lithera | Japan... in bits and pieces...

So. Okay. Today is ... Today sucks, but really. I'm looking to get this written down before details fade from me any more than they do. So... This'll probably get written slowly all day.

The flight there was actually amazing. I think after India, there won't be much of anything that will phase me when it comes to plane trips anymore. I'll still get nervy in turbulence but, you know, I don't think length will bother me. 23 hours on a plane... It just isn't right. We were in Economy Plus and I highly recommend doing this for everyone on every trip possible. There is something about those 5 extra inches of leg room that makes a huge difference.

On getting there, it was hot. It was muggy and sticky and hot. It was grumpifying, really. We got a ticket on on the Narita Express to Ikebukuro and the woman at the counter said something about it being an hour from now. I nodding, looking at the clock and the ticket and agreeing with her. I went to go rent a phone (a beautiful thing, really) and we got more cash out of the ATMs we found.

Then we went to the train. And found not only was it an hour later, it was an hour later than that. There was some lovely confusion between us and the train attendant who had the schedule about why /this/ train that was there didn't say it was going where it should... when we all realized that we were all an hour off. This led to Holly and I sitting around drinking random drinks from the vending machine and me taking pictures of the empty train station.

Once we got on the train, it was smooth sailing into Tokyo, though the exhaustion was starting to settle in. I started to feel something that would only be confirmed when we got to Diabutsu days later. There is a part of me that never left Japan. There is a part of me that feels more at peace there and it was an excellent thing to learn. I don't think I would want to live there full time but I could well find myself making more trips due to that fact.

Finding the ryokan was simple and it was closer than I thought it might be, which was also excellent. The cost of the place is also super, super excellent. I enjoyed it there, though I would like to see what one of the larger rooms is like, as we had a medium room. Holly and I foraged for food and found a katsu place which was all but Japanese fast food but I didn't care at all at that point. The flight over was worth the katsu and miso for me.

The next day we had a plan. We decided on a plan. And then ditched it about ten minutes into the plan. We ate at a great ramen place, which became something of a morning staple, as it was actually open. Then we went to Shibyua and found Hatchiko. Then we had no idea what we were going to do, so we went to Starbucks. There are about a billion of them in Tokyo. There might even be as many in Tokyo as there are in Seattle and that's... crazy. It should not be.

In Starbucks we watched the people cross the sidewalk again and again and again, wondering at the throngs of people always on the move. We had no plan, so we sat there for awhile. Once we left, Holly say a sign for C.C. Lemon Hall and that seemed as good a destination as anything else, so we set out. We passed an AWESOME toy shop but it wasn't open until 10:30, so we pressed on to find C.C. Lemon Hall. We also found NHK's broadcast center, which was awesome because it was Mike's birthday and I took pictures of Domo-kun for him.

That got us tot he park and it was nice to sit there. I had an interesting conversation with a homeless man about how his father was from Finland and I say, hey, that's interesting, my family's from Finland too. We had a short conversation and I gave him some money to buy some food. We sat in the park and strolled around some and then went back to the, now open, toy store.

It was a bitchin' toy/comic store and I wish there were more like it here. They had Batgirl Underoos.

Later that evening, we met up with my Aunts Kay and Jean and my cousin Mark and went out to a giant temple at Asakusa. Lots of thrify trinkety things there to buy. I blame Japan on my love of gift trinkety things. I have a million keychains I don't need even still in a jewlery box. Then we joined up with my cousin Steve and went out with him and his girlfriend, (I can't remember her name. I suck) and had yakiniku. Yum, yum. Whee! I didn't mind the tongue. It was good with lemon.

Then there was sleep.

The next day was the wedding. It was in Harajuku and though we were dressed up, we were still no where as fashionable as everyone there. Except for the American tourists who sort of made me feel embarassed at how slovenly they looked. I bought a lovely necklace and we found the place for the wedding. The ceremony was short and lovely. The reception was very organized, the food was excellent (and French) and there was an Emcee who lead everything. All in all very difference from receptions here. Later that evening we went out for Hawaiian as Yumiko's friends threw her and Mark a party. The food was great (also a blast from the past) and I wish I could have had more but I was still full from the wedding.

Then there was sleep! Again!

The next day we headed out to a festival at a temple in... I cannot remember where right now. It was a lovely temple with escalators heading up the hill. It sounds funny but really, I was starting to feel the wear of all of the walking. It was nice to be a part of the ceremony that was happening there. To be honest, I'm not entirely certain what it was and didn't ask but I've been a part of it before. The drums and the shamisen and the branches and all.

Then we took the train out to Kamakura. It was lovely. It is so peaceful out there. So different from Tokyo. Daibutsu was pretty much as I remembered him. Still sitting there all contemplative. I too sat there all contemplative. Holly stole his shoes and cunningly replaced them with identical duplicates. She's such a ninja.

And I'm going to cut this off here because I need something to eat before our big meeting later today. I have really got to stop this whole 'too busy to eat' thing.