Tokorozawa/Shinjuku
I’m firmly set to my new time zone, 17 hours ahead of Pacific Standard time. The flight over to Narita was exhausting and uncomfortable, but bearable, up until landing, when I had a sudden bout of motion sickness when taxiing to the gate. Ah well, that’s why they put the little bags in the seat back pouches…
we’re staying in a little town called Tokorozawa, about 40 minutes by Express Train from Tokyo. The house we’re at is a beautiful little place, and every room except the bathroom has a few non-90 degree angles built into it. Also, the doors and ceilings are about a foot lower than I’m used to. There’s a broken piano in the living room, and a bidet in the bathroom. There’s also a heated toilet seat. Why has this never caught on here???? It’s brilliant!!!!!
We went grocery shopping this morning, and I almost bought a carton of yogurt, thinking it was milk. It was in a milk like carton, and had a cow on the front, so I was close, at least.
We met Robert’s host family and had a brunch-ish meal with them, consisting of egg, ham, kiwi juice, green tea, and the most incredibly delicious apples I’ve ever tasted. If there is a perfect apple, it must be here.
We then took the train into the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. We met Robert’s friend Alan and had dinner at Mr. Wasabi fingers, followed by a trip over to Gold, a record store stocked with a large selection of gothic, industrial, metal, punk, hardcore, britpop, and other assorted American and British records. I picked up a Mogwai 7″ for about 300 yen (about USD$3) and eyed some of the overpriced My Bloody Valentine bootlegs and Bjork remix 10″s. We then wandered over to an English-style pub called the Hub, and hung out and conversed for a while. Mango beer is quite good, but I mostly stayed with mixed drinks. Absinthe was on the menu, but I stayed away from that.
Tomorrow we’ll be on our own in Tokyo for a bit, while Robert’s in class. We’ll probably hit up a few music stores, some manga shops (some of which sell original cel artwork from various anime shows and movies), and assorted points of interest.
Much more later….
