Baku..

Haves and have-Nots..

The Shinkansen crossing the Tamagawa into Tokyo.
On the left (the Tokyo side) is Den-en-Chofu田園調布, the most expensive place to live in Japan.
On the right bank some homeless people fish for dinner in the shadow of opulance.
In Japan, the homeless make houses out of heavy-duty blue construction tarps on the banks of the rivers - some of them complete with deck, pier and boat. It's the usual thing for a few of them to drown when the river bursts its banks.

This Sign is Deep.

Brown and Orange Butterfly.

Bugs.

Kawasaki Station 川崎駅

A giant tv displays relaxing natural images to soothing music in a futile attempt to make one forget that one is being pushed, jostled and sneezed on by thousands of people.

Mow.

I Should Be At The Beach..

Tamagawa 多摩川

The Tama river is a popular spot for fishing, bar-b-cues and free parties on the outskirts Tokyo.

A Day In The Life - 3

Dillinja..

A Day In The Life - 3

Made it.

There was a party on the Futakotamagawa 二子玉川 today after my Tokyo mayhem. I went home*, showered, changed and went back there at 4.

Next stop:

Dillinja.

A Day In The Life - 2

Success.

It may not seem to be a big deal to travel 10 minutes into the heart of Tokyo, stay there for 15 minutes, then leave.

But trust me - it is.

I was just bumped, jostled and nudged by no less than 1000 people in that space of time.

My stress and irratability levels increase a thousandfold just walking around there.

After waiting in line for a while, getting to the front of it, asking for what I want in Japanese (a chore in itself), aeing told that I have to go to the counter upstairs (again in Japanese) and explaining what I needed again (easier after the first time) I was able to claim my rize:

Now I have 561yen in my pocket. Obtaining more from a machine will result in my incurring charges for withdrawals since I have a post office bank account, and the post office (and the banks for that matter) don't allow withdrawals on the weekend. I'd have to go to a bank machine.

Good thing I have money at home for the party later.

A Day In The Life - 1

Never procrastinate.

Procastination is a guaranteed way to miss out on everything you want to do in life.

For about a month now I've been forgoing every other party for the opportunity to see Dillinger at club Unit.

I procrastinated with the intention of buying the ticket at a Lawson's convenience store, where machines conveniently allow one to purchase a ticket for almost any event, anywhere in the country.

Now the day of the event has come. And, naturally, tickets are no longer available because it's the day of the event.

But I will not be defeated. Advance tickets are 3500yen - 4000yen at the door.
Even if I go all the way to Tokyo to buy an actual printed ticket at HMV the cost will still be 120yen less than paying at the door, along with the peace of mind that I won't be taking the last train to a party that may or may not be sold out.

Looks like I'm headed to Tokyo.
It also looks like it might rain.

Procrastination is most difficult to stomach when you pay with your mistake not with money, but with an opportunity that you may never have again.

Backstreets from Kiktna菊名 to Shin-Yokohama新横浜..

I may have posted this before, and I'll probably post it again.

Purple Flower, Greenish-Yellow Spider.

Robbery In Progress.

Sometimes I walk through the quiet neighborhood backstreets and the smaller stations to avoid the crowds.

But there's always so much happening around you.

Today it's two cop cars, a couple motorcycles and some foot police running into a house from around the corner, flipping out those black telescopic, metal batons, kicking down the door of a house and rushing in.

I thought ninja were next, I swear it.

Completely abandoned street; between the Porshe repair shop and the BMW dealership.

I was the only onlooker.

There are a lot of people in Tokyo.

A lot of people.

Sometimes it can get to be a bit much even with occasional trips to the 'country'.

The secret is to slow down, I think.

If I leave at 6:30am instead of 6:45am I am assured no lines through any subway gate on the way to work.

All three stations.
Twice a day.
More if I don't go straight home.

It feels like about 10,000 people a day's difference.
That's a lot fewer people to bump into every day.

Appropriate Beachwear.

Japan's summer is beginning.

It's hot.

I'm wearing some torn jeans, a white t-shirt, sandals and I'm sitting in the train drinking a beer on the way to the beach.

This person probably going to the beach too, but I don't think that's very comfortable beachwear..

..especially for a man.

* Japan really amazes me sometimes:
It's almost 90 degrees and a six-foot man is wearing a lolita-goth-maid dress, heels, kneesocks and a pigtails. His dress is blowing up. It's ridiculous actually..

..yet everyone is staring at me.

Escalator to Nowhere.

Let me try to explain to those of you out there who don't have first-hand experience of Japan and the Japanese mind:

I'm watching the news right now (in English and Japanese at the same time - I know..kinna gives me a headache, but I'm in a hurry to learn the language).
A few days ago a guy stabbed a lot of people in Akihabara with a knife (He actually had several knives, one of which happened to be a stilleto).
Now the Japanese government is thinking about banning stilletos.
What about the other knives？ Well, it would be stupid to ban ALL knives, so let's just ban the one knife that was different. Let's not consider the fact that the crime could have been comitted with ANY large, sharp knife just as effectively.

This is actually quite the fitting analogy for the Japanese way of thinking.

About a month ago an unsupervised child stuck a finger into an escalator and lost it.
For DAYS afterwards they discussed it on TV - even sending reporters out with calipers to various malls to randomly check the size of kids' fingers and compare them to nearby escalators.
Oh, how dangerous those escalators be..

Of course the problem couldn't be the fact that parents here let their kids run all over the place on account of the fact that Japan is a relatively safe place:
On a recent camping trip to a somewhat raging river I looked on as some 6 year olds played King of the Mountain on a large boulder that waspartly in the river next to some rapids.

Where were their parents？
About 40 meters away under a tent.

What if a child fell in and was swept away in the raging waters？

My guess would be:

a) Construct guardrails along all major watercourses in Japan.

b) Ban ALL chhldren from Japan's rivers.

c) Ban ALL Japan's rivers.

Thank you for riding the escalator to nowhere.

Toilet Poster.

Convinience Room(？)

This little room ndatly tucked away in a wall off the street only sells alcohol.
That is the SOLE purpose off this room: to be occupied by vending machines that sell alcohol.

Japanese Ads.

Um..what？

Okutama.

Okutama is a town popular for fishing, camping, hiking, kayaking, etc about 40 minutes outside of Tokyo.
It's easy to forget that you're still in Tokyo with all the mountain scenery around.
There are many outdoor onsens (hotsprings) and mountain temples - quite peaceful..if you can ignore the scores of other campers, families, crying babies, University students setting of fireworks, the kayaking competition and randow tourists and drunks all around you.
My tent's the orange one.
Even camping is crowded in Tokyo..