This is the one place that almost everyone recommends going to in Tokyo. So later on, when you have your next sushi or fish dinner, you'll know exactly what it took to get it to you on the wholesale level. A bustling maze of activity that begins around 4 a.m. and is over by around 8...
Alfred & Thi, my friends I stayed with in Tokyo, try on an abandoned pair of glasses for a moment in Harajuku...
I met Marefumi, who used to live in Seattle while going to the Art Institute. He was a regular at Wall of Sound, my record store at the time. He's been back in Tokyo since 2000. We had lunch and spent the day walking all over Ebisu to Shibuya stopping at shops that he knew, etc. Just after taking the top photo I noticed the big record and pictures of Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington across the street. I right away thought it might be the place a friend in Seattle had told me about (and that I should go to) where they play, from their jazz vinyl collection, great records and where she got "the best pastrami sandwich of her life". It was, we went up and perused the collection and Marefumi translated stories about the 30 year old "Kyokho's Volontaire" and how it may have to move soon... I found out later that the Jazz cafe is a recurring business theme in Japan and afficionados will go, sit at the small counter and just listen w/o talking.
While getting my rail pass, I was informed there was an accident and the trains weren't running. As I struggled to understand the always helpful service people, I gradually realized no one really knew what was happening. Suddenly it was a news story, the delay grew on and businessmen grew distressed. Two hours passed before the Shinkansen started moving again. I managed to get a seat next to a businessman who showed the great propensity of the Japanese for immediate train sleep. Fortunately his meeting wasn't too far along the route...
Once leaving Tokyo Station it was finally time to just enjoy the intricate scenery... The density continues as the Shinkansen rail passes through several large Tokyo suburbs before finally making it into countryside. The company housed in the bottom photo specializes in "mechatronics" says the sign. Not sure about the one above it, something to do with fun maybe.
