Inside Tokyo....

...東京 ...

Tokyo...Oh how I love that city.... Every time I go it makes me want to stay forever. I always have the craziest time and meet the most interesting people, and rock the night away...I really do belong in a city...But for now, going to Tokyo is such a nice way to escape from my snowfilled rice paddy surroundings. All I have to do is jump on the train, catch the shink and be whisked away for a wild weekend of fun...

...The wintry wonderland I escaped from...

This time the girls and I had a bit of an agenda....We went to see Franz Ferdinand at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. So in typical fashion, I left right after classes, met the girls on the train (always with a loud and boisterous "wooohooo"), caught the shink to the city, checked in at Shiba Park Plaza, our trusty hotel friend in Tokyo, flirted with the hot young porters as they gave us a very unneeded setsume (explanation) of our room; how to turn on the lights, the tv, etc.; cracked open a beer as we threw on our rocker clothes and dolled ourselves up, we ran down and caught a cab, and showed up right on time to the venue.

Now this venue is like the venue of venues in Japan. It is the ichiban, the powerhouse, the Madison Square Gardens of Japan. Located very close to Yasukuni Shrine, this is the venue were the Beatles introduced themselves to Japan, were Dylan recorded his Live at the Album, it is famous for being large, aesthetic, and earthquake resistant, it was originally built for the Judo competitions of the 1964 Olympics, but is used for many things today. The place was huge, cramped with people, and the concert was completely sold out.

the nippon budokan

The Magic Numbers, a band I have been digging lately, were opening. They were already on by the time we entered the venue with our beers. The tickets we had, were seat tickets. Now, if you have ever been to a concert with me, you pretty much know that I am not one who likes to sit down amidst a sea of people and nod my head to the beat. No way. I will be busting ill moves, bopping away, enjoying every ounce of music the show provides. I was that girl who was standing during Bob Dylan (his recent stuff is blues, who cares if you are 60, break it down..) I was that girl who probably obstructed your view at Clapton.. but my opinion is come on people, it is a show, I pay good money to go and enjoy myself, the band is rocking out, give the band some energy and stand on up....

As we walked towards our section, keitai in hand as a flashlight, I was amazed that no one, ok well very few people, were up moving...It became a concern, for we were there for a rock concert, not a symphonic orchestration of Do You Want To. I threw my stuff in my seat and went down the stairs a bit for the Magic Numbers set, almost no one, not even those on the floor were energized for their set. After a short break Franz came on, the place was now packed, so I returned to my seat with the girls, and we stood on up and danced the night away to a great set from the sexy Scottish Rockers who started off the show saying , "Playing at the Budokan is an unforgettable moment in the life of a band," It was great to be there for that milestone.

franz ferdinand raibu (live) at the budokan

Now dancing in cramped seating area is not ideal. But it is a lot of fun if you can get the people around you moving. And we were having a blast. But there was a moment. If you have ever been up high at a arena, like say Rupp, where it becomes steep, that is where we were. And the girls behind us were enjoying themselves a lot, and werdancingng. All I know is that one girl, lost her balance and fell onto Tiffany who was standing in between Liz and I. As this girl catapulted forward she used Tiff to break her fall, therefore sending Tiff into a jetting forward motion. In a split of a second both Liz and I grabbed Tiff, to save her from what seemed to be a possible tumbling down several rows of chairs in the budokan.

But the evening turned out great. Due to the insanely early hours shows start in Japan 6:30~7ish, they also tend to be very short, ending anywhere between 9 and ten... so after the show, we had a whole night ahead of us! We followed the flow of people to the Metro and caught the train to Shibuya, an area of Tokyo that is frequented by the hip young Japanese crowd, and is also a great place to find a club.

as a way to reduce sexuaharassmentnt on the trains, they have introduced a new women only section on thTokyoyo metro

On the crowded train, I discovered a new favorite past-time of mine, making faces at the grim looking old salary men (not the hot young ones).. I found myself wedged over by an old man, and entertained myself making faces at him and watching him react by trying not to react... it really is a lot of fun, I suggest you give it a try.

shibuya (as stated by the trainI i just love the way that stop is announced)

The girls ended up at Club Harlem in Tokyo.Thisis is a club known well for "above-ground hip-hop" music. I love that, above-ground hip-hop..Itit cracks me up, but it is the way they say mainstream...I mean to them it makes sense, we do have "underground hip-hop", so why not have "above-ground" hip-hop?? I mean you do hear "above-ground" sometimes, but it honestly is more oftereferreded to as main stream. I shook my ass as long as I could, and headed on back for a nice lie in on Saturday morning.

in the quiet area near Shiba Park Plaza

Saturday was nice, I got to sleep in, then go get a coffee in the morning while the girls slept a little more (their nights were a bit wilder than mine :) After that, I met up with them and we went to have lunch. We ate at Kirin City, which offers a varied line of Kirin products, of which I was too futsukayoi to enjoy.

and it even offered the following... sounds absolutely delectable doesn't it...

After that, from what I can remember, we went back to the hotel to get ready for our Saturday night. That is what it is like sometimes when you have becomaccustomeded to traveling in Japan to enjoy the night life; a typical cycle.... get ready, party, return home after the club closes and the trains start back up, pass out, eat, possibly nap, get ready, party, repeat.. it really is great...

So we got beautiful, and caught a train to meet my friend Waco. Waco is an absolutely stunning person. I completely adore that girl. We met her in Shinjuku in front of Studio Alta, a very common placamongstst the young Japanese to meet friends for a night in Shinjuku. A block away from Kabuki-cho, this leads endless possibilities for the night ahead.

gotta love Japanesese girl who is willing to chug: Waco and Tomoe

and dance...have no clue what Tiff is teaching her, but I have a horrible series of the two breaking it down...

It is always a lot of fun to meet friends in Tokyo, they usually know interesting places to try out, or cheap izakayas... and Waco is one of those special people who is just so sweet, she brought us all chocolates for Valentines day... she is too caring... It was also nice to see her because I got to hear about her plans to get married in Guam on May 5th, and then her move to Nagasaki.. I will be sad when I go to Tokyo and she will no longer be there to visit :( But I will just have to visit Nagasaki :)

The night rolled on, the big beers flowed, amongst other various kakuterusu (cocktails)...and then it was time to say goodnight, the girls returned home on the last train, and we caught thtrainan to Shibuya for another night of dancing. This time we hit Vuenos for some hip hop and booty dancing... returning home in the morning, with a beaming smile after a great night out, we then slowly packed up our things and returned back to snowy Niigata.