Tonight I'm going to meet Ted at his place for some drinks with some of his friends. I'll be leaving in a few minutes so that I can catch the end of the Sanja Matsuri before going to his place. But let me tell you what I've been up to since I wrote yesterday...
Ted apologized profusely that he would have to leave me on my own on my first night in Tokyo, but he gave me plenty of ideas of things to do and places to go. In the end, I ended up just exploring the area I'm living in. Ted had told me it was one of his favorite areas of Tokyo and now I know why. It's got a heck of a lot of character, and not a lot of foreigners. Last night I walked along the train tracks for almost a half an hour in one direction, and it is just littered with tiny little bars, which Ted tells me is fantastic during the week because that's where all the businessmen go after work. I ended up getting a couple drinks at a English-style pub called "the Hub," which Ted had also told me about earlier. He recommended it because it's one of the most foreigner-friendly bars that doesn't actually get a lot of foreigners coming in. I didn't really know what to expect, it being the first time I've ever gone to a bar by myself, and it turned out a bit differently than I expected. There are no places to sit right up at the actual bar. Everyone sits at tables, but you have to go up to the bar and order your food/drinks and they bring it to your table. So I got a table for one (sad, I know) and ordered some edamame and a beer and waited. I got there around 10-ish and it wasn't very crowded when I got there, but gradually more and more people came. Finally these 2 cute girls who looked about my age sat down at the table right next to me. I didn't say anything to them for a while (you all know I'm shy), but then after a creepy guy came up to them and tried to hit on them I sort of made fun of him and they were impressed with my Japanese and it was all good after that. Turned out they were, in fact, exactly my same age and they had just graduated college where both of them had majored in ENGLISH. what a coincidence *wink wink.* Anyways, I ended up talking to them for an hour or so and then they apologized that they had to leave so they wouldn't miss the last train home (something I didn't have to worry about having walked there), and I may never see them again cuz i'm really unskilled at nampa (the japanese word for 'picking up girls') and didn't get their numbers or anything. But that's not important, the important thing is it was a boost to my confidence and I had a good time.
Okay, this is ending up being longer than I expected...
Today I woke up at 4 AM (damn jet lag), and just stayed in my room until about 6:30, when I went up north on the Ginza line to Asakusa Shrine, where they were having the Sanja Matsuri. I was expecting something big, but nothing could have prepared me for the size of this event. They had blocked off tons of streets for this 3-day festival and every bit of it was packed. For some of the time, I couldn't even move, the crowd was so thick. Also, it turned out Sanja Matsuri was mostly just an excuse for all the Japanese men to walk around in man-thongs. Just joking. But seriously, I saw way too much buttocks today. The only buttocks that was actually awesome as heck to see was that of the Yakuza (the Japanese mob), who are famous for their full-body or near-full-body tattoos. It turns out the Sanja matsuri is the only time of year that the police allow the yakuza to display their tattoos publicly without penalty (I don't really know how they could stop them any other time of year, but oh well), so they take full advantage by walking around in nothing but their thongs for all to see. Many pictures to come.
Okay, I really should be going, but I wanted to mention one more thing before I go and that is I will be performing at the Ruby Room in Shibuya this Wednesday! I found out they have open mics on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and I called the man in charge and asked if they had a piano/keyboard I can use and he said yes, so I secured my place on Wednesday night's show at 9 PM!!! I only hope this cough clears up before then.... *(^_^)* <--- it's a smiley face. keep looking, you'll see it. Anyhow, if all goes well this could hopefully become a regular thing for me. Fingers crossed!
Love,
Roorensu-san
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