Shopping

Japan is great for fashion...if you can find things that fit.

I have never been known for being well dressed, but being the slob of the train while wearing my best clothes has inspired me to try a little harder. The main problem I have found is that everything is too small. Even XXL in Japanese terms means short and fat. I buy GAP khakis for $100 and they barely fit over my skinny thighs. Shirts end an inch short of my wrist. Jackets want to rip when I bend over to tie my shoes.


Tying shoes is another thing. I think that I am the only person in the country who must untie my boots (Timberland, not Uggs) before putting them on. The Japanese have this skill where they are able to just slip their feet into anything weather it is tied or not without any help from their hands.


In the video below (if it actually shows up) you will see my main shopping stores, but H&M has an hour long line to get in, so I have given it a pass so far.

Noppori/Roppongi Hills

As the clock is quickly ticking for my Tokyo departure I am trying to get a lot of things in. My plan on going to an onsen was put off after realizing that my touring friend (of Japanese persuasion and Japanese) would be sitting in a different onsen than I due to her not being a he.

We decided to go to Noppori which is one of the oldest areas of Tokyo. It was a nice walk and we had some good treats. After that we went to Roppongi, the foreigner district that I always try to avoid. Roppongi is home to the building "Roppongi Hills". There is probably the best view of the city available on the top of the 56 story building with an open air observation deck. It is much higher than Tokyo Tower, so it was well worth the 1500 yen.


The site has been putting up a fight in letting me load pictures, so just go to the PICTURES link on the right if you want to see more!

Maybe it is time to move to Osaka.

Seijin no Hi

I try to carry some sort of photo taking gadget with me at all times. Yesterday's run to McDonald's wasn't one of those times.

I new it was a holiday, but not what it was for. I have given up asking students why they have a certain day off, but most times they don't have a clue. I turns out that Monday was Seijin no Hi, or Coming of Age Day. It is when all 20 year old Japanese go to declare their adulthood. They all go to their local city hall and get some gifts and listen to a speech.

All the girls dress in Kimono and have their hair done all up, and in general look quite pretty. The ones I saw milling around my local train station looked amazing wrapped in silk and fake white fur things. The guys I saw were all dressed in black suits (getting ready for a life sentence as a salaryman) but some dress in the male version of the kimono (hakama).

I didn't get any pictures but Jimmy Choo's son Danny did. He is a self professed otaku and loves figurines and manga (comics). Here is his site with a ton of pictures.

Kabukicho

A friend and I did an audio tour made by White Rabbit Press. It was of the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku, one of the busiest places in Tokyo. It was one of the best things I have done here and it was incredibly informative and had a lot of interviews. A map was provided so we could follow step by step and not get too lost.

Kabukicho is loaded with hostess/host bars, sex shops, tiny bars, and yakuza. If you are in Tokyo, I highly recommend that you do this. We did it in early evening (5-6pm) on a Sunday and it was still pretty busy. Many things were closed though, so me missed out on the S&M show. Unfortunately I am still a bit camera shy and didn't get any photos of the beautiful girls wearing hotpants and guys with their high hair and 44cm shoes.

People everywhere

Entrance to Kabukicho

Interesting English

Outside of a ramen shop

More people

Inside a love motel. It is a mirrored surface and the pictures are rooms available. Only 4 were unoccupied and it was 6pm on a Sunday. In the reflection you can see the shark swimming in its tank

All hostess bars (except The Loft, which is a music venue in the basement)

The police station that just ignores everything


An arcade/batting cage in the middle of the brothels and love motels


The batting cage, 300¥ for 20 balls

At the arcade

Room rates for a love motel. Different rates for different lengths of stay (by hours)

A temple in the middle of the sex trade world

A toilet in an alley

A dark scary alley with lots of hosts milling about


Outside of a host bar. Women go there and pay to "talk" with the men. According to the tour the majority of a host's clients are hostesses and prostitutes

The #1 Host

Alleyway full of tiny bars. Each is about as wide as a king sized bed. They were all closed when we went


One of the little bars


Sin City

My new mascot at a Korean restaurant

Koban is "Police box" in Japanese


Waiting


The lonely trip to the train

I didn't take any pictures of hosts in Shinjuku, but here is what many looked like

After a long day everyone was ready to go to bed (the woman on the right is holding a beer).

Along for the ride

I gave my notice at my school. I will be finished in February then hopefully aboard a ship for a few months of teaching while sailing around the world. I have an interview next week, but apparently the job is super competitive. I know I would be a great teacher, but my lack of volunteer experience (this is a non-paid job on a goodwill mission) may be my downfall. We shall see.

So for the next month and a half I will try to get in a lot of Japan. Tomorrow night I will go to Kabukicho, which is the seedy red light district of Tokyo. I bought an audio tour that you just upload to an mp3 player and follow the map. Will let you know how it goes.

Borneo in bullets

December 22-

✪ Couldn't find credit card and had to tear my just cleaned apartment to pieces to find it
✪ Train was shut down due to windy conditions. Had to wait an hour for another, slower train
✪ Get to Airport and find there is no reservation in my name. Finally get it sorted after lots of running around
✪ See 2 coworkers that happen to be on the same plane
✪ United Airlines flight attendant took the nearly finished beer I brought on the plane saying I wasn't allowed to drink it because they didn't sell that brand
✪ Flight attendant comes by 2 hours later and gives me a free beer
✪ Slept in Singapore airport



December 23-

✪ Got to Kuta Kinabalu
✪ Met Brother
✪ Got a ride to our mountain side hotel
✪ Enjoyed a couple beers with Brother



December 24

✪ Woke up and climbed Mt. Kinabalu
✪ Joined a Czech couple that were living in China. Brother got to use his Chinese, I got to use my Czech
✪After four hours of hiking up the mountain reached the camp and enjoyed delicious food and overpriced beer

December 25

✪ Woke up at 2:30am and set out for the peak
✪ By 4am I decided to turn back because my asthma was acting up
✪ Enjoyed the sunrise with a nice Chinese girl and a Finn.
✪ Walked down the mountain with Brother and Czechs.
✪ Malays liked my looks and gathered round for photos
✪ At the bottom enjoyed tasty beers with Brother and Czechs
✪ Caught a minibus to town and found our hotel
✪ Looked for bbq market but fail to find it
✪ Joined a few of our fellow minibus companions for a lackluster Christmas meal






December 26

✪ Found markets
✪ Saw rain approaching so headed for a nice bar Brother and I passed earlier
✪ Met 2 guys from India, one wouldn't shut up, other guy extremely kind
✪ Czechs randomly walk into the bar
✪ After many hours of drinking we all pile into a tiny rental car and head off to a Muslim bbq
✪ Told we could not drink because it was a Muslim bbq. I went to buy some fish and returned to see beer on our table.
✪ Good night had by all








December 27

✪ Went to a nearby island to snorkel
✪ Got sunburnt
✪ Went to outdoor bbq. 4 huge squid and a giant flounder for $10



December 28

✪ Took a boat then another boat to Brunei
✪ Not much there
✪ Took a water taxi to see what we couldn't see from land



December 29

✪ Took first bus to ferry terminal
✪ Had to fight for tickets, Brother and I handed our passports to a big Geordie who managed to get us 2 of the last 6 tickets
✪ Visited the WWII cemetery while waiting to transfer ferries
✪ Back in KK, tuna steak for $3





December 30

✪Went to the Nature Reserve (zoo)
✪ No Orangutan exhibit (closed)
✪ No "corn in a cup"
✪ No Kenny Rodgers' potato skins
✪ No KFC chicken wrap
✪ Good food at the outdoor bbq

December 31

✪ Got on a bus for a 3+ hour trip to a river
✪ Had to get on a broiling flatbed car of a train for a 30 minute ride
✪ A few hours of amazing fun going down what seemed like one constant rapid
✪ Went to a lodge and took a river tour to see monkeys and lightning bugs (better than I thought)
✪ In bed by 8pm

January 1

✪ Woke up at 6am for another river tour to see more monkeys
✪ Took an hour and a half taxi ride back to KK. Brother spoke Chinese to the driver the entire time.
✪ Went to airport
✪ Watched the Rose Bowl at the Singapore Airport. More people watching a marathon on another tv than football



January 2

✪ Man sitting next to me on the plane requests a doctor come to his aid
✪ Same fight attendant who took my beer is on the flight
✪ I don't get any free beer
✪ Home

If you still want to see more pictures please hit the "Pictures" link on the right.

Home

After 24 hours of travel I have made it home and am exhausted. I will upload photos soon and give all the gristly details as well.

I made a lot of origami during my Christmas lessons, I wish I knew how to make some of these though. Found via.