Here is the final video from my trip to Japan. The most amazing site was the number of people walking the streets of Tokyo. As a seasoned pedestrian (a rarity in Charlotte), I found a great connection with the people walking and using mass (read crowded) transit. The quantity of people was astounding. Even New York sidewalks seem roomy compared to some of the avenues like Shibuya and Harajuku.

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A video of some of the spectacular species on display at the aquarium in Okinawa. The complex rivaled SeaWorld in scope and was surrounded by another botanical garden themed park.

I had the chance to teach two English Language classes with a friend in Naruto, Japan. Of course I decided to bring yoga into the equation and get the kids moving around. They were excited to move all of the desks out of the way and play around with a tall white guy

So my first few days back in the US were spent finishing reading the the Twilight saga, the first two read on the plane and the last two read as soon as I could find copies here. I was excited to be back, although not looking forward to the jet lag everyone kept asking me about. As it turns out, for the first few days I did not feel tired at all. I was even waking up at my normal wee-morning hours without an alarm clock.

Now, nearly four days later I’m sitting at the computer at two in the morning after an hour of delibaration about whether I would fall back asleep or if I should just get up and start my day. I don’t know if I was pumped with adrenaline or some other life giving hormone, but I have not felt any jet lag until now. Maybe my frustration at missing my flight home (arrived at the airport 10 minutes after my gate closed…more later) delayed the onset of any adverse sleeping patterns. Anyway, I’m here and I’m awake dowloading all of the photos and videos of my trip.I teach class in four hours and wonder if thats when my body is going to suddenly decide it would rather be between the sheets than up and moving.

Saturday morning I made my way from Naruto to Tokyo. It was my first time really traveling on my own over here. Finding the train to leave the little village was easy, but as we got nearer and nearer Tokyo the crowds started to get bigger. The terrain changed from rice fields to neighborhoods and then into monstrous apartments buildings that housed unthinkable numbers of people in tiny cramped spaces. Over 12 million people live in 23 wards, each governed almost as a separate city. When mapping my way to my hostel it was actually easier to think of Tokyo as a collection of little cities linked by subways and trains. I traveled pretty much the whole length of the city, hearing the places I wanted to visit announced in Japanese and English.

Asakusa

My hostel was in Asakusa. Ascending from the depths of the metro I was greeted by house-size paper lanterns and a temple and market bustling with people. Seeing the lights of amusement park rides intermingled with the soaring roof lines of temples gave this part of town a quirky feel, but that didn’t stop the masses from bathing themselves in incense smoke and making offerings to the temple’s deity. After hours Asakusa closes down, which made for a nice way to decompress after spending the late hours stimulated by lights and sounds in the busiest parts of Tokyo.

Akihabara

This was my first stop. When you see the massive buildings dedicated to video game cultures, computers and digital toys wrapped in neon lights and hundred foot television screens, you’ll understand why all the signs leading here call it Electric Town. Girls and guys dressed up in classic anime garb belt out arias through megaphones at every store entrance, trying to entice walkerbys into coming into their store. Nothing sells like sex, and there were plenty of (real and fake) busty anime girls plastered on billboards or roaming the streets ready to fawn over their customers.

Shinjuku and Shibuya

Many of you have seen the scramble crossing right outside of Shibuya station in movies like Lost In Translation. This is where the sheer number of people in Japan shows itself off. At the crosswalk, all traffic stops and all sides of the street cross at once. Several hundred people at a time push and shove their way across during the busiest times. No part of the sidewalks went uncovered as the throngs of people enjoyed the nightlife and the shopping. And let me say, people in Tokyo can shop. Everything was a mall. A restaurant was really more like a department store that served food, even amusement parks and public facilities (like the Tokyo Dome) had full-featured shopping centers in them. It was all to easy to get caught up in the fever of shopping and my bags are already bulging. I’m wondering if I might have to check luggage for the return trip home.

Shinjuku station is the largest rail station in the system. I was to meet a friend from college there and head to Ni-chōme, Tokyo’s densely packed gay town. Here the prudence that is so standard in the rest of Tokyo isn’t so much cast off as much as it runs in fear. Most bars can only fit 25 people comfortably, although there were a few where people spilled out into the streets. My friend Jared took me to The Arty Farty, which caters to Japanese and gaijin alike. Apparantly there are many places that are Japaneses only and most don’t allow the opposite sex to enter.

Harajuku and Yoyogi Park

Harajuko is famous for its cosplay kids and it was something I was very excited to see. Short for costume play, dozens of teens dress up in outlandish gear and parade around the entrance to Yoyogi park posing for photographs. Sometimes they will sport specific anime character costumes and sometimes they are their own creations. For sure they are all elaborate and expensive, often months in the making to get an outfit just right. The weather the morning I went was not favorable to a big crowd, but there were some die hards out there ready to be photographed. Just inside Yoyogi were the Rockabilly guys. Never out of character, they danced, rode motorcycles and of course, posed for pictures.

Yoyogi park itself was beautiful. On a Sunday it seemed all of Japan was their either picnicing, playing feild games or taking advantage of a huge dog park where the animals can roam free with other dogs of their size.

So, I’m holding off on posting my Tokyo adventure because the computer I’m working on has a broken “d” key. It’s frustrating to have to go back and add them all in. In the meantime, I’ve uploaded some photos to flickr. Here’s the Japan set! Below are a few of my favs so far.

I am still getting all of my thoughts and pictures of Tokyo together. I’m a bit exhausted (and stuffed to the brim with fantastic food, so I’m opting for an early bedtime tonight. I will try to get the Tokyo post up tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a clip of the wonderful ocean that I woke up to today!

It’s my first day in Japan. Amazingly, my body wakes me up at the same time I usually get up, but in Tokyo Standard Time. Getting up early for all of those 6am classes really has an effect on the body. 

Bethann took me to her Jr. High school today to help her teach her two English classes. Each kid prepared questions for me and we played Hot Potato to Madonna and Journey to see who would get to ask. Amazingly, all of the kids were pretty excited to speak with me. Several kids ran up to me as soon as I entered to school to practice their English. The adults on the other hand, were super shy about using English. 

The best part was an impromptu yoga class! The children were excited to push all of the desks out of the way and have some fun. I started with easy balancing poses, but all of the students were good and were not hampered by their school uniforms. Many of them were doing Bakasana and Bird of Paradise before we were through. It was a great way to be introduced to Japan.

I’ll post more photos to my flickr account next week when I’m on a better computer/internet connection.