if ever i feel better

I love this song. It reminds of me of all the people who are always there to support me, and it reminds me to stop being a hermit crab during midterms. Life is for the taking, and yes, it's currently on sale...so take it.

Yoyogi/Harajuku

Sunday is everyone's designated day to relax and take it easy. Harajuku station is always bustling after 11am. Crazy Cosplay people dress up and get their pictures taken, girls dress their best to go shopping, couples enjoy a long stroll down the wide avenues. But Yoyogi Park is where it's really happening.

Let's see...today, I saw a father and his son playing Beatles covers, with the son singing and playing guitar. A crowd of 50's looking guys with slick back hair and leather jackets (their girls met up with them later wearing 50s style attire). Frisbee throwers, a 6 or 7 year-old juggling prodigy, children attempting to catch baseballs, guitar players, old people just chillin' out on the benches, and some tap dancing group were all at the park today.

And for some reason, some of the Cherry Blossom or Plum Blossom trees have already bloomed. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay long, seeing as I have ALL my midterms coming up this week...

乾杯 - a toast to happiness

Sometimes, when you rerun a certain occasion in your mind, when you try to recapture what you felt, heard, or experienced, for some reason, it just wasn't as good as you thought it was. Friday night was definitely not one of those occasions. For some reason, every time I think about that night, it just keeps getting better.

After pre-gaming outside an AM/PM "konbini" or convenience store, a couple friends and I headed over to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku. Earlier during the week, I reminded myself that one of my goals I had to accomplish was to go to a top-floor hotel bar eventually. Well, turns out, one of the Park Hyatt Hotel bars is the exact location where the film "Lost in Translation" was shot. So, obviously, I was psyched. Our brisk walk to the hotel after the "konbini" affirmed my already tipsy state. Laughs and somewhat directionally challenged: I think that's the best way to describe our small group. But after the elevator climb, along with some ear poppage, I instantly felt different as soon as the elevator doors opened. It's hard to describe really, but I'd say I felt something close to jaw-dropping awe and serenity wrapped up nicely with a bow on top.

The Park Hyatt Peak Lounge was ambiently lit, the ceiling atleast 5 stories high, glass windows revealing the delicate Tokyo skyline to the salarymen sipping their scotches. After figuring out where we were sitting, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was to actually be experiencing this. We had a table close to one of the windows facing most of the taller buildings in Tokyo - city lights and empty office buildings included. And oh, by the way, my beer cost me 1,300yen, or about $14.00! Anyways, there's something especially soothing about looking out into the night sky, even if you can't see the stars. I love taking evening strolls in Chicago, but seeing the Tokyo cityscape at night is just mesmerizing. You can't help but stop and think about why you're here, what you're happy for, and what you regret - and oh, do I have my regrets. Looking out over that infinte skyline and realizing how small you really are in Tokyo really tugs at your heart strings a little bit. Quite romantic, really.

As introspective as my description of the Park Hyatt Peak Lounge seems, I really did spend some quality time conversing with friends, for once. No crazy drunkness, no random girls and Japanese guys taking them away, no sausage fests, no sickly/drunk wandering - just happiness in its purest form (well, the drinks did help a bit). I've experienced clubs and alcohol fueled courage but, in retrospect, I've never really been satisfied with dancing with a random girl and getting her phone number.I diverge. Some nights are great for debaucherous activities, but I'm slowly beginning to realize that there's much better things to do with my time here in Tokyo...

[the first two pics are at a different hotel]

in all its glory

This is what I have been waiting for. And indeed, it was worth the wait. To see the limits of human engineering stretched out as far as the eye can see. Despite the fact that the Tokyo Metropolitan Building is only 48 stories tall, I've never been so impressed with the view of a city landscape before this. Imagining 30 million people living in the Tokyo metropolitan area is difficult, let alone imagining 30 million people with individual hopes, dreams, failures, and successes. Yet still, I was in awe. The view was great, and seeing Tokyo from 45 stories up made the city seem as if it was in tranquil slumber. So peaceful, so quiet, yet, so busy.

revolving sushi debauchery

Sunday. Glorious. Why, you ask? I had sushi at one of those revolving plate restaurants for the first time. For about $15, I had about 8 plates of sushi, with different colored or different patterned plates dictating the price of each thingy of sushi.

At first, I kept referring to a menu one of the chefs gave us (in english, of course), but eventually, I just tried a bunch of stuff. Except for the shrimp sushi - wasn't in the mood. I also regret getting the chicken sushi, since that doesn't really even count at all. Tasty though :) Thankfully, my trusty cellphone calculator stopped me from overspending. I can see how one can easily spend a large sum of money on cheap plates of sushi. Quite an experience, and a surprisingly filling meal that left me in a cheerful mood afterwards.

Then, I went to buy a replacement 50mm lens, which cost me wayyyyy too much money. For almost any guy, I would consider Akihabara/Electric Town the most dangerous part of Tokyo. Every electronic vice imaginable is there. After spending money on my Nikon lens, I was lured into the headphones department of a Sofmap electronics store. Think of Sofmap like a Bestbuy after years and years of methamphetamine usage without the whole losing teeth and scars and potential death thingy...Eventually, you just end up with a store similar to a crazy person with a wild imagination.

The surprisingly clean store has the most eclectic and unique electronics you can't find anywhere else in the world but in Tokyo. It's 7 floors jam packed full of phones, headphones, mp3 players, cameras, camera lenses, TVs, computers, computer paper, Anime, and the sweetest accessories to any of your electronics imaginable. Seizures may occur. Anyways, half of a floor is dedicated to headphones you can try on and plug your iPod into. I caved. A great pair of in-ear Audio Technica headphones beckoned and I responded. Consumerism strikes again.