies, very beautiful. Here's more:

Located near this large pond area was a temple, just another temple. Really, it's an ongoing joke Brian and I had while in Europe. Much like the many impressive cathedrals one could find in Europe, temples are everywhere in Japan (and China from what I understand). Here's just one of the temples:

Very near this temple is a bench area on top of a hill, where you get a view of the bustling streets nearby Ueno Park. It is here where you can also see a statue of the "last samurai," Saigo Takamori:

Doesn't he just look adorable? One might almost think he were Arnold Schwartznegger's twin, good ol' Danny. Close to this is my close up with the background city:

Stepping back from the laidback nature of Ueno park, I take you right into Tokyo chaos once again. This time, the place is Harajuku, and the age group has shrunk to 18-25. Although one could probably find people of older age, Harajuku is more a hotspot for trendy teenagers looking to take part in the latest fashion.

Harajuku brought to reality the consumerism that is Japan and the type of lifestyles enjoyed by Tokyo cosmo-kids. Marc took me to a few shops, where one could find beaten up, ragged Ozzie Ozburn t-shirts for 12,500 yen; that's $125! We also found a UT-Austin t-shirt, which had a rip in the sleeve, for 6000 yen, ridiculous.

I think one conclusion of this is that America is very much popular in Japan (at least in Tokyo). Not just the clothing I've noticed, but the food that is "American" will also cost you a good amount. This seems to be in complete contrast with European thinking however (at least on the French side); I met two French girls here at the hostel who really love their country.

Not that I like to take political sides, but the overemphasis on how "bad" Bush is gets to be rather tiresome. And not just French, but German people as well. One guy with whom I roomed responded to my telling him where I live by calling it "Georgebushland." Well, narrowmindedness meets narrowmindedness I have to say.

Back to Japan's take on America, you would find the "American" food here absurd. A value meal, say a quarterpounder with fries, will cost you close to 7 yen ($7).

Yup, that's right, 700 yen. Though, it could be that the place was near Tokyo dome, which is where the Tokyo Giants play. In fact, getting a Japanese style burger, such as a "Moss" burger, isn't quite so pricy. I had one of those tonight, it was very delicious; I think it had some kind of sauce on it that included rice.

Isn't that so cute?! It's a glove for a hamburger bun. Just remember, if you're unsure, make it cute in Japan ;)

Speaking of gloves, we will be attempting to watch a Tokyo Giants game tomorrow night!

I will be going with the guys I met at the airport: Jose, Matt and Victor. I'll just refer to them for now on as the "Cali krew."

Mucho amor,

Mike

PS I miss my Lily girl <3