Yesterday a lot of things went wrong, but I like to believe that in the end, we redeemed ourselves somehow.
The day started with a trip to the electronics district of Akihabara. We took the Yamanote line, no big deal. I made a lot of jokes about the types who shop at Gamers, and soon we were surrounded by tiny maids who were passing out flyers. I tried to get a few, but only about one out of two would hand one to me. I got one for a Christmas party somehow involving a "Santa Angel," and one about a maid cafe from an adorable girl in a pink maid outfit. We found it, right next to a store that sold toys and models, and it was the finest place I have ever seen. Pink and stuffed animals everywhere. We ordered iced coffee, strawberry milk and "handmade" sandwich sets, and rang a tiny bell whenever we wanted service. Our waitress, Miss Kira, was their star, and she poured the cream and sugar into my coffee herself as a large glossy photo of her beamed at us from the wall. We were seated next to an absurdly large stuffed animal in the shape of a tanuki.
A weird otaku guy kept staring at me, especially every time I spoke Japanese. I was immediately reminded of Miyazaki Tsutomu, well, at least his room, anyway.
Afterwards we headed for the hills...Roppongi Hills. I bought almost everything Murakami Takashi in sight. We saw the city view and a horrible photography exhibit, got lost more times than I can count, ate delicious tonkatsu where I was schooled on the use of the salt, and bought press on nails. A good time if not a little laboured...so we headed towards the Hibiya line to transfer to the Oedo line, and all I have to say about that is, WTF?!?! It only took about a million hours and the help of no less than three station officials to do it.
After we reached the hotel, we drank Chu-His from the jidohanbaiki and dressed in our Santa outfits, with all intentions of going clubbing in Shibuya. I found two clubs in near proximity that seemed viable. And this is when things started to get crazy.
After reaching Shibuya (Yamanote Line...thank GOD), the sole of Ariel's boot became detached from the heel, and we had to head back, which we did in a taxi. We took a taxi back to Shibuya after a change of shoes, and started to try and find the club, which proved impossible. A really friendly English-speaking Japanese girl and her friends tried to help us, but in the end, we remained lost. An asshole called us impolite in French, and we made it to another club where a snotty foreign girl (who I believe knew no Japanese) made fun of our outfits. I hadn't brought my ID (which has NEVER been a problem for me in Japan in my life), so they wouldn't let us in. After more wandering we decided to default to karaoke, and I sang "A Song For XX" at full lung capacity just to work some of the foreign poison from my system. We cabbed it home, bought snacks at the 7-11, then passed out.
Today we return to Shibuya Ichimarukyu, and then tonight is the Amuro Namie concert. But right now we're headed out for ramen and the notorious Shinjuku Don Quixote.
(Note to me: Because we are Americans and possibly because I speak Japanese we receive a lot of "service," these are some of the things we have been granted. *Free tea at coffee shop. *Free popsicles. *Free end of a cab ride. There are probably some more. I'll make a note of the ones I remember.)
Curi.
The day started with a trip to the electronics district of Akihabara. We took the Yamanote line, no big deal. I made a lot of jokes about the types who shop at Gamers, and soon we were surrounded by tiny maids who were passing out flyers. I tried to get a few, but only about one out of two would hand one to me. I got one for a Christmas party somehow involving a "Santa Angel," and one about a maid cafe from an adorable girl in a pink maid outfit. We found it, right next to a store that sold toys and models, and it was the finest place I have ever seen. Pink and stuffed animals everywhere. We ordered iced coffee, strawberry milk and "handmade" sandwich sets, and rang a tiny bell whenever we wanted service. Our waitress, Miss Kira, was their star, and she poured the cream and sugar into my coffee herself as a large glossy photo of her beamed at us from the wall. We were seated next to an absurdly large stuffed animal in the shape of a tanuki.
A weird otaku guy kept staring at me, especially every time I spoke Japanese. I was immediately reminded of Miyazaki Tsutomu, well, at least his room, anyway.
Afterwards we headed for the hills...Roppongi Hills. I bought almost everything Murakami Takashi in sight. We saw the city view and a horrible photography exhibit, got lost more times than I can count, ate delicious tonkatsu where I was schooled on the use of the salt, and bought press on nails. A good time if not a little laboured...so we headed towards the Hibiya line to transfer to the Oedo line, and all I have to say about that is, WTF?!?! It only took about a million hours and the help of no less than three station officials to do it.
After we reached the hotel, we drank Chu-His from the jidohanbaiki and dressed in our Santa outfits, with all intentions of going clubbing in Shibuya. I found two clubs in near proximity that seemed viable. And this is when things started to get crazy.
After reaching Shibuya (Yamanote Line...thank GOD), the sole of Ariel's boot became detached from the heel, and we had to head back, which we did in a taxi. We took a taxi back to Shibuya after a change of shoes, and started to try and find the club, which proved impossible. A really friendly English-speaking Japanese girl and her friends tried to help us, but in the end, we remained lost. An asshole called us impolite in French, and we made it to another club where a snotty foreign girl (who I believe knew no Japanese) made fun of our outfits. I hadn't brought my ID (which has NEVER been a problem for me in Japan in my life), so they wouldn't let us in. After more wandering we decided to default to karaoke, and I sang "A Song For XX" at full lung capacity just to work some of the foreign poison from my system. We cabbed it home, bought snacks at the 7-11, then passed out.
Today we return to Shibuya Ichimarukyu, and then tonight is the Amuro Namie concert. But right now we're headed out for ramen and the notorious Shinjuku Don Quixote.
(Note to me: Because we are Americans and possibly because I speak Japanese we receive a lot of "service," these are some of the things we have been granted. *Free tea at coffee shop. *Free popsicles. *Free end of a cab ride. There are probably some more. I'll make a note of the ones I remember.)
Curi.
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HOPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
King James