Greetings from Tokyo!

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Before finally hitting the sack last night, I had been up for 28 hours. Today was a full day of sightseeing and exploring so needless to say I'm totally exhausted.

I'm currently staying in a very swank hostel, as paradoxical as that sounds. It's on the 18th floor of a tower in the middle of Tokyo. It's clean, has a great view, provides all the right services, and is very conveniently located. I will be sad to leave it tomorrow, but I must move on.

The language has been a struggle at times. For example, I had sat down in a sushi bar and didn't really know what was going on. I was looking for wasabi, and saw this little jar with a green powder in it. I thought maybe this was some spicy dried wasabi, so I mixed it up with some soy sauce and went to town. A short while later, I was informed that it was actually green tea! I was very embarrassed.

My first night I had gone out to wander the streets and check out the nightlife. I wanted to get a feel for the city's iconic neon landscape. I found my way to the Tokyo equivalent of Times Square and then ended up in a part of town notorious for crazy night life. Strip clubs, porn shops, brothels, you name it, it had it. Indeed, I found my way there by design, as I wanted to witness the Asian red light district phenomenon at the center of anti-sex-slavery activism. Though it was obvious that sex was being sold all around, it was not as overt as I thought it would be. However, I was approached several times with offers for drinks and a 'happy ending.' My exploration was driven by curiosity, but I imagined what it must be like for these girls working in these places; truly, it broke my heart. Please let me use this opportunity to encourage everyone to be aware of the growing problem of sex trafficking and to contribute to organizations like IJM .

The following day, I visited the largest fish market in Japan. I found stalls upon stalls of freshly caught seafood, most of which I could not identify. Later, I went to one of the largest electronic stores in Tokyo. It had nine floors! Really, the cultural significance and the variety of items found in this store can not be explained. I'll just say that I saw absolutely everything, from the latest 3D TV technology to a robot that cleans your floor. I spent hours exploring this store, and after walking around all day with my heavy backpack, I ended up in a section displaying $5000 massage chairs. I sat in a chair for over an hour and it was complete and utter bliss.

Tomorrow, I depart for Mt. Fuji where I will hike starting at 10 pm through the night in order to catch the sunrise at the top.

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Photos

Toilet Gadget
This device sprays water to clean your bottom and it is delightful!

Comments

[Tony]

hmmmm
so u saw all Japan has to offer concerning the electronics, did u not eat any sushi or raw bull frog's live heart or what??? how's the other sceneries their? like the honeys... haha as far for my travel blog, I've been traveling through the mountains of Taiwan, awesome scenery... holla

[jasonwu]

I've been eating tons of sushi and lovin it. To answer your curiosity about the honeys, I believe Japan has the most beautiful women I've ever seen - they are found in extreme quantity and dense concentration.

[jasonwu]

Btw, hope your Taiwan trip is going well -　blog it up, send me the link!

[Alex]

Green tea!! roflolol. Wow....classic. Wish I would have been there for that one... By this time you've hopefully hit the summit of Mt. Fuji if the weather was condusive...blog it up!