Tokyo
Shinjuku is slighty reminiscent of Disney World, only everything is written in Japanese. This evening after dinner, I had a little over an hour to kill before my Prefectural night out on the town, so I decided to venture out of the Keio Plaza Hotel for the first time. One of the other girls from Miami told me about a strip of shops and restaurants down the street from our hotel, so I decided to head that way. She said you couldn't miss it, bright lights and all, and of course she was right. As I crossed the street via a ridiculously wide crosswalk, I couldnt help but notice how quiet the city was. Salarymen walked past one after another, talking about something or another. When I made it into the strip, it felt more like an indoor mall. It honestly seemed like some contrived movie set. I didn't want to be the doof just walking up and down the streets with my mouth agape, so I decided to go into a large camera shop and check out some Canons. I have never seen so many pocket-sized cameras. I found only about 10 SLRs, none of which being the Digital Rebel I wanted to check out. I picked one up and played with it, pretending I remembered what I was doing, that it hadn't been a year and a half since I had actually adjusted focal lengths and aperatures, pretending I remembered how. It didn't help that all the labels were in Japanese. Being here makes me desperate to brush up on my language skills, so I have a feeling that will become a top priority this year.
The prefectural night out starts at 9:30 and goes til midnight. We are supposed to visit some bar that is all-you-can-drink for 2700 yen, which equates to about $25. Not such an awesome deal if you ask me. I don't even feel like drinking. I mean, we're in freaking Tokyo... I'd rather sight-see than stumble home. Plus I don't feel quite genki , haven't since I got off the plane. Rob, another Miami departer, wants to go karaokeing tonight after the prefectural events, but I think his prefectural event ends before mine. I doubt he'll still be around at midnight waiting, which sucks, cause I really want to karaoke. Maybe tomorrow night. I have meetings all day tomorrow. Blargh. Today's meetings were surprisingly enjoyable. The Japanese ministry officials are hiliarious. I am constantly surprised at how their English is broken but their humor is flawless.
Food has been not-so-Japanese thus far. I did visit the treat shop downstairs and bought an assortment of Japanese desert breads (pan) for 500 yen. I just ate the 'peanut bread,' which turned out to be a roll filled with peanut butter. Last night before I passed out for 12 hours, I ate the pumpkin bread, which tasted nothing like pumpkin, but instead was filled with mashed black beans.
Other weird stuff:
1. No one rides road bikes here. In a city with a bike parked every two feet (literally) along the street, I managed to only run into one road bike, which was some brand I didn't recognize.
2. The blow-dryer emits merely a light warm breeze. My hair is completely void of style.
3. The bathroom mirror is heated, so it doesn't fog up when you shower.
4. I have to stoop down to wash my hair.
5. The toilet has 4 buttons on the console : bidet, noisemaker, a stop button (i'm not sure what it stops), and a butt-spray button. I swear, there's a little picture of a spray of water and a butt. Awesome. Angie also thinks the seat is heated. I try not to spend that much time on it.
6. The toothpaste is ginger-flavored, and the toothbrushes are clearly made to only brush one tooth at a time.
I miss you. Yeah, you.
The prefectural night out starts at 9:30 and goes til midnight. We are supposed to visit some bar that is all-you-can-drink for 2700 yen, which equates to about $25. Not such an awesome deal if you ask me. I don't even feel like drinking. I mean, we're in freaking Tokyo... I'd rather sight-see than stumble home. Plus I don't feel quite genki , haven't since I got off the plane. Rob, another Miami departer, wants to go karaokeing tonight after the prefectural events, but I think his prefectural event ends before mine. I doubt he'll still be around at midnight waiting, which sucks, cause I really want to karaoke. Maybe tomorrow night. I have meetings all day tomorrow. Blargh. Today's meetings were surprisingly enjoyable. The Japanese ministry officials are hiliarious. I am constantly surprised at how their English is broken but their humor is flawless.
Food has been not-so-Japanese thus far. I did visit the treat shop downstairs and bought an assortment of Japanese desert breads (pan) for 500 yen. I just ate the 'peanut bread,' which turned out to be a roll filled with peanut butter. Last night before I passed out for 12 hours, I ate the pumpkin bread, which tasted nothing like pumpkin, but instead was filled with mashed black beans.
Other weird stuff:
1. No one rides road bikes here. In a city with a bike parked every two feet (literally) along the street, I managed to only run into one road bike, which was some brand I didn't recognize.
2. The blow-dryer emits merely a light warm breeze. My hair is completely void of style.
3. The bathroom mirror is heated, so it doesn't fog up when you shower.
4. I have to stoop down to wash my hair.
5. The toilet has 4 buttons on the console : bidet, noisemaker, a stop button (i'm not sure what it stops), and a butt-spray button. I swear, there's a little picture of a spray of water and a butt. Awesome. Angie also thinks the seat is heated. I try not to spend that much time on it.
6. The toothpaste is ginger-flavored, and the toothbrushes are clearly made to only brush one tooth at a time.
I miss you. Yeah, you.
posted by (K) at 9:04 PM
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