No plans for the weekend (and boy does it feel good)
Basically since I arrived back in Japan, I've been running around nonstop - classes starting, Melody Union Live, my sister's visit, a gig in Shinjuku... Yeah, that's right. "Primo's Requiem" had a gig in Shinjuku last night. I'll get to that eventually, but since there's so much stuff to tell from the past week alone, I'll break it up into multiple entries.
To situate it, I begin here:
My sister arrived Sunday, 18 December. I went by train to meet her at the airport - changing first at Shinjuku and then at Nippori. It took 2.5 hrs and cost half the price of the Airport Bus. Wish I'd know about this train route when I was going and returning for Fall Break, as I had only one bag then and it would have been perfectly reasonable (and much cheaper). Her flight arrived and hour late, which was sort of good for me, since I ended up getting there much later than I'd wanted. We took the Airport Bus all the way to Kichijoji and from there a taxi to my apartment. (She had a fair amount of luggage, which is understandable when globe-trotting the way she's been doing, so I thought taking trains was out of the question.)
After she cleaned up a bit and gave me my Christmas present, we headed out to Harajuku. I was hoping we'd be able to see some crazy-dressed kids and also the Meiji Shrine. The first objective was accomplished (it was actually the most crowded I'd ever seen it), but we unfortunately, after wandering around Takeshita Dori and getting crepes, didn't actually make it to the Shrine before it closed. We then met Chris, Stu, Stu's girlfriend Nic, Hideto, and some other random people that Chris knows for Chris's birthday dinner in Shinjuku. My sister quite enjoyed the Nice Izakaya (as opposed to 一休) experience (no, I never took her to 一休), and though it was a rather awkward mix of people, there was some interesting conversation... such as Hideto asking my sister what she thought about me and her saying "Well, I'm her sister, shouldn't you tell me what *you* think of her?" and him replying that I seem like someone who likes to have (deep) discussions. Not clear to me whether he likes or dislikes this about me. I was also told I was "spicy" in someone's effort to explain why it was hard to believe I was a "good girl" growing up. It had something to do with me looking like someone who goes "Hmm, that's interesting. I think I'll try." Yeah, I don't know either, but, no surprise, it was again assumed that I was the older one. :-( As my sister and I had to use the buses (which we were told stop running around 10/11pm) to get home, we left before anyone else.
The next day I went to morning classes, came back at lunch, took her grocery shopping with me, and then sent her off to explore while I studied for my test. Tuesday morning she went into campus with me to see the Taizanso and maybe the museum and to exchange money, then went from there to explore Shinjuku and Harajuku, where we met up in the afternoon. In Harajuku, we stopped in a Kimono store she'd happened upon the day before, where I bought some cloth, after much debate and asking for advice (I was able to discuss, to some extent, what I was looking for with the shop-person in Japanese, which was exciting on one hand, but frustrating on the other because I don't really have the vocabulary to be discussing things like silk and cloth). We then headed out to Odaiba.
To situate it, I begin here:
My sister arrived Sunday, 18 December. I went by train to meet her at the airport - changing first at Shinjuku and then at Nippori. It took 2.5 hrs and cost half the price of the Airport Bus. Wish I'd know about this train route when I was going and returning for Fall Break, as I had only one bag then and it would have been perfectly reasonable (and much cheaper). Her flight arrived and hour late, which was sort of good for me, since I ended up getting there much later than I'd wanted. We took the Airport Bus all the way to Kichijoji and from there a taxi to my apartment. (She had a fair amount of luggage, which is understandable when globe-trotting the way she's been doing, so I thought taking trains was out of the question.)
After she cleaned up a bit and gave me my Christmas present, we headed out to Harajuku. I was hoping we'd be able to see some crazy-dressed kids and also the Meiji Shrine. The first objective was accomplished (it was actually the most crowded I'd ever seen it), but we unfortunately, after wandering around Takeshita Dori and getting crepes, didn't actually make it to the Shrine before it closed. We then met Chris, Stu, Stu's girlfriend Nic, Hideto, and some other random people that Chris knows for Chris's birthday dinner in Shinjuku. My sister quite enjoyed the Nice Izakaya (as opposed to 一休) experience (no, I never took her to 一休), and though it was a rather awkward mix of people, there was some interesting conversation... such as Hideto asking my sister what she thought about me and her saying "Well, I'm her sister, shouldn't you tell me what *you* think of her?" and him replying that I seem like someone who likes to have (deep) discussions. Not clear to me whether he likes or dislikes this about me. I was also told I was "spicy" in someone's effort to explain why it was hard to believe I was a "good girl" growing up. It had something to do with me looking like someone who goes "Hmm, that's interesting. I think I'll try." Yeah, I don't know either, but, no surprise, it was again assumed that I was the older one. :-( As my sister and I had to use the buses (which we were told stop running around 10/11pm) to get home, we left before anyone else.
The next day I went to morning classes, came back at lunch, took her grocery shopping with me, and then sent her off to explore while I studied for my test. Tuesday morning she went into campus with me to see the Taizanso and maybe the museum and to exchange money, then went from there to explore Shinjuku and Harajuku, where we met up in the afternoon. In Harajuku, we stopped in a Kimono store she'd happened upon the day before, where I bought some cloth, after much debate and asking for advice (I was able to discuss, to some extent, what I was looking for with the shop-person in Japanese, which was exciting on one hand, but frustrating on the other because I don't really have the vocabulary to be discussing things like silk and cloth). We then headed out to Odaiba.
posted by Bibhatsu at 03:03
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