My Love Affair With Everywhere

Got up and took a soak in the communal bath, got dressed and had breakfast (toast, eggs, and green tea). Ayako promptly arrived at 10am just as I was closing out an internet session.

We headed to the Edo-Tokyo museum, where I learned all about the Edo period of Tokyo’s history. Tokyo is fast-paced and modern, so it’s possible to miss the traditional side if you don’t look for it. The museum was a glimpse into Tokyo’s past and traditions outside of all that. We had an English-speaking tour guide who was really thorough w/ the info w/ out drowning you in it.

2 hrs later we got sushi before heading to Shinjuku Gyoen, a beautiful blend of Japanese and European gardens. But the crows were out. As previously mentioned, I first saw these big black birds at Ueno park. I was amazed at how big they were. Mitsuyo was like, “yeah, they might attack you.” Huh? Why me? The hell? Well, she didn’t really explain and I just left it alone.

So Ayako and I are beginning our walk through Shinjuku Gyoen and oh my sweet Jesus, Mary, and Jojo (for you Vampire in Brooklyn fans) – they were everywhere. Squawking angrily. Just spread out over a large patch of grass. Then we start walking through some trees and they get louder, and I’m about ready to turn around and leave. Ayako laughed and said it was true, they might attack, she didn’t know why, but heard that they don’t like black hair. Huh? The hell? We both have black hair. Now Ayako is 28, laidback, near perfect English, well-traveled, spent a year in Seattle, into alternative/world music, a photographer and editor…so we connected. I felt really comfortable telling her I was scared. She laughed and kept walking. Then I start seeing these signs with pics of birds, red circles w/ lines through them – obvious warnings…so I’m like “Ayako, what does it say.” She stops and was like “oh…they are getting ready to for their young and are really protective right now – don’t get close to trees.” What? We are in a garden surrounded by trees. Ok, fine. I do feel a lil better…protecting young…I get that. I’ll stay on the walkway and they’ll stay on the grass/in the trees. Then we walk through another pass surrounded by trees and they get loud as hell. Man…Ayako inches over behind me like I’m gonna do something if this murder of crows starts getting funky. I told her she better run if she sees me running cause I can’t do nothing, which she found funny. Whatever – I was serious. Finally we get away from the majority of the crows which happened to be where it opened up to pure beauty. And really big fish.

Next we went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bldg which I read had some of the best views of Tokyo. It’s worth mentioning that it was in this govt bldg of Suits that I encountered my first Asian squat toilet. Caught me off guard, but apparently I’m a good shot. Lol. Anyways, the views were amazing – Tokyo was so much bigger than I realized. Massive. Spread out. Seemingly never-ending.

After leaving the TMG, we hit Shinjuku which is an upscale district of chic shops (I sound like a guidebook) that I was totally not interested in. Oh I like clothes and shopping well enough, but this was not part of my “Tokyo on the cheap” experience and I’m not into teasing myself with stuff I can’t have. So we breezed through before getting on the train to a neighborhood Ayako frequented which housed a coffee shop she liked. I needed a sugar/caffeine rush so this was perfect timing. The coffee was good, but the chocolate cake…How do you mess up chocolate cake? Put 4 kinds of whole beans in it. It wasn’t bad, just not what I want when I have chocolate on the brain.

So that was the day w/Ayako. She asked if I needed help getting back home, but I was good – so we parted ways. Aside from the nice conversation about random stuff, the best part of the day w/Ayako was that she taught me how to use my digital camera (brand new), took some nice shots of me, and in turn, I took some great shots of everything else.