ケビンのblog: January 2007

Jager Charge!!

3-2-1.....
Jager..
CHARGE!!!

Some Images of the Last Two Days

I should feel like it's 4 PM now, but I'm confused & must sleep soon. However, here are some final images.

The kind souls that still dropped off Adam & me at the airport, despite the stupid delays in our flight. Perhaps they just really wanted to get rid of us!

This was my last nikuma.

Charry Cock for sale in an airport snack area.

Adam loving the internet.

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Some Stereotypical Photos

Here's Adam & me wearing Yukatas at the onsen on January 30th. This was prior to stripping down for the public baths.

The morning of January 4th. No reason, but I think this was the advertised product in "Lost in Translation". It was tasty.

Last Japan Update

I'll be returning to the US this Sunday. Travel times are unchanged from those posted prior to my departure. I hope to be back in Haddonfield to catch the second half of the Eagles' game. Let's tear the "G-men" apart more than injuries already have!!!

So, here are a few final photos with narration. Tomorrow morning I intend to visit Ueno Zoo and see pandas. Those photos will wait until my return, but I'll make sure you all see all of those!!

I found this in a toy store. Great "Engrish"

Beyold: The largest retail electronics store in the world! This is "Yodobashi" which is located in the Akihabara district of Tokyo. It has more square feet than Tokyo Dome (the stadium where the Giants play baseball). It is 8 floors of intense retail action!! The video game area was purely nuts, and there were various aisles of nothing but "capsule machines" (like what you find in the entryways & exits of grocery stores in the US), but they were all filled with video-game and anime related items (mainly figurines & cell phone charms). Also, the in-store jingle played over the speakers used the music from Battle Hymn of the Republic, but the lyrics were in Japanese & encouraged consumerism. It was great & my eyes were glazed over when I left.

Tokyo Banana. Banana-cream-filled cakes sold in Tokyo station. Yum.

Eiji, Adam, & myself in an English Pub called "The Hub" in Tokyo's Yoyogi district.

Behold! Mister Donut!

This is for Manzo. I found this in the bathroom of the aforementioned English Pub. Badfinger is everywhere!

Happy New Year, and Tenno Heika, Banzai!!

This morning, Adam, Eiji, and I met up with Eiji's girlfriend and 2 of her friends and went to wave at the emperor. The second part of this post's title is what the really intense visitors were yelling when they raised their hands in praise!!

Here is the approach to the imperial palace. This photo was taken from beyond where the public is usually allowed to go.

Here's one of the imperial palace guards at a gate that is usually closed except on special days like today.

Here are the joyful crowds welcoming the imperial family.

Behold Akihito, the "Heisei Tenno" (tenno = emperor, Heisei is the current era, which means "peace everywhere")
Now, a paraphrase of Eiji's translation of the emperor's speech: "It is nice to be with all of you commoners today. I hope you all find good health in this happy new year and peace in the world."
Following that, everyone waved flags frantically. The more pumped-up visitors tended to yell "Tenno Heika [pause] BANZAI!!". When they yelled Banzai, most of the crowd (including myself) threw their hands and flags in the air and also yelled "Banzai". It was rather intense, and I loved it!! This was also Eiji's first time showing up to greet the emperor, but he claims to have loved it so much that he'll be at all of the future appearances.

Here are my comrades in indescribable glee after being in the emperor's presence. Adam likes the US a lot, so he wasn't nearly as ecstatic as I was.

To continue our imperial day, we went directly to visit the Yasukuni shrine. This shrine get notoriety at least once every year when the Japanese Prime Minister visits it, much to the chagrin of some neighboring asian nations. Hideki Tojo is among the thousands enshrined here. He's generally not treated kindly by history books. If you wikipedia it, its controversial nature will be elaborated upon. This place was crawling with Yakuza. They were pretty scary, but fortunately noone looked at them the wrong way, so it was ok. There were good food stands all over, and the shrine staff provided free sake. Hooray!

The black van across the street was used by imperialists. I think we were ok because we visited sites that they approve of. Regarless, it's pretty intense.