BLAM!!

the last couple days have been really fun and productive. which is great combo.

the main highlight from yesterday:

 i bought a bike! i had been trying for a couple days, stalled by weather and holidays (on which the shop was closed). so, i was extremely excited when i was finally able to get it yesterday! for now, i’m toying with the name “akka”, which means “red” in Japanese, “sister” in tamil, “here” in Spanish, and… “(a surprised exclamation [a-ha] with a hard Yiddish accent)?” in English. all good things! it’s a bit small, but i love the retro style (which is the norm here). i immediately took it for a long ride, to where i work, to test out the route. it’s a long and somewhat difficult ride, so i’ll probably only do it a couple times a week. it felt so great to ride though! today, riding it to run an errand, i found myself thinking, ‘life is better on a bike.’



 while on my long ride to and from where i work (a little over an hour each way), i had time to see a whole other part of my city, at a nice pace. funny signs/things i saw:
- a denny’s. one of a few i’ve seen actually. of all chains to be here, denny’s? seriously? i don’t know the last time i was at a denny’s in the US, but i’m sure i’ll be craving some pancakes some day and will give it a try here. they better have some damn pancakes.
- a hardware store called “hard & tool.” i laughed out loud. i don’t know what it says about the English language (or just me?) that when traveling, a large majority of English-attempted signs are easily interpreted as penis references. i remember noam Chomsky once saying, “in language, we create slang for things we fear. that’s why the two things we have the most slang for are death and the penis (sex).” still—hard & tool? hilarious.
- a car dealership/shop called ‘TAX’—Total Automobile Excellence. again, i wanted to stop by and say, “hey, if you’re trying to bring in English-speaking customers with the English sign, best not using the acronym TAX. people don’t like those.”
- there was also a sign for ‘BLAM!!’ (yes, 2 exclamation points)!! it was an indoor sportscenter or something, but with a pretty technical sounding acronym for BLAM that i can’t remember.
- i also passed a bunch of random fields of crops. they smelled so wonderfully like farms and outdoors. i was pretty nostalgic for the Midwest US.
- i also really liked the courteous nature of people as i rode. there isn’t always a sidewalk, and rarely is there room for multiple people. so, if someone was coming opposite, someone would have to stop and let the other person go by. and i came up to a lot of old people walking that would stop, wait for me, and then we’d give a little head bow as we passed. it was very sweet.

and today—even better! i finally went into Tokyo. i went into a neighborhood called ikebukuro, which i haven’t heard great things about. i’ve heard it’s a bit grungy and without much to see. if this is “grungy”, then i can’t freakin’ wait to see the rest of Tokyo.
highlights:

 someone actually talked to me! in English! (it doesn’t happen often). when i came up from the big, crazy train station, which seems more like an airport than a train station, this is what i saw:



and this was one of about 8 exits. i had my trusty guide book, ensuring that i look as touristy as possible, but i decided to look at the big map outside the station to orient myself before looking around. (luckily, there were these huge maps EVERYWHERE, so i really couldn’t have gotten lost if i’d tried.) as i was studying this map, trying to figure out which way i wanted to wander first, a guy came up and asked if i needed any help! i got so excited that he had offered, that i wanted to make up something specific i was looking for, but i didn’t actually have anything. so, i said, “thank you so much! but, i’m just kind of trying to get oriented before i head out. thank you though!” honestly, it seems insignificant, but it was a great way to start the day. i have looked lost plenty of times in my neighborhood, and have never had anyone say a thing to me.

 as the picture above only KIND OF captures, the amount of life in this one area was incredible. there were people and signs and sounds and things everywhere. i didn’t even try to play it cool and look like i knew what i was doing. i was gaping like the most touristy tourist in the world. i was saying, ‘holy shit!’ out loud. things were just too amazing not to audibly exclaim.
 diversity! i hadn’t seen too much in my city, but i actually saw some here! different races (it seems Africans have a pretty strong hold on the hip hop clothing market here, which is really interesting and somewhat ironic to me. a future post may be coming on this topic), different religions (some people in traditional muslim clothing, to whom i found myself giving a ‘hey, how’s it going fellow outsider’ type of look, until i felt like an insensitive idiot, and realized it’s probably a bit different and maybe more difficult thing for them), and different sexual orientations (i saw a same sex couple for the first time since i’ve been here). i also (FINALLY) saw some tattoos and piercings. i also saw an Indian restaurant and a Spanish bar! i’m definitely heading back for those. (i actually ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant, by accident, thinking it was Japanese food, and all my fears about eating out without someone to translate were confirmed. even though the menu had pictures and English translations, the vegetarian things i tried to order had meat in them. i tried to eat around the meat, but even still didn’t feel too great afterwards.)
 i stumbled upon an awesome little used book/record/art shop. normally, i don’t go into the little bookstores because, you know, i don’t read Japanese. but, i noticed this one had records. they had a ton of awesome ones, for really cheap. i’ve never bought old vinyl records in the US, but they had Beatles records for $10. that’s got to be pretty good, right? i ended up getting some awesome art there. i got this picture and a little book with some cool pictures in it that i’m planning to cut up and make something out of.



 and to finish the day, i sat at a little French café with a fruit parfait and cup of coffee, writing down all the great things i had seen/heard/experienced/tasted/etc.



if you’ve made it all the way through this post, i thank you! i’m not one to be brief with words, when i actually take the time to sit down and type them out. obviously, i had a great couple of days. along with a bbq with some coworkers tomorrow, i’m wrapping up a great vacation week. and although it’s been nice to have the time off to rest, adjust, explore, and bike, i’m also pretty excited to go back and see the kids.



sayonara!

ps-i've put together a fun little video about my life here so far, but i need a good internet connection to upload it. so, next week, when i get to work, i should be able to post it.