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Kamil's away

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Kamil's on his way back to Thunder Bay. From 30-odd million people to 100,000 -- I wonder if he'll survive the depressurization.

We managed to take in quite a few of the city's offerings. I always like to take guests to the observation deck on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. I think now I'll have to add the Edo Museum -- which does a great job of explaining the city's history -- and; Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens, a really good inner-city park that's both beautiful in its own right but also studded with artifacts of the shogun era in Tokyo's history. The complex at Asakusa was a hit, as was the ryokan in Izu. We also did a bit of shopping (electronics, of course) and of course did some evenings out in Roppongi (been a long time since someone asked me, "so do you come here often?")

The bizarre mix of surpluss electronics and sleaze in Akihabara was a lively surprise for both of us. I'd only ever darted in and out of the area when I wanted to buy a refridgerator or some camera equipment. I had no idea how actively advertised the maid cafe's are, or for that matter that they have gaijin girls.

And of course there's the tsukiji fish market. This morning we cycled over to the market with ideal weather conditions and toodled around the whole market on our bikes. My favourite area is of course the wholesale/retail area under the sprawling curved barn-like structure that makes up the bulk of the market. We did it with bikes, but I imagine that you could see all you wanted to in about twenty minutes on foot.