Asakusa and Beyond

After we got our fill of the temple and kimono shopping, Noel and I strolled around Asakusa. This part of Tokyo has a really cool old feel. Human taxi's cart people around and the streets are lined with small restaurants, stores and sushi stops. One of the things on my "must do in Japan" list was to drink tea while sitting on the floor. It's just how I pictured it would be done there :) Noel was a great sport, walking me around until we found just the place!

Next we jumped on the metro and headed for Ueno. There is a huge street market here and you can find foods from all over the world. Ueno is home to a large park, several temples, and is a hot spot for museums. It was starting to get dark so we walked around so I could get the lay of the land. We approached a temple just as it was closing for visitors. I had to laugh when I heard ominous music coming from the direction of the temple... it was the New Year's song! What Auld Lang Syne has to do with closing time at the temple is beyond me, but it was good for a laugh.

Our next stop was one we had been looking forward to all day. In the Ryogoku section of Tokyo you'll find Popeye - a restaurant with 70 craft beers on tap. Even better, during happy hour they serve free food with orders of beer. Hazzah! I had a super simple, yummy tofu dish here and... drumroll please... the best pumpkin beer EVER! I couldn't tell you exactly what the difference was, but it must have been some magical Japanese spice. The best was I can think to describe it is - you've been eating curry and loving it. You try all different kinds but they are all variations of Indian curry. Then you go somewhere new and again order curry, but wham, someone brings you Thai curry and your mind is blown! Something like that :P

Noel asked me if I minded making one more stop so he could meet with some collegues to discuss a few things. He is working on a project to bring new technology to Mexico, where he is from. I don't speak Spanish but I was pretty stoked that I could follow most of the conversation that was swirling around me. Turns out listening to "Spanish for Gringos" in my car a thousand times kinda paid off! It may sound strange, but I thought it was pretty cool to witness a meeting in Tokyo where the gap between Mexico and Japan was being bridged in an effort to create technology that will aid kids' education.

Sushi hut

Streets of Asakusa

You never know what you're going to see!

These guys were on buildings all over town!

Noel and my floor-level green tea :)

Approaching a temple

Had to be done

Visiting Sensoji

Asakusa was the first area my host Noel and I visited, and one of my favorite in Tokyo. One of the main attractions is a Buddhist temple by the name of Sensoji. Leading up to Sensoji is Nakamise, a long walkway lined with vendors. This is a place to do some serious shopping! It reminded me of a spot Matt Thompson and I perused for souvenirs in Moscow, but that stroll didn't lead you to the oldest temple in town! There are 2 gates you must go through before entering the temple; Kaminarimon, also known as Thunder Gate, and Hozo-mon, which also stores the temple's treasures. Visitors are not allowed to photograph inside temples, but there was plenty to capture all around the grounds. I couldn't tell you what most of it is, but it's beautiful to look at!

 

Proof I was there!

Nakamise - full of goodies :)

Thunder Gate

The incense pit. You will see these at the entrance to most 

temples in Japan. Believed to have healing powers, it is 

customary to wave the smoke toward you before entering.

Hello, fishies!

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Arkanus Interview

I interrupt this stream of posts about Japan to bring you news from Catalunya! You might remember me writing from Spain over the summer. While I was there I was plucked off the beach and interviewed by the cool cats of metal radio station, Arkanus Rock. Below is a link to the interview, and another to their Facebook where you can find all sorts of interviews. And for all you non-Catalan speaking individuals (like me!) don't worry, they were kind enough to interpret everything in English as well :)

Cheers!

Full Interview

Arkanus Rock on Facebook

Shibuya

Joining back up with the KD peeps, we made plans to meet in Shibuya and hit the town. This part of Tokyo is made for shopping. It was busy and noisy - billboards playing music videos, music in the streets. It wasn't my favorite part of Tokyo, but it was certainly something to see. The highlight of the day was definitely the automated sushi restaurant we ate at. No servers - just sit down, place your order on the monitor in front of you, and wait for your dishes to come shooting over to you! The best part - a belly full of sushi including sake to wash it down, about 11 bucks :)

After eating the guys and I decided we weren't quite up for more shopping and left the ladies to venture the stores of Shibuya while we got to know the local Irish pub - yup, even in Tokyo! Eventually it was time for me to say goodbye till next time and head back across town to get my things. I was moving on to meet my first couch surfing host in Meguro. 

After meeting Noel at the metro station, we walked to his house, stopping briefly at a temple along the way. One of the coolest things about Tokyo is in the middle of the modern architecture you will randomly see temples and other traditional buildings. Once at his home he welcomed me with a glass of sake and gave me extensive advise on places to visit. Even better, he offered to show me around the next day. I went to bed not knowing that the next would be probably my best day in Japan.

Our meeting spot at Shibuya Station
- apparently this dog is pretty famous. Hachikō

Entering what is supposedly the busiest
intersection in the world for pedestrians...
while having a bad hair day.

Pachinko is a popular gambling game in Japan. A lot of businessmen 

spend their lunch hour relaxing in these arcades. It's so loud and chaotic 

in there, I don't now how anyone would find it soothing.

I also don't know why this video refuses to move to the left!

Why I was not tempted to shop in Shibuya

Eating sushi was definitely on my list of things to do in Japan.

Spidery sculpture!

Yoyogi Park and Harajuku

After seeing Tokyo's metal side, it was time to do some exploring! I started my second full day there by doing what I do best - tracking down a vegan restaurant :) Pure Café was very close to the apartment where I was staying in the Omotesando section of Tokyo, but it still took me a while to find due to the plethora of small streets. It was pretty rad tho once I did find it to eat a veggie sandwich with veggies in it that I've never had before. From there I set out for Yoyogi Park...

I walked the main shopping street about a mile until the entrance to the park. Most of the stores along this street were regular and upscale retail shops - not my thing. I did stop in one store tho that sold traditional Japanese goods and I wanted to buy everything! I'm normally not much of a shopper when I travel but I've always loved Japanese art and design. This stop gave me my first indication that I would have to practice great restraint!

Yoyogi Park wasn't the hike that I expected - it was paved roads - but it's a lot of ground to cover and I was lucky to go there on one of the few nice days I had in Tokyo. Unfortunately the museums were closed when I was there but I did get to witness a wedding procession while I was visiting Zoujyoji Temple in the center of the park. When I finally exited the park I bumped right into a car show that was about to start. Timing is everything! I couldn't get close to any of the antique race cars, but I walk by one later on a flat bed while I was on my way home.

After the park I ventured to Harajuku, which was conveniently close by. This is a popular shopping area for crazy fashions. Here I was only tempted to by tights, of which there were a variety of fun ones, but it was eye opening to see what some people are willing to wear! As I continued on I got to a smaller street that had a lot of second-hand clothes... "Used American Clothing." This of course, amused me.

In Yoyogi - A whole lotta sake!

Koi friends!

Washing hands before entering the temple

You can leave your prayer here. Was cool to see people 

from all over wishing well for their loved ones.

Vroom vroom!

Entering the main street in Harajuku

Loudpark

Upon landing in Tokyo I found my way via the train to my first destination - a place I rented for 3 nights via airbnb.com. My host Yukki, was a friendly guy who ran a web business out of his house and chatted with me about life in Tokyo. I got myself settled in and was off to find the others at their hotel. I have found that walking is usually the best way to see a new city so I set out on foot. This was my first realization that maps written in Japanese are very hard to read! I made it close to the hotel, but with the trains about to stop running and fatigue setting in, I jumped the metro back and called it a night.

In the morning Yukki treated me to a traditional Japanese breakfast - nato, which is fermented soybeans, served over rice and splashed with soy sauce. Yum! It came in a clever package that you cracked to release the sauce onto your beans. The weird thing about it tho is the beans are in this sticky substance that leaves fine strings flying around your face as you eat it. I wondered how the Japanese kept them in control, as I was anything but graceful.

This was what would have been show day. I planned to meet everyone again and decided I would try the bus this time. Lesson number 2 - when taking the bus in Japan, its impossible to know if you are getting off at the right stop. I was at least certain that I missed my stop and left myself plenty of time to find my way. I was hungry during my search and eventually turned to a 7-11 for food. It didn't take long to see that food shopping was going to be a big challenge. I settled on some kind of harmless looking rice patty, opened the package, closed my eyes and hoped I wasn't putting anything dead into my mouth. I was relieved when all I tasted was sweet rice and soy sauce, and it was actually pretty good :)

Eventually I did find the hotel and was so happy to see my peeps! Andy, Olé, their lovely ladies and I, took a festival van to the show and it was nice to see right away how organized things were. Festival staff knew exactly how may people were going, who needed passes, and had meal and drink tickets waiting. I know that doesn't sound difficult, but you'd be surprised how often details like these slip through the cracks. 

Unfortunately, Devin Townsend, Behemoth and Three Inches of Blood all played on other days so I missed saying hello to those guys :(  I was super excited to cross paths with 2 others tho - Patrick Johannson of Yngwie Malmsteen and Sharlee D'Angelo of Spiritual Beggars. It has been too long since I have seen both these guys - truly the best part of the night!

We topped the night off back at the hotel where we met up with the rest of the KD folks who came to Tokyo - Pontus and Erling - and I finally got to meet both their awesome wives :) We were also joined by some Polish fans who had come to Tokyo to see the show. We found out later that these guys, upon leaving the hotel, lost their iPad somewhere between there and their own hotel. Talk about scary - all their flight information, everything, lost. After making a few phone calls they went to the metro's lost and found, where their iPad was waiting for them. Yep, someone on the subway turned it in. Let me repeat - someone on the SUBWAY turned in their IPAD. That's how it is in Japan! 

Nato!

Yukki explained to me that most toilets in Tokyo 

have these functions, "You should try it!"  

... I will let you guess all the options!

Lost in Tokyo... not bad when you are stopping
at places like this to check the map!

Giant Sweed towers over Japanese shoppers :P

Even tho we didn't play I got a pretty sweet swag bag :)

Away I go to Tokyo!

It's been a while since I've written. Not because nothing's been happening - it just seems that I need to have myself planted in an airplane seat before I find time to do certain things that I intend to! 

You may have seen in a post over the summer that King Diamond was booked to play Loudpark Festival in Tokyo. Talk of negotiations being in the works came out back while we were in Helsinki. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we were excited. None of the band or crew have ever been to Japan so this was an opportunity for all of us to see a new part of the world. I am always very grateful for the opportunity to travel that working for KD gives me. Japan is not somewhere I would ever plan to go on my own, and until now, didn't expect to go with the band. I don't take these opportunities lightly and have become more and more determined to take advantage of them to the fullest. That being said, there was no way I was going to Tokyo for a weekend.

Step 1. Change flight ticket for a later return date.

Step 2. Figure out the rest!

In the past year I have found some great ways to travel cheap. The downside of looking for bargains is it's time consuming. The past few weeks have been eaten up by countless hours emailing and researching places to stay. Just in time to go, I had my accommodations *mostly* figured out, but was happy that when I arrived In Japan there would be a couple days to iron out details while we prepared for, and played Loudpark - not to mention festival staff to greet me at the airport, take me to a hotel and feed me for a few days.

So the days before my departure were filled with the usual packing and preparing, and also cramming in work to launch a collaborative project that I will be telling you all about in a future post. To top it off my niece Christine, who I haven't seen in years, was in PA visiting from Arizona with her fiancé Anthony - so of course despite all I had on my plate I had to clear time to spend with them. I just wish it could have been more! I went to bed Wednesday night with a long list of things to get done the next day… you know, while I wasn't driving home an hour after seeing family, at work during the day, or in class that night. 

8:20 am Thursday. Yawwwn, wipe crust from eyes, check email. "Sorry for the result. Please stop taking flight for all crew."

Nooooooooo! Our show was cancelled due to all of our gear getting delayed in transit. (If you want to read the whole story go here: http://www.kingdiamondcoven.com/site/category/news/) Panic ensues. So begins the mental debate: Do I still go? I don't have a hotel - I need a place to stay! How much is this gonna cost? Should I still go? How will I get around? What do I know about Tokyo?? I don't know Japanese!!! Why I bother freaking out over things like this I'll never know, cause deep down I already knew I was getting on that plane.  

Which brings me to Friday - departure day. I've had 2 hours sleep and despite yesterday's mixed feelings, I am psyched to be writing from aboard ANA flight NH1. I am already loving the Japanese airline staff. Everyone is so polite and sweet and smiley. Why don't more people smile? It makes even dreadful events like stepping onto a plane for a 14 hour flight delightful - at least for a moment. I've already eaten with chop sticks and even my airline food was well decorated :)

This is going to be awesome!

Yay for leg room! Plus empty seat next to

me - bonus!

Subway signs. Apparently super hero pandas get very 

upset when their capes get caught in the doors.

Psyched to see right away that Halloween

is alive and kicking in Japan!

Always a good sign :)

Seemingly high-end jewelry store rocking the skulls

Where I will dwell my first 3 nights. 

Another bonus - no one is renting out the other beds !