Black is the New Black

So with Monday being our first full day in Japan, Les and I decided to really soak in the town and get right into the Tokyoian culture with a morning trip to Harajuku (you know, Gwen Stefani's song talks all about the place). Now Tokyo is the fashion capital of Asia, and I fully expected to see the outlandish and downright eccentricity of the place with costume play and peace-signing girls. And yes, it was exactly as I imagined it. Every single person was dressed like they randomly chose clothing pieces that had no rhyme or reason, but somehow it just worked. I'm by no means a fashionista myself, but after about 3 minutes in the neighborhood, I actually looked like the oddball out. Although I think I draw the line with the guys playing baseball in the alley with a tophat on. Now that was weird.

Nevertheless, Harajuku is a very fashionable shopping district with the likes of Prada, Coach, LV, and all of the other trendy boutiques you can find in NYC or Paris. Oddly enough, I saw a Shakey's Pizza on the main drag, which I thought was impressive since the last one I've been to was in Sacramento when I was 10 yrs old and had a birthday party there. I was, of course, drawn to the Nike store just to see what they have (it took us about 30 min to find the darn store since Google maps gave us the old location a few blocks away), but I was surprised that the new style is really the old '80s style...you know, with the flourescent green/pink tracksuits. Had I known that, I would've kept my old ensembles...who knew I was way ahead of the fashion curve?

Now, what is interesting is that even though Tokyo is very fashionable and "out there", there's a very distinct dichotomy with clothing. On one hand, you have the youthful crowd with the rainbow stockings, tall boots, tutu's, and tophats; then on the other, the daily workers with black suits, white shirts, and ties. I mean, no suits of any other color...just black. White shirts. Red or blue tie. On a subway, there's really a yin-yang thing going on, and it'll be interesting to see where that bridge meets.

Up next, Ueno Park to see the Cherry Blossoms. Hmm, I guess we are a bit early because there was only 1 tree in the whole lot that bloomed, and people were clamoring over each other to get a glimpse. It's sorta like Groundhog Day, and everyone is waiting to see when the trees bloom, otherwise it's another 6 wks of winter.

Ueno, much like every other city (or prefecture, as officially it is known), has a huge shopping area. A lot of shops, lights, arcades, and food. What I thought was cool was that they have shops setup right underneath the train bridge, so when you're walking inside the shop, the train completely shakes the place and merchandise. I kinda feel like I'm in a Mad Max movie or something. We eat at an Izakuya (a Japanese-style Tapas restaurant), and for kicks, I try out some dish that turns out to be (gasp) horse meat! Now before you get sick, it's actually not too bad, but nothing like chicken. More like chewy cow.

After a stop in Akihabara (electronics area), we head back to the hotel to get ready for an early morning venture to Tsukiji Fish Market. We'll see how that turns out after 7+ miles of walking today and horse meat in the system.

One thing I saw today: anime body pillows...they are long pillow covers with a anime girl printed on the front and usually in some provacative pose. These suckers cost up to $100 each, and I saw on the news that one guy married his pillow the other day. Maybe I can start importing them into the states...now that's a business idea!