Afternoon in Tokyo

Nearly forgot to recount the interesting day I had in Tokyo just before leaving for the Philippines.

Spent the afternoon with a friend who I met during JET orientations, and who now lives not far from Shinjuku, one of the busiest sections of Tokyo. Took a walk through a park in Koenji to people watch, and was not disappointed. A large number of people were out walking/carrying their dogs, some half of which were what I call "accessory dogs" and were wearing some kind of outfit. In fact, on the edge of the park, we passed a dog salon/dog boutique, offering hair colorings, cuts, clothing, and accessories.

A lot of practicing musicians as well, including two young guys jamming Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago" and my favorite, an old guy in running garb belting out blues tunes with his steel guitar and harmonica.



Afterwards, jumped on a train down to one of the city's amusement parks. [Trains are excellent spots for people-watching as well, I tried not to stare at the 6 year-olds riding solo, and the 50-something suits reading manga/comics and pornography on their way home]. At the amusement park, we had a short, but exhilirating ride on Thunder Dolphin, a rollercoaster that races past Tokyo Dome and seemingly twists and turns between the skyscrapers of Tokyo (and actually passes through hole in one building). Other riders in the line carried "Jet-coaster Stamp Books" and checked another one off in their quest to ride all the coasters in Japan. When we finally made it to the front of the queue, we unsuccessfully pleaded with the ride operators to allow us to wait for the next train so we could ride in the front car. Absolutely not. Stay in line, gaijin.

In the evening we had a beer at a "Standing Bar", a joint with no visible seating options and built almost completely out of bright, white plastic. The narrow room looked more like a spaceship corridor than a pub. We later found out there was some couches upstairs, but we were denied access--"Ladies only" said the employee. Moments later,we watched a group of four Japanese men walk upstairs, unimpeded. Japanese only, perhaps.