Let's go outback tonight . . .

Kind of sick this week. 26 million people in one city a lot of germs passed around. Couple that with the fact that the Japanese apartment buildings have no insulation in them (if it is 35 degrees outside it is 36 degrees inside) makes for a bad combination. I originally thought that there was just a lot of doctors in Tokyo because here the everyday Japanese wear medical masks outside and on the subway, but apparently it is to keep germs away. Also, there is the added bonus of covering up their teeth. The Japanese are stereotyped as having notoriously bad teeth even rivaling the British- although I haven't seen it. The urban legend is that the Japanese toothpaste does not contain fluoride and that is why there is a little less pearly whites in this city than most cities. (and I should not really comment on this, my teeth are probably are a shade similar to that of the armpit area of a old white undershirt of a man who has been wearing a little too much deodorant.) I may have to invest in some of those masks and maybe some teeth whitening. I had a bad dream that Eli Manning stopped choking in the big games and the Giants are in the Super Bowl. Thankfully, I am in Japan and can just pretend that this never happened. Anyway, went to Harijuku and took some pictures along with other parts of the city- Harijuku is a shopping area where everyone dresses up and there are alot of street performers. It reminded me of Venice Beach a bit -performers were a little more asian, a little less talented, but just as creepy. Overall, it was interesting and cool to see. Since someone asked for pictures, here it is- the all picture version (with some commentary) Kompai!




Apparently, Tommy Lee Jones has moved to Japan stolen Bruce Springsteen's nickname and started a coffee company . . . only if the coen brothers gave him the ending to "No Country for Old Men"- I never felt so unfulfilled as the end or lack of ending to that film. Tommy Lee Jones is everywhere- I once saw his picture 22 times in one day

Beef bowl- becoming my favorite meal-- it is beef, rice and in a bowl and a steal at only 500 yen. Lesson to learn about food in Japan and a quick story: always know what you are eating though. I am probably going to hell for laughing at the story. When someone told me this story I laughed out loud for about two minutes straight and it is actually pretty terrible story. It might be a you "to be there story." Also, in every bad event, I think once everything is Ok, there is no harm about laughing at it (at least that is what I tell myself). Anyway, on our first night we went to the this traditional Japanese restaurant with the school and this girl got really sick to her stomach for like three days. I was asking this guy who was at her table how she got sick and I always just heard it was that she ate something bad. Well, he told me the story that they brought out raw pork and other foods and then you had to the meat put into this boiling pot at the center of the table to cook it. Here she just started to eat the raw pork and thought that it was sushi. She turned this kid while she was eating it and asked if it was ok and he said "sure why not eat it." Meanwhile, I cracked up and was like "she thought the raw pork was sushi!" and slapping my knee-- however, I am just as ignorant and just got lucky enough to sit at a table with people who knew what they were doing.

Asian Elvis- much more talented. I advocate we drop the "asian" prefix and just call this guy "Elvis" and then Elvis Pressley should be referred to as "American Elvis" for now on

Ah, Cameron Diaz -- looking much better here in Japan than in America. I thought her best days were behind her - she is everywhere too -also fourth most popular celebrity behind Tommy Lee Jones, "Elvis" (not "America Elvis") and Michael Jackson

The Supreme Court of Japan . . . oh wait, I missed that trip- Note- if you have ten minutes to be somewhere and your ten minutes away from that place, then you don't have time to sit in Mos Burger and eat. (The burger there is really amazing, but small)Small dogs are all the rage in Japan-- I think they may induce labor and bred these dogs prematurely-- they are tiny -smaller than hamsters.

Bikes, people ride them everywhere. I still can't bring myself to to get one. All bikes in Japan usually have two baskets, a light and a bell . . . what am I talking about I am going to get one tomorrow I have a feeling you will be hearing this group in the US soon -with that group name

I don't fit anywhere in Japan. This is my apartment doorway. Most doorways are mouthlevel and I may be hunchedback when I return or concussed

That about sums up Roppongi-- I would liken it to a mix between times square circa 1990, cancun and Beverly hills all in one

I wandered into a shady alleyway by accident and somehow every place seemed really crazy-- I have no clue what this place is, but the sign makes you want to run the other way. I have a feeling this alley broke the PG/PG-13 rating for this blog.

This store had chucky dolls next to care bears-- a bit disturbingSpeaking of disturbing, this guy was the complete opposite The free hugs guy is not as innovative as I once thought- I see these people everywhere now. I was going to make a sign and join the revolution in front of the Shibuya train station, but now that everyone does this and you can buy these signs at the convenience store- it lost its quiet nobility and respectability

This guy sung U2 for about three hours and I never seen such anything like it. He really thought he was Bono singing at Madison Square Garden and sung his heart out, I give him credit for his conviction-- I really need to videotape this guy. He had it all - the toe tap dance / sway with eyes barely open dance move, the loud voice level, and the ability to smoke a cigarrette and sing at the same time. These guys dressed up as greasers and danced the whole afternoon. They danced twice to Pat Bentar's "heartbreaker" in one half hour-- if that is not rock-n-roll, I don't know what is.What better way of bringing world peace than wearing a horse maskAll the girls dress up as goths in Harajuku and this girl looked right out of a horror movieQuick- get a picture of me-they are dressed all in whiteMore Tommy Lee Jones
The craziest thing is that all of these performers and people dressed up is located out front of this huge, holy shinto shrine in Harajuku. The shrine and small park was really surreal and serene. Japan certainly is an interesting place.

I had enough of Japanese culture for one day, so I figured I would try out some of Australian culture (or at least America's version of Australia) . ."Let's go outback tonight, don't wait until tomorrow. . . "