There was something familiar about her. When we got back to the hotel, she was waiting for us in the lobby. As soon as I met her, I asked if she had a sister who goes to UH. She reminded me of a girl I met last Friday at a Jazz club in downtown Honolulu. It turns out, that girl is her sister. Oahu is too small to contain me. I need to get out of there.
The girls were pretty tired from all the shopping, so they decided to call it a night. We walked across the street to Yoshinoya for a beef bowl. When we were done eating, Vince decided to go back to the room. Eriko had a lot of energy, so she wanted to do something. We venture to the other side of Shinagawa station and saw a bustling night life. There were restaurants, bars, and karaoke rooms all over the place. Sadly though, it was late and they were all closing down for the night. We walk over to a nearby convenience store and I bought us some drinks. I remember Jayson telling us there was no last call for alcohol in the stores.
According to Jayson, drinking in public was acceptable. We thought it would be fun to test his statement. We opened the cans of beer and started drinking. No one cared. No one looked at us funny. Here we were, drinking in public and no one bothered us. It was liberating. Basically, I can get wasted every night if I wanted to. Interesting concept...The next morning
I woke up early again, 6:00 am, I don't get it. I don't know why I'm waking up so early. I took a shower and went downstairs before Vince and Travis got up. I walked around the hotel and I realized I was losing sight of why I was here. I came here to find my passion, my calling, and the past 2 nights, I was only thinking about how much alcohol I was going to drink. I better be careful...instead of finding something, I could lose myself here.
Akihabara, Ueno, and Roppongi Hills was today's itinerary. I hung out with Jayson, Yoko, Andy, and Barbara while we were in Akihabara. Everyone was mesmerized by the big electronic stores, I wanted to visit the Otaku. Check Mate, the first place we visited, was not a maid cafe. It was a butler bar called Check Mate. Luckily, the employees were all women dressing up as men in anime costumes. It was a cute, little, cozy bar. There were already some people enjoying the women's company. Jayson, Andy, and I sat at the bar and we ordered something to drink. Yoko and Barbara joined us a little later. Jayson also ordered a dish from their special section. When the food came out, the employees began to sing for Jayson. The other patrons of the bar, I think they were regulars, were also singing along. I thought to myself, "They must come here a lot!"
-note-While sitting at the bar listening to Jayson and Andy talk, I realized something about Andy. He speaks very eloquently. His pattern of speech, the words he chooses, his tone, and the delivery all come together to create something thats almost musical. I wasn't the only one who noticed this. The bartender noticed and she would listen with more intent, even though she didn't understand english, whenever Andy spoke. When he speaks, people naturally listen. It is a very powerful tool to have in social situations. I'm sure he is a great public speaker. hmm...That may be part of the reason why everyone thinks he is the teacher...
-end note-
I forgot what the name of the next maid cafe we visited was. This time it was a real cafe, and there were maids there. I observed how the maids treated the customers. When they were taking orders for drinks or anything else, they made sure they were looking up at the customer. They really know how to make people feel better about themselves. Just this act alone can make a person relax. Jayson wanted us to experience the cafe so he orders a game and tells me choose. I decide to go with Crocodile Dentist. Our waitress was very nice and cheerful. She made the game interesting by making a lot of noise when one of us push down the wrong tooth. I eventually get into it and I ended up enjoying myself. This is probably the reason why places like these are so popular. They bring out positive aspects about people that usually don't show up unless you've known them for a while.
Ueno was a short subway ride from Akihabara. Black market vendors used to sell things here. That is why it didn't surprise me when it looked more like a swap meet than a shopping district. However, the prices of some of the products there didn't reflect on the way the place looked like.
While weaving through the people and the tiny shops, Travis and I find this temple. This is the second time when a temple seemingly pops out of nowhere. Although it doesn't look like it goes with the surrounding buildings, I got the feeling it belonged there. I don't know why I felt that way. I just did.
Roppongi Hills, a mega shopping, business, movie, and residential complex was the final stop of the tour for today. We had booked a tour of the mini city and waited in a meeting room for the tour to start. We requested an English speaker and it was not a problem to get one. Roppongi is actually the international hub of Tokyo. A lot of people there know how to speak English as well as other languages. Our tour guide, I think her name was Ayumi, gave us listening devices so she wouldn't have to yell while on the tour. 
We put on the headphones and she started the tour. She had a beautiful voice. When she spoke, I became mesmerized, captivated, and even attracted to her. She was thin, had darker skin, and most important of all, she could understand me when I spoke to her. She was beautiful.
She took us to see Mamon, the Spider sculpture, and Mori Tower. Besides the tour guide, there were so much to look at. Mori Tower was a huge building that seemed to just go on forever. It is the 5th tallest building in all of Tokyo. A lot of time and effort went into the design of this complex. The station "hat" captivates you instantly with its moving screen. The surrounding buildings were designed to compliment the main tower in the middle. The engineers and architects must have had a great time designing this whole place. It seemed like every nut and bolt in the tower served a purpose. Everything here was designed to impress and wow the client. I can only imagine what the rooms and offices look like. The logo was also very modern. For a moment, it took me back to my days when I was interested in graphic design. Although I don't share the same enthusiasm I have for architecture with graphics, I will always admire good design. Everything in Roppongi Hills had good design.The typhoon was coming and the rain had started to pour. After our tour at Roppongi Hills, we headed back to Akihabara because some people wanted to do more shopping. Instead of shopping, I opt to join Jayson and Yoko to look for a cosplay Izakaya called Cafe BSD (Beautiful Satanic Dining). There was a particular dish that I thoroughly enjoyed in the Izakaya. It was called Russian Meatballs. There were 6 meatballs in a small plate and 1 of those meatballs was extra spicy (karai). We didn't know which one it was, so it was similar to Russian roulette. I was the unlucky (or lucky) one to eat the spicy meatball.
I learned something about Yoko tonight. Some people call this quality stubbornness, but I call it determination. While we were looking for the restaurant, we got lost. While walking down one of the back roads, Jayson finally said, "it is not worth looking for it, we're lost."
Yoko was not having it. She didn't even acknowledge that Jayson was waving the white flag. The rain was pouring down in buckets and she would not give up. She called the restaurant and even stopped 2 guys in a dark alley to ask for directions. We meandered through concrete buildings and little alleyways until we got there. When she found the restaurant, Jayson was so happy, he couldn't stop smiling at her. I was just relieved we were out of the rain.
"Yukkuri doozo" said the waitress, dressed in a purple outfit, as she delivered our food.
It means, to take your time and enjoy. This trip has been going by so fast, the waitress' predetermined greeting made an impact on me. I looked around the restaurant and people were talking, laughing, and having fun. We should all follow her advice especially here, in Tokyo. Take your time and absorb it all in. Yukkuri Doozo!
There is something about Tokyo that you'll never find in any American city. Here, the cars don't have alarms or The Club going across the steering wheel. Every restaurant or retail outlet has an umbrella rack outside the door and people leave their umbrellas outside. When they leave, their umbrella is still where they left it last. There is a sense of trust that is very foreign to me. According to Reid, author of Confucius Lives Next Door, this sense of trust is the social miracle he noticed while living in Japan. It is a society where you can let your children as young as 9 years old catch the subway by themselves, and nothing would happen to them. In America, parents can't even fathom the thought of letting their kids go to the corner store by themselves without worrying. It makes me sad that our society, American society, lives in fear of this sort of thing. If Japan can do it, why can't we?
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