2001-08-05 - 1:03 p.m.
friday afternoon, sean and i took the super rapid train into tokyo to meet my friend rena from vassar. it was only 1 hour flat from kimitsu to tokyo, but at nearly $20. we met rena at shibuya station, an area teaming with young people and encircled in tall buildings with 5-story tv screens on them. it was great to see a friend from vassar -- and a native tokyo-ite at that. rena took us to one of her favorite bar/restaurants where we sat under a 40-foot buddha and drank cocktails with names like "making love."
after dinner (and considerable alcoholic lubrication), we made our way to a karaoke bar. now this was an interesting set-up. we took the elevator to the second floor of a building (the third floor of which, incidently, sells psychadelic mushrooms, which are legal here) and stepped up to the attendant at the front counter. we could choose between 3 different packages which varied in price based on what we choose to drink. i paid 900 yen (about $8.50 or so) for all you can drink cocktails and an hour of karaoke. we were ushered back to a very small room (closet-sized) with benches, a table, a tv, two mics and 2 catalogs of songs. our first drinks arrived shortly and we began looking up songs to sing. everyone keyed in a couple of favorites via remote control and we took turns singing solo or duets to classics by bon jovi, the backstreet boys, and madonna, among others. when another drink was needed, all we had to do was pick up the little phone inside our room and place an order. great system.
we made a brief stop by another bar which was teaming with foreigners and then went to the globally ubiquitous starbucks. sean split to meet friends in yokohama for a weekend of camping in nagano, and rena and i went back to her house. we stopped at a convenience store on the way to get snacks -- inari (sushi w/ rice and tofu) and this cute little thing where you dip cookie sticks into chocolate and then into sprinkles. on the way i also grabbed some koizumi posters from the recent election. it was great to be at rena's house -- to walk into a home in tokyo to someone wearing a "vassar college dad" t-shirt was very comforting. i was of course in awe of all of the little technological wonders -- air conditioning, lights and music via one remote control; a little basin atop the toilet tank which runs water for washing your hands when you flush. the sugitas were very welcoming and i look forward to visiting their house again.
after waking very late on saturday, rena deposited me on the correct train in tokyo station, and i made it back all by myself without getting lost, changing trains and everything. i came home and made a great dinner of shitake mushrooms and asparagus over soba noodles, only $70 in the hole from a night out on the town -- not bad, about what i'd pay for a night in nyc during my poughkeepsie days.
