Japan At Last!

I spent my 20th birthday in Paris with Evan. We went out for a fancy dinner and then took an impossibly romantic stroll under a fully-it Eiffel Tower and talked about our future for the first time. And he asked me to go to Japan with him. And I said yes.

That was when I started researching English teaching positions. Then Evan decided he'd rather stay in Michigan and I went to Asia without him and the whole things is a comical mess that I'd be glad to rant to you about in person. Just ask.

Anyway, here we are, finally in Japan together. Awesomeness.

Yesterday we landed in Tokyo, found our hotel, dropped off our luggage and headed out. WE ate greasy ramen at a local place and then made a beeline for Akihabara because I could not imagine starting our Japanese tour anywhere else. A whole area full of geeks, porn, bright lights and electronics, anime, manga, arcades...it was brilliant. Only in Japan. I even played a dollar's worth of Tekken 6 - as a pink-haired cyborg fairy whose special move was to pull off her head, hand it to her opponent, step back and giggle as the old head exploded like a grenade and a new one grew in. Girls dressed in elaborate French maid outfits handed out pamphlets for their cafes where you can go in and be called "Master." Back alley stores sold "orient dolls," eerily lifelike creations, most of whom were designed to look like little girls, all with odd, innocently-confused looks on their too-real, dead-eyed faces. And it was about 98% men shopping for figurines, comic books, anime-style costumes, S&M gear or blowing coins at the arcade on dating simulations, beat 'em ups, and gambling machines. Only. In. Japan.

Beyond that we didn't do much else of note in Tokyo. We're saving two days at the end of our trip for the real Tokyo tour. We took a bullet train to Kanazawa (well, part of the way), where Maggie met us at (where else?) a Starbucks. Which was offering Sakura-flavored everything! We're missing Cherry Blossom season by a few weeks, which is tragic. I'll have to console myself with a bright pink Sakura latter and a slice of fairy-like Sakura cake.

In the meantime, I'm delighted to be with Maggie again! And to see for myself all the wonders descibe in her blog, like the famous Peter Rabbit toaster and the blessed kerosene heater. Tomorrow we will laugh the rain in its face and explore the hell out of Kanazawa. Now I'm going to huddle beneath my electric blanket because damn Japanese buildings have no insulation and no heating. Good night!