Yes, I can't get enough of Tokyo. My Tokyo experience is getting better and better with each trip. This weekend I accomplished many "firsts" as well.
Saturday morning, I actually had to go to work, as the school was having an open house for junior highschool students. Fortunately I used my extra hours to get the afternoon off, and after fourth period I raced out of school to catch a bus to Numazu, then a train to Tokyo. My friend Jeff from Fuji accompanied me this weekend.
The main reason for the trip was the Nagisa Music Festival, held in the Daiba neighborhood (district? area? whatever) of Tokyo. It lasted all weekend, but we were there only on Saturday. For only 3000¥ per day, it's not a bad deal at all. Daiba itself is near the Rainbow Bridge, and lots of big futuristic buildings and malls, all probably unreachable by foot. It's an area reserved for businesses and events (like said festival), and not very residential or pedestrian-friendly. That's just my initial impression though. We got there by a Disney World-esque monorail from Tokyo station, which, based on the surroundings, seemed very appropriate. We could see the festival from the train, a largish parking lot collection of tents, flags, and a big Ferris Wheel. Not to mention the bizarre Fuji TV building right across the street. In the light of the setting sun, it was all very impressive.
The festival had multiple small stages, mostly commanded by various DJs, most of whom I didn't know. I came to see the "Experimental" bands, like Metalchicks and Mono. We only caught the tail end of Metalchicks, but it was my first sight of Japanese people dancing. Yes! They dance! I was actually kind of taken off guard... Most of the crowd there was 20-30 somethings, all interestingly dressed and mostly good looking. And then there were some that made it look like Harajuku decided to come out to play. It was an interesting mix of hipsters, new wave hippies and urbanites. Thankfully the hippies and the stalls selling hippie merchandise weren't overwhelming, and wiffs of weed were minimal, at least where I was standing (sorry, I don't have much patience for that new age shit). But to their credit, the food stalls looked (and smelled) really good. Sri Lankan curry, Mongolian kebabs... Hippies do have an interesting taste palette. And wafts of a certain garlic shrimp dish (which, despite our hound-dog efforts, we never found) distracted us multiple times from Mono's performance.
Which was amazing. You could compare them to Mogwai and Explosions In the Sky and other bands of that ilk, but of course they bring their own style to the table. We were standing quite close to the speakers, though, which got a little intense at times. It was also great just being at a show again; can't even remember that last one I've been to.
After the set, we wandered a bit around the grounds again, before deciding to head back to the city for dinner, after resisting all the enticing festival foods. And boy, was it worth it. We went to the 8th floor of a building in the heart of Kabuki cho in Shinjuku for all you can eat sukiyaki. Oh yes. My first sukiyaki in Japan! For a mere 1620¥ you can eat all the delicious beef/vegetables/noodles you can cram into your gaping maw for 90 minutes. And believe me, 90 minutes is enough. We even got hooked up with a free drink from one of the waitresses who recognized Jeff!
At the end of the night, exhausted and straining in our pants, we stumbled out of the restaurant and took the Yamanote Loop to Asakusa where our capsule hotel was. My first capsule hotel! This particular one actually allows women, which is uncommon for capsule hotels. It was kind of a sad building though. Not really dingy or dirty, just lonely and a little forgotten. I guess that's the feeling I get from Asakusa though, which used to be the center of activity in Tokyo until Shibuya and Shinjuku were "born". However, the view from the shower, overlooking the neighborhood was quite nice.
Another great thing about staying at places in Japan is that they provide everything for you-- towels, slippers, pajamas, toiletries. Which means I didn't have to bring anything with me to Tokyo. Unfortunately, I also discovered that I'd left my contact solution and case at home, which meant I had to sleep in my contact lenses. A lot scarier to think about than actually doing. Oops.
Sleeping in a capsule isn't as claustrophobic as you'd think. You walk into the room and see a lot of separate berths, kind of like on trains in old movies (I'm reminded of Some Like It Hot). Inside your capsule is a little TV, a light, a mirror, and a shelf with knobs and dials to control all that, plus alarm clock and radio. A pull down screen covers the opening of your "room," not a dryer-like door, like I originally thought. Heh, which would actually be a terrible idea, unless there was some sophisticated ventilation system in the capsules... But of course the flap is far from sound-proof and I was woken up in the morning by someone's annoying alarm clock that they must have forgotten about. Jesus. The only other gripe I have is that the cushion in the capsule is about an inch thick, so it doesn't take long before you're tossing and turning and trying to cram the blanket under you so you don't wake up with bruises all over.
Part 2 of my Tokyo trip coming soon!
PS- There was an earthquake in my area on Saturday night! I was, of course, in Tokyo when it happen, so there goes another quake opportunity missed. It happened at 6 in the morning actually, and people have told me they woke up to their beds a'shaking. Around a 6 on the Richter scale I've been told? Which might explain why, when I got home, my kitchen light wouldn't turn on, as it had slid around in its socket. Inexplicable at the time, but now, the mystery is explained. Thankfully nothing else got shifted.
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