On our way!
First stop: Baltimore to Detroit.
Detroit from the air.
Monorail in the Detroit Terminal. Feels like Syd Mead had a hand in it. This won’t be the only time I feel like I’m in Blade Runner.
The big one. Detroit to Tokyo. Thirteen hours. The sun never set. We chased it all the way around the planet.
After landing in Narita and taking a train to Shibuya we get to our first landmark. Hachiko Statue sits outside Shibuya Station and commemorates the loyalty of a dog for his master. As the story goes this dog would meet his master at the train station at the exact time the train came in every day. One day the master had a fatal accident at work and for the next 9 years Hachiko would come down to the station at the exact time his master’s train was meant to arrive and wait for him. Kinda sad but very cool. Over time people noticed and erected this statue.
Thanks for the room Gianna. Casey and I slept here while in Tokyo. Every morning we were there one of Marc’s kids would come into the room at around 5 AM expecting to find their mother in the bed and getting a shock instead.
Erika, Gianna and Luci, the Gurreri Clan.
Lucio and Gianna.
The man himself. Marc Gurreri. I’ve known Marc for almost 40 years. He’s been living in Japan for the last 15 or so. It was great to be a daily part of each others lives again.
We went to Yoyogi Park and on our way in Marc pointed out this tent city set up for the homeless to live in the park. There were about 50 tents all together. Some had bikes. Some had a stove or a generator. Homeless in Tokyo are treated with more respect than they are in the US.
View of the tents. I remember seeing something like this in Thomkins Square Park in New York City back in the early 90’s. It was filthy. This feels more like a camp site.
We figured out later in the day that they probably meant “Dragon” toco. But you gotta love the translation.
The band shell at Yoyogi Park. Turns out there is an Okinawa Festival in full swing.
Casey with some graffiti. I got a kick out of seeing how similar the graffiti looks to it’s urban american counterpart.
Roses at the park. Lots of folks taking pictures. The roses are very much like Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Monument in the Park.
Yoyogi Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoyogi_Park
Shibuya Bling.
The fellas chatting it up.
Entering the Meiji Shrine. There are loads of Shrines all over Japan. This one gave me a good idea of what to expect. The gate is a portal between this world and the spirit world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Shrine
Row upon row of empty sake casks. Tribute to Emporer Meiji who ruled Japan in the 1860’s when it first opened to the west. Th Meji clan family business was saki..
The entrance to the Meiji Shrine.
An open court in the heart of the shrine.
Marc and Ron stand by the gate looking cool and drinking Chu-hi’s. I grew up with Ron too. Although we didn’t meet until High School. Ron is half Japanese and quite possibly the coolest human being on the plant. His knowledge of Japan and the culture was monumental. The greatest of ambassadors. It is not illegal in Japan to drink in public. So we were often stopping off at Lawsons to pick up a fresh beverage. It felt a little like New Orleans in that respect.
A perfect tree. What’s that under it?
Typically at a shrine one prays for good fortune in some regard. Different Shrines celebrate different things. For a small token one could buy a wooden card and attach a wish to it. Then hang it under the tree and hope that it would come true.
Wishes and prayers of Shibuya.
Ally ways can have whole neighborhoods in them. Just like this one in Shinjuku..
Once we cleared the park we made our way to Shinjuku. We had tickets for Robot Wars and didn’t want to be late. The streets in some areas are only wide enough for one vehicle. It’s easy to imagine them as old footpaths that businesses sprung up on over time.
Will the Tank Girls make a special appearance at Robot Wars!?!
Since we were early for the show we wandered around for a few blocks. I liked the look of this 19th century building with the little shrine behind it.
While taking a panorama I was approached by a rugged looking man in a suit who gestured for me to stop taking pictures. So I stopped, bowed and apologized. Marc and Ron then told me that the gentleman who stopped me was a Yakuza (Japanese organized crime). We spotted many similar men around that neighborhood that night and wondered if something was going on.
Ron takes us to school over chu-hi’s
Outside Robot Wars this pink armored woman is riding a lady robot coaxing people into the show.
A blonde on a Disco Stallion meets us at the door.
Like a super hero of Disco!
And the dummer backing it up.
Down and down and down the LSD stairs.
Pre-show excitment!
Since we are sitting in the front row we are told that some the show will be happening inches from our heads, so be careful.
And the show begins! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chcIYaQPYco
Disco rollerskating robot! With Party Hair!
The Tank Girls make a appearance!
Shows over, now out on the street. Where we find ads for Boys Clubs. These are clubs for lonely women who want companionship. It’s not quite prostitution. And no one strips. You buy them champagne and they keep you company.
And speaking of company. Marc decided he wanted to show us Shabu Shabu. A traditional Japanese delicacy. There is a burner on the center of the table where a pot of broth is heated.
Then you get a plate of vegetables.
And put them in the pot.
Then, thin slices of beef are place on the table. Each person grabs a slice of meat with their chopsticks and swishes it around in the broth (it makes the sound shabu-shabu) for a few seconds until it cooks. Then eat! Note the marbling in the beef.
In the same neighborhood were also Love Hotels. Regular couples go to these for a little escape. I think it’s pretty clear what goes on at this hotel from it’s name.
Shibuya Crossing. This is where 5 streets converge and a swarm of people like no other crosses the street.
So much chocolately goodness!
Ron comes by to take us out for Sumo!
Kokugikan Sumo Hall. One of the things that made Ron so awesome is that he got us tickets to see Sumo wrestling while we were in Japan. Sumo season is only a few months long and Ron got us tickets for opening night.
The lower levels of the stadium doesn’t have chairs. Patrons sit on pillows. And if a wrestler performs poorly people throw their pillows at him.
Sponsors circle the match.
Th deepest bow I have ever seen. The crowd went wild when he did it.
Forced out!
Like an American basketball stadium, banners hang from the rafters touting sumo heroes from the past. This one is an American from Hawaii who became the champion years ago.
Out front of Sumo.
Rub em for good luck!
Sumo Casey-San
Sumo Mark-San
Sumo gave us an appetite so Ron takes us out to get Chonga. This is what Sumo wrestlers eat to bulk up. Like Shabu Shabu a pot of broth is placed on a burner at the center of the table.
Ground meat, fish and vegetables are served and added to the broth to cook. I think one of these serves one wrestler. We split it between 3.
Lovefest13 