Japan

Well I'm here, and stuff.

I'm not in the mood for a lot of detail right now (aren't I a grump?) so I'm going to just remember whatever I remember from the past week. If you have the good fortune to know or be related to Giuliana I think it'd be better to go with her accounts. She is a Japan veteran afterall.

First off, I have been staying with Giuliana, in her apartment, all oh I'd say 9 feet by 5 feet of it! And at 55000 yen per month (about $550 US) well, real estate isn't cheap, especially in this neighbourhood. She has to pay 100yen for 15 minutes of hot shower too, but everything else (including internet) is included. It's not so bad if you can get used to the size, but any great creations in the kitchen require patience and possibly lots of prep work in the bedroom.

While Giuliana's been working, I've done a lot of walking. Good time of year to do it as it is cherry blossom time and everywhere is just lovely. The weather has been really great, until today when it started to be cold and rainy so no complaints there either. I've seen the Sony store with all its fangled gadgets, including one TV that is constantly tuned to Canadian programming to demonstrate streaming over the internet from anywhere in the world. I was watching some shows being broadcast on the New VR (something Ontarians should be familiar with) and then the CBC feed was showing some curling. I watched, no one else seemed to care. Heh, whatever.
The Emperor's palace, it's big...and often closed, but I like the outer fortifications so that's okay.
I really like their various parking garage strategies, the giant narrow ferris wheel of cars inside a tall metal building is definitely a favourite and I just wish they would put a plexi-glasss front on the thing so I could watch them go round. Also they have lots of turntables in front of garages so you can drive in straight then rather than back onto the road you get spun around the right way when it's time to leave.

Tokyo keeps reminding me of 50s and 60s NYC. Well, at least pictures and video of the era, I wasn't really around at the time. After thinking about this I realized that the perception is a good one. I mean there was no Tokyo after WW2 and it was rebuilt in the 50s and 60s with I would assume a great deal of US influence. Buildings, subways etc. And every once in a while I see some fashions that make me think, "wait a minute, isn't that 50 years old?"

And yesterday!!!! I went to a wrestling show. Good times! Now most people won't know what I'm jabbering about with workrate or heels or faces or snap suplexes...so....I'll limit the nitty gritty. I will say that the whole event was treated in a much more ceremonial fashion than a North American show would be. They had teh drummers and conch shell blowers to open things along with torches and firepots at the ring's four corners that burned all evening. The rest was wrestling but that ceremonial bit intrigued me, and although I obviously haven't been here for long enough to know I think pro wrestling here is more closely attached to other martial arts, sumo etc than the NA equivalent could bne. There was as even a bunch of sumo guys out from training (hahahha) to take in the show.