Going out with a bang in Tokyo

Ok, I didn`t die from Fugu (sorry), but I probably won`t eat it again, and I can`t suggest it all that much either.

Oh well, the last two days of my trip were slower than the rest, but still exciting in their own way. A Kaiseki lunch at Kikunoi, one of the best Kaiseki restaurants in Japan, and it was amazing. 9 courses, each one modern/traditional Japanese, served in our own private room. I got to see the kitchen, 15 people running around in a spotless modern room. The housemade sake was really good as well. All in all, a fitting end to my stay in Kyoto, which was a total of 7 days, kinda. I spent the most time there, but had the most fun to. A combination of a really cultural city with beautiful mountainous surroundings and an awesome local whom I befriended showing me around very much sealed it as my favorite city in Japan.

After the meal, headed back to Tokyo, where I met up with my Aussie buddies from Kyoto. Well, one of them. Paul and Stephanie were both in the hostel, but Stephanie was sick, so Paul and I went to get some ramen and caught up.

The next day, after breakfast where I convinced Paul how awesome natto was and wished them farewell to Osaka, I went shopping. Kappabashi street is amazing. Everything you could want in a restaurant/kitchen, all sold on a mile long stretch of street. Stores that sold only chairs to stores that sold everything but chairs. You wouldn`t believe it unless you saw it. I went to the three knife stores, and at one of them, the guy was really cold to me (and proud of his wares). I asked him why there were so many stores that sold knives, and he basically yelled `We have a factory! They just sell!`

So of course, it turns out that the one Chris recommended was that one. When I came back the second time, the guy saw I was serious and started being really nice to me. The knife better be as good as it looks. It`s nice. Really nice.

Anyways, got some cool stuff there as well, and went down to Shibuya to see the mass of people cross the street.

And cross the street they did. All of them, at once. Every time the light turned green. That was the most amazing part. It was a huge amount of people crossing at once, and once they all crossed and the light turned red, the edges of the sidewalk refilled as if everyone went a few steps, decided they should have been going the other way, and turned around. Time after time.

Walked around there for a bit, found out that Cirque de Soleil is in town (Drallion), saw a guy practice bagpipes in the park (I immediately understood why he was practicing. Good bagpipe playing is difficult to hear, but bad playing is downright torture), and walked to Shinjuku by the time the sun set.

And back into the modern crazy neonness of Tokyo. Being away from it for a while, you kind of forget how manic it gets. So three things happened to me in succession to round out the trip here:

1) Walking around the back streets of Shinjuku, two Japanese guys are walking in the crowd going the other way. One stops his friend, comes over to me and says:

´Excuse me, are you interested in a strip show bar?´
´No.´
´How about a sex massage?´
´iie´ (Japanese for no.)

2) Going on the subway back to the hostel, an old man cuts me off getting on the train, sits down, and starts talking to himself (or all of us) for the whole train ride. I wish I knew what he was saying, because I´m sure it was very philosophical, or at least downright hilarious.

3) Walking to the hostel, maybe 20 feet away, I walk past a guy in a SUV. A girl had just walked by the other way, so he pulls his camera (With telephoto lens), and goes to work. I should have taken a picture, but I was so flabbergasted that I kinda stopped for a second, watched him, made sure what he was doing, and just shook my head in a whole ´whoa, I guess what they say about some people in this country is right.´

Yeah, so a good way to round out the trip. I can sleep well tonight, hopefully, and have a nice long trip tomorrow. See you all on the other side!