Part Two from Wednesday

It would have been too easy to duck in to a subway station and call it a day following my tour. After I left the safety provided by the walls of the Imperial Palace, my adventurous side took over and I struck out for Tokyo's Ginza. The Ginza is Tokyo's Times Square or Piccadilly Circus. An endless buffet of eye-candy lording over a sea of humanity. A stiff 20 minute walk into the skyscraper jungle Southeast from the Ote-mon Gate of the Palace will take you into the heart of the Ginza. Along the way, I encountered Tokyo (rail) Station, the Tokyo International Forum (see picture) and BIC Camera. Let me explain BIC Camera. Take every device that requires electricity to make it go, spread these devices over seven floors, using every square inch of free space to display these items and cram a thousand people in the aisles and you a least have a frame of reference. The Japanese are in love with all things electronic. You can see that riding the subway. Everyone has a cell phone, most have MP3 players, and some have found ways of multi-tasking using all of their electronic devices at once. So, if electronics are king in Japan, then BIC Camera is where the consuming public goes to pay tribute. I have included a picture that will help with the frame of reference. One funny, but culturally significant note. There was an uber-big screen television that was showing women's beach volleyball. Now, out in front of the TV were two pair of 3D viewing goggles mounted to tripods and a line of men unashamedly waiting their turn at watching scantily clad women play in the sand. I deduced two things from this scene. First, that these men's wives were nowhere to be found. Second, if enough people are doing something, it must be alright, right?

After BIC, I went looking for dinner. I then did something uncharacteristic of my plan-everything nature. I smelled something yummy coming from a building, looked at their menu, decided that I could eat what they were serving, and walked right it. Pretty good food, but I considered it growth on my part that I actually made the decision without consulting tripadvisor.com or my guide to Metro Tokyo. Kind of a longish ride home afterward. Learned my lesson not to miss the Express Train in favor of the Local. 27 stops and 1 1/2 hours later, I arrived back at Sobudaimae Station for my 16 minute walk back to Dad and Candy's apartment.

Big, big day on Thursday. I cannot wait to share, but need a few hours of sleep before I try to write coherent sentences.

-k