Japanimation Station

I`m not gonna lie to ya, Tokyo is a little bit of good...and a little bit of bad. Good, being the frenetic rainbow colored buzz that is all around you and appears to be the lifeblood of this attention hungry metropolis. And bad because from what I can tell, central Tokyo is just one enormous smear of shopping outlets and restaurants connected by a million multicolored train lines...which after two days of endless walking has long since lost it‘s appeal . Having said that, I`m giving Tokyo the benefit of the doubt, because I did walk by an art museum and there was that trip to the zoo yesterday afternoon so I`ll have to make a point to come back one day with a travel guide, a japanese phrase book and a backpack full of yen!!!

Ok, so by this time you should be getting used to the idea that this blog is about as far away from formal as it gets and if you have ever heard me talk, this is about as close to it as you`re going to come for the time being...so with that in mind here are a few excerpts from my personal `Tokyo Conclusions` list.

1. If one chooses to embark on a journey around the world with limited funds, one should NOT choose to start that journey in Tokyo, it`s far too spendy!

2. Cellphones here make ours look utterly prehistoric! Don`t believe me, have a look for yourself...I spent a full half hour playing with them knowing full well I can`t have one...grrrr!
http://900i.nttdocomo.co.jp/main.html (btw. this shows about 8 of the 200 or so you can choose from.

3. Useful things like internet cafes, money exchangers and information kiosks are well hidden while `gentlman`s clubs`, beer dispensers and plinko arcades are on top of you at every turn!

4. Muji, the Japanese answer to Ikea is the greatest thing ever created...I discovered it a few years ago when it made a few things now it`s expanded into making literally EVERYTHING from underpants to washing machines to pre-packaged ice cream cones (which aren`t as bad as you might think though the cone was squishy...is that bad?). I wandered around the six floor superstore for a half hour lamenting the fact I couldn`t buy the hyper condensed cardboard mechano-like DIY shelf unit they had for sale...trust me, it`s very cool...look for it in my studio one day. I did buy a journal book tho, if nothing else I`ll have room to write about the first time I visited the Muji store in Tokyo. http://store.muji.net/ Honestly, I want my life to look like the Muji store.

5. Unfortunately my life resembles more closely a Japanese shopping mall. Full of lots of people on varying levels, a bevy of possible routes to take and many, many other wonderful things. However once I`ve grown weary of it all I can`t seem to find my way out...no I`m serious, how do you say..."Where is motherfuckin` exit?" in Japanese?

6. Green tea buns and curry noodle cups are good. Octopus candy and Japanese corn dogs on not. That`ll learn me huh?

7. One does not need to be here long to encounter a thousand distinct fashion groups, some more risky than others. People of a different culture expressing themselves by the way they dress, accessorize and style their hair. I am toootally cool with that, really!

However, Japanese men who take it upon themselves to become walking interpretations of Rolling Stone (heroin chic) rock legend Kieth Richards should be beaten with the fat end of a guitar, no better yet, they should be bludgeoned several yucalayleys (and no, I don`t know how to spell that). I mean, there are far too many styles to choose from for dudes to be rockin` steel toed cowboy boots, tight ripped jeans, loose frilly silk shirts and 10 pounds of silver all stuffed into child sized velvet blazer and iced with a rediculous frock of poofy dyed hair. I mean, C`mon, are you kiddin` me? Why not dress like something cool...maybe a ninja, yeah that sounds good.

I have found the samurai outfit store, but tomorrow I`ll have to find out where all the ninjas get their gear.

K, that`s all for now, tomorrow I`m headed to Hong Kong so I may have a thing or two to say...