Day 2 Japan

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After a strenuous outing yesterday, my bum knees are killing me today. So I opted for a lighter excursion today in preparation for the big day tomorrow. My colleague recommended Kikanbo for my ramen craving. The restaurant has 3 locations in Tokyo but fortunately there's 1 just a 15 minute trek from my hotel. Yasu & I arrived there shortly after noon and as expected there was a line outside. Yasu volunteered to stay in line while I roamed around the vicinity of what I think is part of Sunshine City.

The area was filled of young men and women (but mostly women) dressed as anime characters! My first thought was that my teen daughter would have loved to see this! She's a huge anime & Manga fan. I miss you dearly!

We finally got sat down at the restaurant 1 hour after arrival in a perfect spot at the end of the counter which provided me the perfect angle for snapping pics/videos of the staff preparing each bowl. The overhead music was dominated by rhythmic drumming that gave me a sense that I was witnessing a ritual. Thank you EssVee for the suggestion.

After lunch we then took a train to nearby Koreatown. The place was wall-to-wall people. Found a K-Pop store (who wouldn't haha) and got which I hope is the perfect gift souvenir for my teen. Hope you love it sweetie!

With my knees continuing to punish me and with Yasu's approaching his time to go to work, we headed back to Ikebukuro. Got back to my room around 4:30 pm and I'm exhausted from the combination of jetlag & from yesterday's outing. I easily dozed off in bed and woke up 4 hours later. It's been nearly 9 hours since my last meal so I headed out for Shabu-shabu. Found a nearby spot called On-Yasai and it was fabulous! The servers were so friendly despite my lack of Japanese - thank goodness for my translation phone app. Also helped that the hostess assigned me a server whom spoke a little English.

As I paid for the meal at the cashier desk, my server and her peer asked my origin in the US and how long is my visit. They asked me to return before my stay ends as I think they were entertained in my attempt to speak a few Japanese words from my phone app 😊 It was approaching midnight when stepped out of the restaurant and I was not ready to go back to the hotel. I found a tiny bar around the corner from my hotel where I spent a little over 2 hours drinking but mostly chatting with the bartender and the cook. The cook was intrigued by the ink on my right arm and by the graphic art on the back of my jacket - an artwork designed by a Japanese artist depicting Band-Maid. So I told him about my plans to see them open for GnR to which he immediately changed the TV to YouTube and we started watching the band's live performances. Hahahaha he was hooked and is trying to find a way to get out of work during tomorrow's show! Unlike overseas like US, Mexico, & Europe, Band-Maid does not have the same success here in their hometown because there are so many other bands that play hard rock or metal. Hopefully, the GnR show would provide them more exposure to the locals.

It was nearing 2 am so I reluctantly left to rest up even more before the big day tomorrow!

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