I see white people

I have arrived in Tokyo and I am in sensory overload.

I met up with my friend, who shall remain Nameless, at the airport.  Upon arriving I went to baggage claim to pick up that accessory so often associated with the recently graduated student traveling abroad - the backpack.  I figured it would be necessary, since I assumed Laos and Cambodia would not be roller-bag-friendly countries, just a guess.  When Nameless saw me and my backpack, he said, "Wow, you look really white."  Needless to say, Nameless is not white.  He likes to go by AZN, but often they don't have that box readily available on forms.  Well, around these parts, there is no avoiding looking white.  And I have had great amusement watching others walk up to him and speak Japanese and him just looking confused. 　Ａlthough AZN, he does not speak Japanese.

Surprisingly, there seems to be quite a few Asian women here that are blonder than me.  In Shibuya, the Malibu Barbie look seems to be en vogue.  This requires long blonde hair, deep tans and really impressive eye shadow.  Even better, their boyfriends don't look like Ken, instead they also look like Barbie, but with moderately shorter hair.

Since Nameless isn't helping with the Japanese, we have been getting lost quite a bit.  Part of this is due to maps posted with north pointing down.  Who does this?  Japanese people, that's who.  Nameless prefers to call this getting lost, "wandering."  He finally changed his tune after I started getting pissy from being hungry.  Then we would look for white people and follow them to find our tourist destination - Tsukiji, the fish market.  My new favorite breakfast: raw tuna and beer.  Yummy! 

Comments

[AZN]

Dr. C--

Finally, I understand what Eve meant when she called Gwen Stefani a "Harajuku girl."

I don't agree with it, but I understand it.

[cvj]

Yes...Maps upside down! This happened to me in South Korea too! I thought I was suffering the effects of jetlag, since I normally have a good sense of direction and was just getting spectaularly screwed up when I consulted the 'helpful' street maps. Then it clicked into place. Good Luck! -cvj

[Gordon Stangler]

Dr. C,

As someone who has been to Japan before, allow me to give you this bit of advice about raw food:

Raw Food + Alcohol = Good Health.
Raw Food + No Alcohol = Bacterial Colitus (Intestinal Inflamation)

PS: Grab a JR card if you have not done so yet. They really help when going around the city. Also, Asahii is good. ^_^

[itaru]

Hi Caolionn.
I wonder how much you paid
to get the tuna bowl. (600 yen?)
I grew up in Tokyo, but never
been to Tsukiji so I have no idea.

[aalu paneer]

for the ignorants ... "Harajuku girl" ... means?

[Caolionn]

* "Helpful" and "street maps" don't really belong together here. This is partially due to the fact that I don't read Japanese characters.

* May I never know what really Bacterial Colitus means, here or anywhere.

* I think it was about 600 yen. It was tuna sashimi and other unknown fish with rice. I have been doing a lot of pointing and hoping for the best here. Tsukiji is definitely worth a trip.

* Harajuku is a neighborhood just north of Shibuya. All the young, hip kids of Tokyo hang there. All of them with very unique styles. I believe Stefani has made a lot of style choices based on the teenagers hanging in that district.

[afterdescription]

asahi? nah - go for Sapporo. see the Land Gate while you're in Japan. at low tide it's on land, at high tide it's in the water. legend has it that the first rays of sunlight passed through that gate.

[Graceson Parsons]

You had a typographical error in the second paragraph first sentence. I like your journeys.