Tamashii no Tokyo part 8 - Best. Day. Ever. Kinda.

Sunday was my last day in Tokyo, and as such, it was bittersweet. I had a full agenda, my feet were killing me, but I needed to persevere. On deck today was Sightseeing from the Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Buildings, Yoyogi Park, Meiji Shrine and Harajuku.

I wanted to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Buildings because of their free observation decks on the 45th floor. You really get a great view of Tokyo from up here and it's all free. While I was up there I was playing with the super zoom on the camera, closing in on things that were otherwise unseen.

Wait, a second, is that a... Flea Market?

I made a mental note of the location, and scurried out of the building. Sure enough, I found it. Technically, it was a recycle fair, but what was odd was it was right in the middle of the high-rise district. Thats like finding a flea market on Wall Street.

Luck would have it, one lady had a bunch of old popy and bullmark vinyls out on a blanket. I got 20 of them for 1,000 yen. Sure, they were mini's, but man, what a score. I was psyched.

On that high note I took the train over to Harajuku and walked over to Yoyogi park. Sure enough, the park was jammed with partygoers, moreso than Omiya was. As I was walking in the park, I saw a white sheet with the word YOUTUBE spray-painted on it. I went over and saw a guy I subscribe to, Tokyo Cooney, so I decided to talk to the people there.

Come to find out it was a gathering of Gaijin Youtubers, hanging out, drinking beer. I made fast friends, but it was early and I wanted to explore. I said I would be back, and I left.

From there I went over to Takeshita Dori, the main street in Harajuku. It was packed, moreso than I have ever seen it before. I stopped and got a crepe from one of the stalls there, it was bananna and chocolate with whipped cream and ice cream. Awesome.

I decided that I would take out my copy of Tokyo Underground, the book I co-wrote, and try to find the designer vinyl shops in the area, like Erostika and Secret Base. Well, Come to find out they all moved! But I did find interesting graffiti.

So back up to the bridge to Meiji shrine I notice that the cosplayers and gothic lolitas are out, but there are not as many as last time I was there. Maybe the fad is wearing off? I snap some pics and begin the long walk to Meiji.

Meiji is the most popular shrine in Tokyo, and the walk from the entrance to the shrine feels like forever. The crushed stone beneath your feet gives away just enough to make you work a little harder than you normally would. The shrine is busy, and I even get to witness a wedding between a Japanese woman and a Gaijin!

I pay my respects at Meiji and decide its time to rejoin the YouTube party. At the entrance to Yoyogi park the greasers have set up and are dancing to rockabilly music. I score some beers from a cart vendor and re-crash the party, and I swiftly get drunk and eat KFC that someone brought. It all becomes a bit hazy after that...

I remember being dragged over to another tarp full of Japanese people and them feeding me cheese. I remember this girl holding a little dog, and she would make the barking noises for it.

When darkness came, we all went as a group to a bar in Shibuya called "The Hub" and we continued to drink and be merry. However, Reality was setting in and I realized that I had to be up early tomorrow to get my ass and all my belongings to the airport in the morning. Like an old man, I banged out at 9pm, and made the drunken treck back to the hotel.

The next day, I got up on time, lugged my two suitcases and two bags onto three trains out to the airport, and settled into my flight home. This time I had a row to myself again, and this time the seat armrests folded up.

I was kind of glad to be going home. I was tired and lonely, I missed my family, and I had this sadness about me. Not that I didn't have a good time - I had a great time. but it was too short. On Sunday it felt as if I was just getting going, and I had to leave. I made all these great friends, and then I had to say goodbye...

Till next time. Maybe in another 3 years.