love and disco.

lost in translation.

i realize that this post is cheating, since in i'm brooklyn, but they are worth the extra post. we found the bar in lost in translation, and i'm not afraid to say half the reason we went was because i like the movie so much. however, all cheesy-fan-tourism feelings were erased the minute we saw this 52nd floor view of tokyo. it was hard to capture. the views of the city were incredible, and seeing this expansive view in all directions was enough to take our breath away. it was either the view, or the $250 tab for 6 drinks and a salad that choked us up..

this view is worth all of it and one of my favorite moments.

thanks for paying attention - this is us signing off.

i miss japan already.

keep clean.

snacks.

the end is near.

the trip comes to a close in less than 24 hours. 24 REAL hours (not the strange jet lag ones we are about to RE-experience). i don't want to go home - but mostly because i am not looking forward to the 2:30 am morning rise and shine. in other words, sure, i'll meet you at the bar, but i'll be drinking my morning coffee.

as with any trip, we are sad to end it, however, having spent the afternoon shopping in tokyo again, we both realized a couple things: this place is exhausting. the amount of people screaming is immeasurable, and i they scream louder in order to be heard over the 2 - 3 broadcasts simultaneously being heard at any given moment. sure, the first couple days of the trip were also in tokyo, however, due to excitement and insane jet lag (nausea and sleepless insanity), i think i just assumed it was me turning everything into a spastically loud cartoon. turns out, it is NOT me, and i was semi blind before.

i need to stress this : while being clean (we covered this), walking down the streets in MANY areas, sends any sane person into psychotic states. those voices you normally quiet in your brain? here, are all being broadcast at once. all around you. and you cannot understand one, fucking, word.




i nice way to end the trip, i think.



after purchasing about $300 in candy, my brain shut off, and i was required to return home. Fortunately for shawn and i, this home is a giantly expensive and fancy hotel, (thanks to my mom's hyatt points). THE TOILET DOOR LIFTS AND SHUTS AUTOMATICALLY. the bed is two queens put together, and i just came back from 3 different hot soaks in the spa (jacuzzi, hot bath, then a quick cold). i am not afraid to abuse the luxury (nor am i afraid to rob this place blind of the adorable toothpastes they provide both morning and night).


my friend in tokyo last night was able to answer a lot of questions i've gathered during my trip:



1. why no towels in the bathrooms?

2. why no soap?

3. why do buddhas wear red bibs?

4. why do people in tokyo walk on the left side of the street, and people in kyoto- on the right?

5. are those fake bird noises i hear on the subway platform? (ps. yes)



these hard hitting questions now have answers, and i feel much more educated- ready to return. i can't wait to return to japan after studying more of the language, however. fingers crossed, in a couple years when we return i'll be able ask questions AND understand responses. here's to hoping.

the world of quietness.

"I send the latest trend into the world of the quietness"

the greatest story ever told?

the beginning of this show was some kind of contest for various cats and dog videos - it ended with this extraordinary usage of gloria estefan.

it should be noted that this is 6pm - we are getting into prime time viewing.

slippers.

after a while, the 'shoe thing' really gets on your nerves. i don't mind taking your shoes off before you get into the house- i even support and understand that, but here (like with everything else), it comes with more rules and more confusion. if i have to take them off, and put on these slippers, where do my feet touch in the meantime? inside? outside? carpet? not at all? seems simple - but it causes confusion almost every time i leave my room. THEN there are the bathroom shoes. so it is no longer good enough to wear your 'inside slippers' to the john, you have to switch to the 'toilet slippers.' this part is always a severe act of balancing, because the bathrooms are small and cramped, and the shoes take up the whole thing. during the switch i find myself balancing on one foot, resulting in more confusion as come crashing to the ground, feeling extremely guilty as my uncovered foot meets the ground. leave bathroom, switch shoes, illegally touch ground, walk back to room, take off slippers, walk into the hallway of our room, in slippers, and take them off before entering the "sleepzone." i assume the hallway in our room is a "safezone," so i walk here with both slippers and barefeet (reality is, i do this because no one will know).

apologies for using the term "zones" too much.

ps. we still get up at 5:30.

ever been completely confused?

(no, it is not just you. it is sideways). in koya-san.

it's not because you're just addicted to "cafeine."

There are a lot of things that the japanese do well: 1. cartoon dogs 2. on-time transportation 3. customer service, 4. dressing and grooming (to horribly simplify...). what they do not do so well is using the english language. the real questions are - why are they using it so much? do they actually know what they are putting on these t-shirts? i mean, how many people in the world does it take before someone lets them in on the secret that we don't actually call it 'relaxing time'?

you see it time after time on advertisements and kids t-shirts: "innocent everywhere," "love kid," or "FAVOR: i hope he will favor me to make friends with," - (today's most recent examples). most of them do make SOME sense, (like this Osaka train station coffee shop serving up an "atmosphere flavored with cocktails, conversation, and coffee"), others are completely wrong [as was the refreshing beverage advertisement for your refreshing new beverage: "Coolish." (so it is SORT of refreshing? and KIND of 'cool'?)].

the source of endless jokes, i don't feel too bad as i've certainly been on the receiving end of this. at one point in germany, years ago, i even asked a nice lady in the museum for a "bullet."

i needed a "pen." needless to say, the lady didn't have one.

**