My 28th Birthday: Dracula and Mr. Fuji

On July 30th, 2011, we were invited to Dracula's Ginza crib for a special dinner in my honor...

Little did I know that my little coffin full of birthday treats was just a distraction, and it was actually I who was on the menu.

In the background you can see the coffin and wax covered candlestick that were the centerpieces of Dracula's cafe. Nice interior decorating.

The next day we set off to climb Mt. Fuji. Mt. Fuji, or Fuji-san (Mr. Fuji) as the Japanese call it, is Japan's tallest peak at 3776m. The mountain is divided into 10 stations, with buses and roads leading up to the 5th, where you can start your climb all the way to the 10th. Unfortunately, when we got there it was raining, and as we climbed the mountain it didn't let up. My waterproof pants ripped along the way, and I had puddles of water in my pants and shoes. The thin air made me queasy, and it was quite possibly the most miserable experience of my life. I'm still relatively happy in this picture, but that's because I have no idea what awaits me.

The climb itself is not difficult. The bigger problem is the traffic jam of people climbing the mountain in a neat line, when the climbing slope is acutally quite wide. We would frequently break out of this line and climb elsewhere, at which point people followed us - but no one wanted to be the first.

After hours of climbing we made it to the 8st station and checked into our lodge. At that point we were above the clouds so at least it wasn't raining.

We had dinner and went to bed as soon as the sun set, to be ready to climb before sunrise.

The beds were massive bunks; it had a very barn atmosphere.

We could watch the sunrise from our station. It was very impressive to see a sunrise from above the clouds and not be in an airplane for it.

Unfortunately the clear skies didn't last, and it started to rain. After 6 more hours of misery, I made it to the top. In retrospect I'm glad I made it, but at the time it really was the worst experience of my life.

Mt. Fuji is an inactive volcano, and Rick had a chance to check out the crater. By the time I got there it was already covered with fog.

It was a birthday weekend I will never forget, and a mountain hike I will never do again.

Tokyo Neighborhoods: Asakusa

Asakusa is one of the best neighborhoods in Tokyo. It's one of the oldest and has the best atmosphere, and it's also great for souvenir shopping. I went shopping (with my friend and coworker Kazuko) for souvenirs for all my lovely peeps back home.

It's funny when representatives from the world's tallest nations stand next to delegates from the world's shortest.

A very modern building, but the garage door painting made it fit in well with the rest of the 'hood.

The Senso-ji temple is the focal point of Asakusa. On this special day it was also the location for the random dried plant festival.

Asahi is a famous Japanese beer, and their sky building was designed to look like a giant beer glass. The Japanese hate it and curse it for its ugliness, but I actually like it. I think it's interesting and creative, and is a far cry from the ugliest building in the city when you look at some of the other monstrosities.

Next to the beer glass is the Tokyo Sky Tree (still under construction). My students keep telling me that it's the tallest building in the world, but I highly doubt it. It doesn't even look taller than the CN tower.

In the foam of the Asahi building is a bar, overlooking the temple. It looks like a toy.
And by night.

Tokyo Neighborhoods: Shinjuku

Shinjuku is Tokyo's business district, full of massive buildings and company headquarters. It is a strange neighbor to Shibuya, though maybe not so strange if you factor in compensated dating. The only time I come to Shinjuku is when I have to engage in one of two super fun activities: a meeting at my company's headquarters, or a dentist appointment.

This is the massive city hall from a different angle; take note of the motorcycle for scale.

This ultra modern fountain really reminds me of Toronto.

Random/artsy office building.

Shinjuku station.
There are still many little alley's with tiny hole in the wall restaurants and generators everywhere. It's a sharp contrast with the very sleek and modern office buildings just blocks away.

Where you have Japanese businessmen, you also have strange shops that sell all kinds of comic books or random toys.

And the slightly less modern buildings of Shinjuku.

Tokyo Neighborhoods: Shibuya

Like all other Tokyo neighborhoods, Shibuya has a lot of variety. This is in part due to the fact that Tokyo's neighborhoods were once independent cities. Our first stop was very cultural, the Teien Art Museum. It was closed for inexplicable reasons but we could still visit the garden.

The garden was a far cry from the business of downtown Shibuya. Shibuya crossing is full of screens and loudspeakers, blasting J-Pop, and a favorite place for youngsters to congregate.

If this intersection looks familiar, it's because of Lost in Translation.

Compensated dating, a form of teenage prostitution that involves highschool girls going on dates (or more) with older business men in exchange for a nice night out or money, is a pretty common social phenomenon in Japan. The industry is centered around Shibuya because of the many clothing stores, restaurants, clubs and love hotels readily available in the neighborhood.

It's always strange to see a teenage girl dressed in Uniqlo (Japanese Old Navy) clothes but carrying a Louis Vuiton bag. Consumerism and brands are so important here, though, that I'm not surprised many girls resort to compensated dating. It's also funny how legitimately people treat these love hotels; they are an institution of their own and have none of the sleaze of American one-hour-motels attached to them. This is also due in part to the fact that many people live with their parents until they start their own families. Property is very expensive here and space is limited, so young people don't have much of a chance for privacy.

By night Shibuya is even more frantic. I guess everyone is hurrying to get to their favorite love hotel.

Tokyo Neighborhoods: Omote-Sando

Omote-Sando is a mini-Ginza with a little something extra. There is a high concentration of designer shops here, as well as pedestrian streets line with smaller boutiques, and even our favorite pizza joint. I've been taking a weekly Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) class, and my school is in Omote-Sando, so it was nice exploring this neighborhood on foot one weekend.

Eventually I started to recognize certain buildings, and that's because I've been here before! This is where Yuka showed me around on my first ever trip to Tokyo in January. The longer I stay here the smaller the city gets.

Like all Japanese neighborhoods, Omote-Sando has massive structures erected in worship of the God's of commerce.

Harajuku, the teenage girls go to street for cheap fashion, rubs shoulders with designer brands one street over. The fashion in Harajuku looks unique to the outsider, but stay here long enough and you realize that everyone is dressed the same - this is the universal Japanese outfitter.

Fashion in Japan is way more important than comfort, and it is absolutely imperative that everyone be dressed the same, all the time. Booty shorts are a must have for winter fashion, and the hottest summer fashions include (pardon the pun) black leggings to be worn under said booty shorts. When chosing shoes, find a pair that is either too big or too small for you; it's important that your toes are awkwardly squished together or sticking out in all directions. Bonus points if you can't walk in your shoes. Please remember to overdress for every single occassion, and don't forget to buy all your tops in extra-frumpy size.

And as always, badly appropriated English.

Tokyo Neighborhoods: Odaiba

Odaiba is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo - mainly because it's not in Tokyo. It's a man-made island, across the bay from Tokyo, so it offers a great view of the city; Tokyo is one of those cities that is more fun to look at than be a part of. You can reach Odaiba by ferry or monorail, and there are a few malls and a Ferris wheel on the island. There's also a small beach, where people can walk (or bury) their pet prairie dogs.

Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge as seen from the ferry.

And the skyline, with the Tokyo Tower (modeled after the Eiffel Tower) wedged between modern skyscrapers.

There's also a portal to NYC.

The Museum of Emerging Science has some cool displays of the future. This one is full of little kitchen robots that set the table.

There are also some interactive displays, like this one.

One of these folks is not like the others...

And a must in all science museums; a random pod with lots of buttons.

The architecture in Odaiba is kind of out there. This Rubik's cube-like building is the headquarters of Fuji TV.

And the glass building belongs to a telecom company.

And as always, let's throw in some cute characters for good measure.

When you leave Odaiba by monorail, you pass a very modern building with a huge clock. It's quite possibly the coolest clock I've ever seen, and is based on something out of a studio Ghibli movie.