Tokyo, Japan

What a huge city! Lots to tell you...

This morning I awoke to an earthquake. Just a little one. Nate slept through it and although I was jabbing him to wake up, saying, "Nate, Nate, it's an earthquake," he just grumbled and rolled over. So I went downstairs in our hostel, bought a can of hot coffee out of the vending machine (yes.. a can of hot coffee...you gotta love this place) and checked my mail. There was a Turkish man down here all excited about the quake, rambling on about it to the reception desk.

Yesterday Nate and I spent the day travelling around Tokyo by train, monorail, subway, and foot. The transportation system here is really efficient. Nate had bought rail passes for us before we arrived, so we just flash our pass and away we go! After picking up our money and dashing to the nearest 7-11 for sushi and a Starbucks coffee, we took the train to an old part of the city, visiting little shops, we walked around the Emperor's palace grounds and saw lovely gardens and old stone walls and the mote,


then we took the monorail out to a manmade island where there were some very cool looking buildings and the world's tallest ferris wheel (about 30 stories high), which we took for a ride. Very fun - amazing views of this enormous, never ending city. Last night we went up the Tokyo Tower - a replica of the Eiffel tower to enjoy the views further.

Tokyo is the opposite of India. It is full of people and crowded - like India - but clean and organized. Everyone walks fast and in organized files. There are always three escalators going to the trains...one for up, one for down, and one for lane reversal depending on the time of day! People all follow the rules...no jaywalking. People are polite - no pushing or crowding. There is always a uniformed man wearing white gloves to open the door for you at establishments. They all bow - even the taxi drivers - to say thank you for your patronage...and there is no tipping allowed.
Other nice differences between India and Japan include bathroom cubicles stacked with dozens of rolls of toilet paper, vending machines full of every kind of drink imaginable - even carbonated milk drinks like Fanta White (amazing taste...)


I also am really enjoying noticing just how different the culture is here. It is not at all an oriental west. They dress different, they act different, they talk different. For example, because their culture is very collective and conformist, people express their individuality in how they dress. Watching the people here is amazing. You will see women in skirts so short you can see the crack at the base of their bottom...wearing long knee socks, ankle boots with pom poms on them, and rabbit ears (seriously...and not just a few people...this is acceptable dress here!). You will also see the raggedy Anne look...frumpy, but lacy dresses of no shape at all, with empress cuts that eliminate the breasts. These looks are the "little girl" look and worn a lot by women. Today we are going to a park that is known for girls parading around in what is called the Gothic-Lolita look. Gothic little girls (???)...should be interesting. For those of you who have never read the classic book - Lolita, it is about a young nymphette who ends up in a sexual relationship with her mother's husband at age 10. Even the men dress funny here - when they are not in their well cut, high end, black suits and shiny expensive shoes. Young men especially - they wear their hair very poofy with loads of hairspray, and dress quite feminine.

I will write more tonight about what we have seen, and will try to upload photos before we head off to Stephane Dion's dog's namesake (Kyoto) tomorrow.