TOKYO:Week One

Well, its been one week in Tokyo, and it certainly has been a blur. Many words can describe Tokyo-vast, sensational, technological, culturally-rich. but none of these adjectives truly do justice to a metropolis of over thirty million individuals. Think about it for a second. The sheer size of Tokyo means you are always experiencing new places and people in exciting venues. But enough of the travel book copy, I'll share a few of my personal experiences

This week began with a bit of jet lagged sleep and the rocketed into Sunday. In the evening I dined with new and old friends at "Buttayo" which means something like "pig place" or something. After a ridiculously expensive, multi-course dinner surrounded by pig-batman, pig-spiderman, and dancing pigs, etc., etc. I checked out one of Tokyo's standing bars-a bar with no seats, which is cheaper than, say, a bar with seats. So alas, Sunday came to an end.

Monday is supposed to be one of those sleepy, chill days. I couldn't have been more wrong. This was the day I was formally introduced to the Samarai Bar around the corner from my hostel. This haunt is apparently an informal headquarters for Sakura Hostel...as I found out on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Good fun. More on the Samurai later...

Tuesday was my interview in Iruma, about an hour away from where I'm staying in Asakusa. This meant doing three things I do not generally like to do: 1.) get up early. 2.) put on a suit and 3.) Shave. After doing all of these terrible things and commuting with the rest of Tokyo's hordes, I successfully interviewed with the Tokyo board of education. Which meant, of course, that it was time to celebrate.

Going out in Tokyo, I quickly realized, is much different than at home. While back in the states you pick from a very narrow selection of restaurants, bars and clubs, in Tokyo you could go a different place every day and never exhaust every possibility. Not only are there over 300,000 places to eat/drink/chill in Tokyo, new places are popping up all the time. Anyway, rather than work too hard trying to find a specific place, it is sometimes best just to randomly wander from place to place, seeing whats new.

Alright, at this point I'm about halfway through the week, and I have yet to really share any of my most interesting moments. But that will have to wait, because its nap time. That's right, in Tokyo you better get your rest on the weekend, because the trains stop running at midnight, "forcing" you to stay out till dawn. Since everyone else uses the same transportation (and taxis are ridiculously expensive) the bars and clubs are packed till at least five every weekend night. And today is Saturday. So, I will continue this week's post tomorrow...and for now leave you with a picture or so of the city.