An Ode to Softie

In Shanghai and elsewhere in China, it was hard to miss the blue Gumby-rip-off mascot of the 2010 World Trade Expo, which apparently China thinks will rank 2nd only to the Olympics in terms of prestige and world acclaim. I see now that the mascot's name is "Haibao", but since Jonny & I didn't know this, at some point along the line we began to refer to him as "Softie", for reasons unremembered.

Since Softie appeared at every street corner, he eventually acquired a voice and a personality, as we 'made' him comment on our various activities. Finally, he joined us on our travels, and we learned his true, dark nature. Apparently prone to heroin use, hobo murder, and soliciting prostitutes, Softie is not the type you want along for the ride, believe me. At no point did his brutal badgering of Jon & I stop--clearly we did not bring the party he was hoping for. Frankly, I think China Expo 2010 could have chosen more wisely.

By the end of the trip, it became unclear where Softie begins and we end. Who made who?

Pachinko: I Don't Get It

Our first night in Tokyo we stuck our heads in this Pachinko parlor. Pachinko is sort of like playing the slots, only in Plinko form. Plinko/Pachinko...I get it now. Anyway, no video in the world could really give you a glimpse of just how surreal that was. Although if you spend any time in Vegas, you get the hint.

Some other things we did in Tokyo that don't have their own blog entry here:

We went to the fish market, as early as we could manage it. Supposedly 5am is the time to go, when you can witness the auction, but that's a little early for us. Still we made it by 7:30, in time to catch some of the frenzy. The fish market is HUGE, and services like 14 million people daily, so it's dizzying. I felt a bit out of place there--you're actually just wandering around a giant working warehouse, with pallet jacks whizzing by and white-coated fishmongers slicing frozen tuna on bandsaws. It doesn't smell nearly as bad as you'd think; that's the benefit of truly fresh fish. After getting in people's way for an hour or so, we had a sushi breakfast...and it was some of the best sashimi I know I've ever had. Although I have to say--its equal can be found in LA. Maybe we just didn't hit the right place.

Also in Tokyo we went to the electronics district, which we thought would be aisle after aisle of the newest innovations, but actually just turned out to be a bunch of high-and-low-end electronics stores (they like their tiny laptops in Japan). It was a bit of a bust, made slightly more curious by the women in maid outfits handing out flyers for coffee shops. While we were down there, we tried to find internet, and accidentally stumbled into an internet cafe with private rooms and showers. We didn't realize what it was at first, then we saw the 'mop boy' with his bucket and sponge and rubber gloves...uh, yeah, I'll find a different place to check my flight info.

Of course there was the usual assortment of bar and restaurant hopping, and gift shopping, with nothing too interesting to report. I did buy Alison (and myself) a really nice knife from one of Tokyo's oldest knife stores. It was hand-crafted carbon steel, and the guy sharpened it himself. It's really really sharp--we love it.

Overall, I think Jonny and I both loved Tokyo--the city and its denizens. I'd really like to return to Japan one day to see more.

"Giants Lose!" is Satisfying in any Language

Our last night in town, we hit a Giants vs. Carp baseball game. The Japanese sure do love their baseball...it was a lot of fun. If we had it to do over, I think we'd have gotten tickets with the bleacher bums--that's where the die-hard fans were, and where all the synchronized cheering, singing, chanting, and towel and/or inflatable dolphin waving took place.

Japanese politeness again on display: the synchronized cheering and chanting only took place while 'your' team was at bat. Then everyone sat quietly to allow the opposing team's fans to do their cheers and chants. Wild. Also the poor beer girls, hauling kegs of beer on their backs up and down the stadium stairs, served you with the biggest smiles I've ever seen, despite the fact their backs must have been screaming for relief...

Carp 2 Giants 1

The Japanese are So Polite

Look how everyone queues up on the left side of the escalator so anyone in a hurry can rush up the right side. And in all public places, conversations are kept to 'indoor voices'. The subway was quieter than a law library. We never saw anyone cross against the light, smoke a cigarette on the street, or litter, despite the complete lack of trash cans. And friendly service? It was possibly invented here. The smiles on convenience store cashiers seemed painted on.

Utopian paradise or soulless automated dystopia? You be the judge. But just remember: their toilets have warm seats and shoot soothing jets of water.

Yakitori

Our first night in Tokyo, we happened down a small alley right in the midst of the madness of the Shinjuku neighborhood. The area, affectionately known as "Piss Alley" for some reason, was home to a number of yakitori restaurants.

Yakitori is essentially chicken parts on a skewer, but each restaurant has its own specialties. As we passed the first place, a friendly Canadian and a drunken Japanese man urged us to come in for dinner. We could hardly say no.

It was a great time, conversing with the sake-saturated old man, as he struggled with his English and poured us glasses of his sake (if you look closely, you can kind of see him in the background of the one picture). We really connected on a discussion of Japanese baseball players now in the U.S...he was clearly a big fan of Ichiro.

The food was good, but the bill ($18 a head) was a bit of a shock. It was worth it, though, as a nice introduction to the friendliness of Tokyo.

Later, we wandered down the alley and found a nice little hole-in-the wall drinking establishment with some hip music playing and equally hip Tokyoites manning the bar. It had a funky rooftop with killer views, as seen in the video posted here.

Pictures of Tokyo

Tokyo's insane metro system; Shinjuku neighborhood during the day from an observation deck; the fish market; Shinjuku at night