FIVE DAYS IN TOKYO
On August 27th, 1998, I arrived at Tokyo-Narita airport. I had came through Northwest Airlines. My ticket was a round trip ticket from San Francisco to Hong Kong with a stopover in Japan. I had done this on purpose so that I could come to Japan before going to Hong Kong and I could go their again prior to returning to San Francisco. I took the Keisei line for 1000 yen, instead of the expensive "SKYLINER." I went to Asakusa Plaza Hotel in Asakusa of course. It costed 5521 yen a night, which I think is pretty cheap compared to other places.

I went to Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Twin Observatories. I rode the elevator to the top. There, I could have a 360 degree view of Tokyo. I really wanted to come here last year but it was not open then. This place is free and should be a must come place when visiting Shinjuku. My arrival in Tokyo also seemed to have coincided with a coming typhoon. Very gloomy, is it not?

The typhoon has brought with it plenty of rain. It was really raining very hard. As soon as I exited the Twin Observatories, I was drenched. Luckily one of my friends gave me an umbrella. Without it I would have been wet my entire stay in Japan!

I ate lunch at Bravo, an Italian Bar & Grill. Sounds strange doesn't it....eating Italian in Japan. Anyway, I was noticing that the waitresses use an electronic device that sends a signal to somewhere else, to tell the cooks what customers order. I have never seen such things used before! I also looked at products in an interesting store called Tokyu Hands I also tried finding a Kanji dictionary in Kinokuniya, but I just couldn't find it.

My friend Tadashi came from Chiba right after work to visit me. I had a very tough time trying to meet him in Shinjuku station because it is too big! We went to Shibuya and shopped around. I wanted to get a New Balance shoe because they don't sell the good types in America. Plus they look very good. We rested in McDonalds, drinking ice coffee. I also went to Sakuraya because I remember there was a very cheap model shop on the top floor. There I bought a Kenshiro (Hokuto no Ken) toy, which reads "Anata wa mo shindeiru!" I don't plan to open to box though! I had tonkatsu for dinner. I must thank Tadashi for paying the bill. I also bought some manga, GON, which is about a small powerful dinosaur. We later went to Ueno and used print club. This is the Ginza Line at Ueno Station.

The next day I met Tadashi at the east exit of Jimbochi. Jimbochi has many bookstores and therefore, I should be able to find cheap manga here. However, all the the stores seemed to be closed because it was Sunday. We ate at a cafe and later went to Akihabara. There I met with Kayo, who was helping me find the 2nd hand CD stores. These stores are a chain and are all spread out in Akihabara. I bought about 15,000 yen worth of CDs! I had dinner with Tomoko and Chris. We ate yakitori, torikushi, tsukune-kushi, nankotsu-kushi, sunagimo-kushi, kubikawa-kushi, and a lot more!

I took a strolled in Asakusa since my hotel was in Asakusa. I went to Ikebukuro because I wanted to go to Sunshine City. I remember from last year that there was an Animate near here. Afterwards, I returned to Akihabara to finish my CD shopping, but this time buying about 10,000 yen. I then returned to Shibuya to buy New Balance model 495 (i think). One of my friend told me to get model 996, but that costs 19,600 yen! I did some final CD shopping at HMV. I wanted to test out Inka because I had heard some pretty good songs before so I bought Misora Hibari's Kawanonagareno Youni with my friend's recommendation.

I ate okonomiyaki at Naoko's house. in Mejiro It was delicious. I also had a chance to fry it myself. Chris was showing everyone some photos of the Kinki Kids that he took! I should really thank Kosei for bringing his B&W Polaroid camera to Naoko's house. However I won't because there is a reason to why I am smiling big. Look at Kosei's fingers! Front: Kumiko, Kayo, I Back: Tomoko, Chris, Naoko, Kosei

These are neighborhood photos of Mejiro. Top right: Barber shop Top left: Delivery van Bottom: Naoko's house

All things must come to an end. I woke up at 6:45 to head for the airport. I checked in my luggage and had extra time so I bought souvenirs, specifically key chains. Because of a strike at Northwest Airlines, I was given a ticket for Cathay Pacific. I boarded Flight 509 at 9:20 to depart for Hong Kong. So long to Japan, at least for an academic year!