So the weekend of the 15, which was two weeks after the G-event and three weeks (maybe more) after Catherine came to visit, my former roommate Shu-en came to visit. She was supposed to come in on Friday night but as her flight was coming in very late she told me not to worry about meeting her. This actually worked out well since my friend Gabe had friends coming in from Cali.The plan was to go to a nomikai in Shimbashi and then to Odaiba. Odaiba, is a man-made island in Tokyo. I think some of it was actually built by garbage but.... Anyway, there are a ton of things to do there, and there's a ferris wheel! So we started the night off in Shimbashi. It was a little awkward at first since I knew a couple of people in the group but we were all sitting far away from one another. But as you know, in Japan, once the drinks start to flow everyone and everything is better. Maybe it's that way everywhere but I feel like it's more pronounced in Japan. But I have to admit, I love seeing people drunk. It's one of the funniest things ever. Honest.
We all had fun, I think, maybe a little too much. But too much fun is better than none. In fact, we had so much fun that we overstayed at the izakaya by about 30 minutes. Usually you go for an two hours, all you can drink and there's food as well. And because we stayed a little later than we were supposed to we got to Odaiba quite late. Too late for the ferris wheel ride unfortunately. But there was a little beach we were able to admire and I was able to get this really dark picture of a well-lit bridge in the distance. So that's something.The next day was Saturday and I had plans to meet Shu-en in Ikebukuro. I was really excited because I hadn't seen her for a year. We had a really good run as roommates and were pretty close at the end of my second year, and I knew we'd have a lot to catch up on. I was a little worried about finding her in the crowd in front of the station entrance, but luckily I'm easy to pick out from the masses so she was able to find me.
We ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Ikebukuro, really in Tokyo in general, called Ootoya. The dishes there are ridiculously delicious and the atmosphere is really nice. The first time I went there, I went with Mia who had been there before and I got this really amazing dish that came with a salad and soup. I don't know if that dish was a special but I haven't been able to find that combo since. I guess I'll just have to keep going there until I do. This time I got the katsu so-su don/かつソース丼 and it was really good. Shu-en got some rice thing. I dunno, I was too preoccupied with my dish to take notice of hers.
After lunch we did some shopping. To be quite honest, as far as tourist attractions go in Tokyo, there aren't many; really all that you can do as a "tourist" is participate in the consumer-driven atmosphere that permeates the city. I think that might be because the city's quite new. It was rebuilt after WWII because of all the fire bombing and such. As a result there aren't a lot of old buildings in the center of the city. There are some shrines, but my opinion on shrines is if you see one, you've pretty much seen them all. So we shopped instead; we did go see a shrine the next day, but that comes later.A lot of window shopping and one purchase later, we had to part ways; Shu-en had plans with another Singaporean in Tokyo and I had kempo practice. But we planned to meet up later to go clubbing with Gabe and his friends. Unfortunately, Shu-en was too jet lagged to meet up with us that night. But we all had a good time regardless rocking out to some serious house, techno and electronica, the last of which is my second great love next to books. I'd have to label the night as a success as I was able to get this flashing-light ring for free just by asking this guy and as some girl gave me her whole book of oil blotters for your face randomly as we stood in line together for the bathroom. Actually, with that last bit, I don't know whether I should feel flattered or insulted....
So, after only 4 or so hours of sleep, Shu-en called to wake me up at 12 so I could meet her in Harajuku. I had lunch with her and a several Singaporean transplants at this famous ramen shop in Harajuku. Despite it's fame, none of us really enjoyed our dishes. I don't think it lived up to the hype, especially for the amount I paid. It does look delicious though and I did finish it all, but whether that was out of guilt for having paid so much for it or because it actually tasted good is debatable.
We walked around a bit after lunch to a) let Shu-en see what Harajuku was like and b) make some room in our stomachs for crepes later on. We stopped in this one store and found these crazy sunglasses. I've seen people wearing them in Tokyo, not as a joke, but seriously wearing them as a fashion statement. I mean, they look pretty good on us so, I can see the logic... maybe....
The end of the day met us at a shrine near the infamous Harajuku bridge. The shrine itself was uneventful, but what was interesting was this prayer tree. Well, it wasn't really a prayer tree, but a really large tree encircled by a wooden structure built to hold placards. People can buy these placards and write wishes on them for good health, or happiness, or in this case, to marry Harry Potter. Hey, whatever makes you happy.
Everyone wanted to go to Shibuya after we left the shrine, but I simply did not have it in me. Being out all night the night before and then all that walking around had left me tuckered out. Besides Shu-en would be here through the week so I wasn't too worried about not spending enough time with her. So I left them at the bridge and boarded the train completely exhausted but with the knowledge that it was due to a really good weekend, and that made it all worth it.
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