so, i tried to call
Ms Unerasable to ask her out last week but couldn't get ahold of her. i was invited out with a group of people and she was there, so i finally got a date. WAHOO! now i need to deal with being scared witless by her. advice from friends is 'Stop talking about when you were thinner'. thanks guys.
Brian and i went to Tokyo for new years and had a great time:
i found out i can still read some Chinese characters, as Japanese Kanji is same-same. i didn't know the meaning of many places, but i could read the signs and knew where i was (the amount of English used makes this a relatively pointless exercise, but hey, if i'm not one for pointless exercises, who is?).
we were staying in the suburbs out west with Brent who introduced us to bowing wars. one Japanese person bows, so the next person bows lower, so the first person bows lower, etc. it's engrossing, as their faces are confused and scared, humble and semi-happy. when they walk away, they look relieved. i thought it could be a hangover from the downfall of the feudal system: they're trying to be equals but their nature says there's a heirarchy to adhere to. i'd love to read about it.
New Years Eve:
we met up with Eric, a Canadian teaching in Tokyo, who i met in Guangzhou, China, last year. he took us for dinner, plied us with Sake, then we stood in line with 200,000 people for New Years wishes at a beautiful Shinto Temple. we didn't know what was going on until Brian befriended two women standing by us who explained the process. when the clock struck midnight, the gates opened and partitioned groups made their way into the Temple. at around 1220am, our group went in and threw our coins and made our wishes. then we went to Shibuya, drank Sake, ate some great food (i dunno what) and argued about where the
Commonwealth games was in 2002. debate still rages despite the above info.
we made it to Sunrio Puraland, better known as Hello Kitty World! that was quite . . . something. it seemed to be a big product placement extravaganza just engrossing children with images for them to consume. scary scary. that's why i went though, i suppose.
and before we left, there was sushi and a public bowing war between Brent, Brian, Eric and myself. funfunfun.
outside the Imperial Palace near the very central Tokyo station. the gates are opened one day a year, which happened to be the day after we left :(
Shibuya: like a Braveheart battle scene without the axes
there's a constant stream of people moving in all directions. it's incredible.
Sanrio Puraland: we were seeking a distinctly Japanese funpark and found the home of . . .
