Day 3 - Tokyo

This post was written in Japan on the same night/early morning as the one that follows it. I think my idea behind numbering the days was initially a good one, but it became quite useless after I left for Hokkaido, after which each night we either didn't have internet or were too inebriated to be able to use it cogently (or remember the URL of my blog).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Japan is AMAZING!!! It's a completely surreal experience being in a country like it because I have absolutely no ability to communicate with anyone Japanese except a few phrases. Most of the time I'm with friends who can speak Japanese much better than me so I've been at least surviving so far, but I think that somehow even if I were here and had very little to know it would be possible to get around and have a good time. The people here are very polite and helpful, at least on the street (I have no idea if they're cursing at us tourists behind they're back...but they probably also have much better things to do too). Ryan and I arrived here on Tuesday afternoon and so far have been staying in Tokyo with a friend of his (Paul) who is studying in Tokyo for the summer. Paul stays at a place called Sakura house which is in what I can only describe as a suburb outside of Tokyo. The area is still near the main part of Tokyo city and readily accessible via the Tokyo Subway system. It's a really nice place which is a bit removed from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo city. It's akin to the Arlington or Bethesda areas near Washington DC...I suppose its the cheaper housing and more peaceful environment that attracts people to live in places like this. Unlike such areas in the States though, Higashi Nagasaki (like much of Japan) seems much smaller; much more compact. Everything is walking distance. Even the houses are relatively small (in order to save space of course). Japan has a huge population living mostly near the cities which requires the population to save space and be incredibly efficient in its use. Much like New York City, people here don't really own a car because it's just easier to walk to places or use the train.

Tokyo is a really incredible city! It's much like New York City, but I like it more. Compared to NYC, Tokyo feels like its a much cleaner place. It's certainly a far cry from Panama City where I had been before. In Tokyo things just seem to have a certain harmony which probably goes back a great deal to the culture of the Japanese. At least outwardly, there seems to be a great deal of harmony and that's great for any tourist. I'm sure it, as the rest of the world, has its own problems and issues that need to be dealt with (stagnant economy, low birth rate, unemployment and a homeless problem) but it is an incredibly clean city, which I appreciate. The city as a whole seems to breath in a way that I've never felt in New York, or DC or any other city in the US. There are trees growing everywhere throughout the city. It's soooo green! There doesn't seem to be a single spot in the city where there isn't something green.

After arriving in Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon (Monday night for you in the USA) Ryan and I got through customs and met up with his friend Paul (interesting guy...very intelligent, but rather pessimistic about life and other things...seems a bit moody to me...we had an interesting argument last night) who brought us to his place. That night we really just settled down in Paul's place and then proceeded to go get some dinner at a place nearby and then get some drinks (Speaking of which I was able to buy Saki on the airplane without showing any ID...not as good as I would have liked...I've had better Saki).

Wednesday, around 9 or 10ish Ryan and I left for the main part of Tokyo city. It's not very difficult, although we were probably a little lost at some point or another (at least until a wonderful Japanese woman who spoke very good English was able to help us...but getting lost is part of the fun huh?). Once in the city we actually got off a stop early at the Shibuya station instead of at the Ebisu station. The idea was to meet up with a friend we had in the city who knew Ryan through Ryan's ex-stepdad Steve (amazing guy...love him!). We were early anyway and weren't going to meet Kurt until lunchtime around 1:30 or so. So we meandered through Tokyo city on a quest for wireless internet...which we eventually found in a street coffee shop.

Eventually we met up with Kurt at the Ebisu station and went on from there to get lunch at a cool southeast asian restaurant. Also went to the electronic district of the city, Akihabara, where we were able to pretty much find anything with an electric circuit in it and probably for cheaper prices than in the US. Unfortunately I can't buy anything because I'm on a budget and need to be able to survive for the next three weeks or so until I end up at Tsinghua. Around 7pm, Kurt took us to a Rock concert at Harajuku Astrohall. It was a small place but packed from wall to wall with people young and old. The band, Earl Greyhound, was really good. Their basist was incredibly beautiful. She had this awesome fro with a feather in it and this loose blue shirt with cutoff sleeves and a short loose skirt with slits along the sides...She also wore white mocassin-like shoes...I was digging it.

The only thing that has given us problems in Tokyo has been navigating its subway system. It's a little difficult to decipher just which train to take at what time.

Ryan says that we'll leave from Tokyo around Saturday. The plan at the moment is to go to Hokkaido for some hiking, camping and hot springs. It'll be interesting to see how that works out since we have no reservations for housing anywhere and much of the hostels are already booked. Anyway...at the very least we have sleeping bags and there are bound to be plenty of campsites there.

It feels like there's so much to write about the journey at travels at this time, but I've never really been accustomed to writing in any sort of thing whether a journal or diary or anything. I ususally just let my thoughts stick around and fester or bounce around my own head. I think that's part of the reason why I can't always control what I say or sometimes say things just for the sake of saying it. My mind moves really fast and I have a lot of thoughts but I cannot keep them all there so my catharsis of sorts and method for getting rid of excess thoughts seems to be to tell it to other people.

I've realized a lot of times I also say things to be accepted by other people and I worry about whether or not they'll find it unny. I really want to be able to care less. It's funny because I remember how when I was tripping a couple weeks ago I didn't give a shit what I said or did. Sure I had second thoughts but it was crazy. My mind and my mouth were going wherever the hell I wanted them to go at any point in time. Ryan says that from his point of view it was hilarious because I was all of a sudden much more open. I've been watching how Ryan interacts with other people a lot and its really interesting to see how he does it. He is very open and genuine with everyone, but not to the point of being completely honest with them or cutting them down. He slips into whatever structure people have used to make sense of the world around them. He gains they're trust in this way and slowly works to try and change them. In many ways he is a great social person because he does not pass judgement on anyone. He simply accepts what people have to say and in many ways reinforces what they say to make them feel more positive about their experience.

I realize I am very different from this in the way I normally act. I am a very reactionary person. Often times for me conversation does not come naturally. I do not seek to start conversations but rather let them happen around...this isn't in itself a neccessarily bad thing except for the fact that in not starting conversations internalizes a lot of my thoughts. Instead i need to work on acting them out more and being more social...otherwise im really just sidelined in this game of life and not dancing in it with all my soul as I should be!