Tokyo

Went to Tokyo to see a giant Gundam statue.

Here are some picks!





It was like a concert, but instead of people listening to music they were all looking at a 70 foot tall statue of a robot.

The statue was located in Odaiba park. Odaiba is a man-made area of Tokyo that was built out into Tokyo bay in the 1970s (I think) and there is actually a lot of space on it surprisingly enough. The Odaiba park is huge and there are lots of places for people to go and just hang out or eat and kind of get away from the crowdedness of Tokyo. Except when half of Tokyo is going to see the Gundam statue.

And my god were the thousands of people at that place! The subway was so crowded that we couldn't get off at the stop for the statue. The platform at the subway station was jammed full of people and there was literally no room to exit the train. So, we headed to the next stop which was only about 500 meters away and got off no problem and walked to the park, and probably got there before the people waiting to exit the first station had even gotten downstairs.

One of my favorite things about the Gundam statue was that it had decals on it. It looks ultra-realistic. I saw those and immediately thought of all the warning decals on the outside of planes. Of course when they build giant war-bots they will have warning stickers.


It was so hot on Sunday. One of the hottest days of the summer so far. And there were people out there with their dogs which I thought was just cruel. And there were goths dressed in their all black and melting in the sun.


Beware the sun!

I didn't take these pictures of goths, but seriously, Japan has some crazy goths. And there are a ton of them that dress up like maids. I don't get it. Apparently there is even a place called the Maid Cafe where the waitresses dress like this. Freakin' Japan.



Anyway.

Because I decided to go to Tokyo last minute, I didn't have the proper two week notice to ask off for a day and therefore had to work on Saturday and therefore I had to get up at 7am to catch a train to make it to Tokyo at a reasonable hour on Sunday. So, as happy as I was to see the statue, and trust me, it was impressive, I wasn't really interested in standing in a 45 minute line to get a commemorative program. So we checked it out. Watched it move. And then rolled out to other parts of Odaiba.


There we saw a tiny Statue of Liberty



Myself and Ayumi, so at least there is one good looking person in this picture.

Ayumi and Kazu, the good looking people count is going up. Plus one if you count Lady Liberty!

There is an indoor arcade/amusement park that we were interested in checking out. Well, us and everyone else in Odaiba I guess because the shortest line for a ride was over half an hour and steadily growing. No thanks.

We headed back into downtown Tokyo and went to an art museum that Ayumi knew about. Well, the line for tickets to get into the museum was a 40 minute wait. ARGH! No thanks.

Next we (and by we I mean Kazu and Ayumi, I just nod and follow along. It is so nice to have Japanese speakers to guide you around) decided to go to Tokyo Tower. Well, since we are big rollers and there aren't any subway stops near Tokyo tower we decided to take a cab. Pretty cool. Felt like a real adult. And not too expensive when you split it three ways, like $5 each.


Tokyo Tower


Tall.

Views


A beautiful plaque, wonder what it says?


Oh, it's braille! Just in case you are a giant asshole and want to take your blind friend 200 meters up above the city so they can read about what a wonderful view it is for everyone but them. If I ever get a blind friend I am going to take them everywhere! Tokyo Tower, Kyoto, beautiful temples, wonderful scenic vistas, Osaka for the neon, everywhere! Well, as far as they know I will.

They had a glass floor part.

But it had lines across the glass so it kind of ruined the walking on air part.

Didn't stop Ayumi from freaking out though.

That is as far out as she would go. And notice the death grip on the shelf. Three seconds after this picture was taken she came to her senses and asked, "Why am I holding on to the shelf? If it breaks that shelf isn't going to save me."

Proof we were there!

And while it make look like I am looking at Ayumi I am really making a face at the ass behind us. This woman just walked between us as we were posing for the picture to get to the railing. Unbelievable!


Later that night we went to an Irish pub and had many drinks and much friend fish and chips and I saw a six and a half foot tall woman that turned out to be a man dressed like a woman.

Turns out we were staying right next to the gay district of Tokyo and apparently there was some crossover.

Good times! But I don't have any pictures because I was concentrating on drinking and forgot to bring my camera with me. D'oh!


And now it is 1:30 am so I am done.

I will leave you with a picture of me in a hotel bathrobe that actually fit me! Unbelievable!

My Sunday

I have a well documented difficult time finding shoes my size at the stores here. However, I discovered that it is extremely easy to order shoes online (as long as I have someone to help me translate the web page). Last week I ordered a couple of shoes online, they came yesterday! I didn't even have to use a credit card, it was C.O.D.! When was the last time you could order something C.O.D. in America?




I know, sweet shoes.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to go to a boxing gym. I have a lot of pent up energy and aggression now that I can't throw people's bags as hard as I humanly can to alleviate my tension. To that end I am going to go punch people and be punched in the face. To celebrate I decided to punch myself in the face as hard as I could. To tell the truth I had to punch myself a couple of times. It is really hard to punch yourself as hard as you can in your own face. So I to psyche myself up for it with a couple of warm up half punches, and then I let loose.


Can you tell which eye I punched myself in? I have a tough face. Or I am a weak puncher.

Then I watched UFC 100 (thank you quasi legal Russian video sites) and all the guys had shaved heads and they looked hardcore. And Jason Statham was in the audience and he is the coolest looking man in the world.


Now, I don't think that I would ever look as cool as Statham, but I was bored and didn't have anything better to do, so I decided to shave my head for the summer.


Nope, I just look like a giant baby. Damn. Oh well.

I forgot how much you cut yourself the first time you shave your head. My shower looked like a horror show when I was done. Mostly trying to cut around the ears. Ouch! But after today should be good to go. Wonder how my employer and students will react.

Next weekend I am going to Tokyo to see a life sized statue of a Gundam robot!

Pretty freakin' cool. Plus, I will be able to buy a case load of Dr. Pepper. Which is the real reason I am going.

Today....

...I saw the funniest thing I may have ever seen.

There is a little playground behind Geos, just a swingset and a couple of benches really, that we can see from the back window at school. It is just off the main street to the train station and the main street with AlPlaza, the main department store in Tsuruga. So the area is fairly well traversed, but rarely do I see kids playing on that swingset. Once in a while on Saturdays, but during the week, not too much. My guess is that will change at the end of July when the kids get a summer vacation.

Anyway, today as I was throwing away my trash (delicious ham salad for the non-nutritious win) I looked out the back window to see four kids swinging on the swingset. One of which was completely and entirely naked. He must have been three or four and he was standing on the swing just butt-assed naked. Not a care in the world.


By the time I finished looking like this ^ and had returned from telling Yuko and Kaori about the funniest thing of all time, apparently the little nudist had gotten bored of swinging and was now riding around on his tricycle, still naked as a jay bird. All of his friends were fully clothed and weren't acting like this was at all unusual. In the trouser-less toddler's defense, it was very hot today, and a birthday suit is much more comfortable than the suit I had to wear.

Yes, seeing a naked two year old was the highlight of my day. And the more I type, the more I expect to hear screeching tires outside of my apartment followed by fifty Japanese police officers bursting through my door.

Today's big purchase

Most literal toilet paper name of all time.

From class today

The question:

"You told the teacher on me! I am going to _______ you ________ for that! You better watch out!"

The answer I recieved:

I am going to get you off for that!

Instead of: I am going to get you back for that!

That was a difficult one to explain with a straight face.