sfdeep

so, as promised, i have posted pics from the trip to Japan. unfortunately, Naiad and i forgot to bring the charger for the camera, and so these pics are only from the 1st half of the trip. so you will not, thankfully, be witness to any debauchery and hangovers as a result thereof

we spent our first day there on a bus tour of the city. Tokyo is like Manhattan stretched over the 5 buroughs. we went to a traditional tea ceremony, pondered 500 year old banzai trees, and bought strange Japanese products at a market.

then it was off to Kyoto by bullet train. the accelerated passing of industrial and rural Japan with Mount Fuji staring from the distant haze. Kyoto used to be the capital, but is now the cultural center of Japan. there's literally like 1200 temples and shrines there. temples are Buddhist, shrines are Shinto. Kyoto is more traditional and felt more culturally accurate than Tokyo, where half the signs are in english.

we came back to town and met with some good friends and went out with them and my brother and his wife. we hit a few clubs, drank too much, and then battled our way out into the city the next day to shop in the mountains of shopping structures all aglow with neon joy.

Naiad came home before i did. for the rest of the time, i managed to buy some beautiful techno records, connect with some new friends, eat and drink way too much, and rocked out the karaoke, i.e. the death metal version of Madonna's "Crazy for You."

unfortunately, i'm still jet-lagged and keep waking up at 5 o'clock in the morning and wanting to go to sleep at noon.

as for Japan -- if you ever have the means, i highly recommend it -- just know someone who speaks Japanese or you'll be totally lost on the metro. and if you're vegan, you're better off bringing your own food.