July 9, 2007
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sunday 7/9
11:30am: another late start, after staying up til 4am the night before watching anime. i'm lame...
12:15pm: right after i told myself i wouldn't buy anything in tokyo since things are so much more expensive, i break the seal...at lumine near the shinjuku station, a rack of actually reasonably-priced clothes catches my eye and it's all over. despite language barriers still getting to me, i manage to rack up a black dress, cream jersey top and jacket all in one sweep.
at body proportion, they have this crazy new invention: the jersey suit! yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's a business suit, made from jersey material! GENIUS. from far away you can't really tell it's jersey, but it feels so comfortable (and is incredibly flattering)...i'm in business-attire heaven.
2:25pm: ok, i officially have a problem...keep on detouring to stores en route to ginza. originally i wanted to people-watch today in harajuku, but the clothes...the clothes........
2:40pm: in a kitsch-y moment, cannot resist buying a little box of cookies in the subway. the little box is shaped like a dog (totemo-kawaii)!!!
3:01pm: maybe i had too-high expectations, but i'm very disappointed at tokyo ginza.it's just a bunch of snooty western stores, and they're not even that nice (with the possible exception of the harry winston storefront, which i promise to post pics of soon)
3:16pm: so hungry, what to do? at the basement of the mitsukoshi i find a store that...amusingly...sells salads, labeled with popularity rating and kcal! awesome. doesn't look quite substantial, but it'll have to do.
4:05pm: after 40 mins of walking around, i decide that is the number one no can do...easiest thing at this point is probably to trek back to the hotel. so much for my aspirations to have dinner in odaiba.
5:10pm: exhausted. as the day wore on the bags on my shoulder became heavier and heavier.
6:45pm: PANIC! can i make it to the new york bar before the Y2,000 cover kicks in?
7:05pm: what genius decided to hide the entrance to elevator in a deli for heaven's sake? i'm late, i'm late, i'm late! (to an engagement only i'm going to...ha)
7:17pm: oh, but it's worth it. i'm transported...the park hyatt is ridiculous...one of the few hotels that actually looks more impressive in person than in those silly promotion pictures on the website.
7:25pm: sigh. too late to avoid the cover charge, but i've resigned myself to the fact that the whole "i'm a girl" thing doesn't really work in this city, since, well...everyone seems cute and asian anyway. the guy gives me a fairly nice table. a glass of merlot is at hand. again, irony kicks in - sonoma valley merlot.
8:20pm: what a moment. a slow-jazz rendition of moon river plays in the background. the lights are dim, the conversation muted by the vaulted ceilings 4-5 stories above - if i let my eyelids half-drop and watch the lazy swirl of dark ruby wine against the backdrop of the breathtaking tokyo skyline, i can almost pretend i'm in some asian movie, a rare moment of swank. the two black guys at the keyboard and sax, the stiffly polite maitre'd, the deferential waiter, all seem to find me amusing...a lone figure curled up at the corner table that normally seats 8, sipping contentedly, face lit up by the scintillating glitter of a metropolis at night, lost in a sea of dreams and city lights.
moon river
wider than a mile
i'm crossing you in style someday...
oh dream-maker
you heart-breaker
wherever you're going, i'm going your way...
two drifters
off to see the world
there's such a lot of world to see
we're after the same rainbow's end
waiting 'round the bend
my huckleberry friend
moon river and memonday 7/9
short update...had izakaya for the first time. sugoii ne! i love the variety...sashimi is fresh as always
and of course, 3 glasses (overflowing, cuz that's apparently the way they roll in japan), of sake...and now...effing drunk...i have to write a deck. man, such is the life of a consultant. never fear, onigiri is on its way, courtesy of the century hyatt ruu-mu sa-bi-su...
Comments (3)
Japan sounds fun - wish I could be there with you eating sushi!
so jealous of your evening of jazz and merlot...must find the like in the city and do the same....but instead be depressed and emo...with diet coke...whyyyyy
looks like you're enjoying yourself! I am in damasus right now living in a palestinian refugee camp. very pleasant and interesting experience, but I can't believe I was in japan just a couple of weeks ago.
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