Post-Parade Party People.

I managed to wind my way through the hordes of people and met Alex at Mediatech and then hooked up with a few more pals including fellow Canuck, Stefan & family.

Here Alex has managed to hypnotize Stefan with his laser eyes.

Stef's son Kai engaged in what 13 year-old kids do best.

I've been waiting eight years for this but Kai finally apologized for poking me in the eye when he was 5.

Keiko on the left, unknown lady in the middle and Stef's wife Fumie in the middle. Be sure to visit Fumie's Fashion page where she designs kimono outfits.

Alex belts one out of the park.

After Liga, we wandered over to another pub where I bumped into a bevy of babes, the one in stripes is a former Tokiwagi student of mine.

So long Stefan et al. See ya in another couple of years.

Return Of The Native, II.

I have a lot of catching up to do, but it's beddy-bye time, so I'll make this quick.

Last Thursday, former Echo DJ Dr. Love made a cameo appearance in our fair city. We hadn't seen hide nor tail of him since last year when he graced us with his presence. If you click that link, you'll see several of the usual suspects turn up again in the following photos taken after we attended Mokugohan's Snotty win at hockey.





He'll next hear from me when I'm on a brief stopover in Vancouver en route to Toronto in about a month (via phone from the airport.)

Let's hope the next time he comes, he can stay for more than one night!

Tokyo Rose by any Other Name.

I checked out of the capsule and made my way to Shinjuku station. Buddy Nori had recommended a Burger King, back in action after a 6-year hiatus. He admonished about the MegaBurger, but in my slightly hungover state, I settled for a Whopper. It was larger than I had remembered, but then I realized that for the last several years, I never ate anything other than Happy Meals or Burger King Kids' Meals. I only really want the toys, not the food. Much to my chagrin, there was NO Kids' Meal, it was upscaled for adults, who would go there only to eat! Hard to believe.

I wandered around Shinjuku after that and eventually discovered a Movie area with a large variety of UFO catch game centres. I had plenty of time to kill, so I popped in several 100￥ coins and won various and sundry items including this bizarre Ramen-eating Salaryman who had definitely felt the worse for wear.

Best find was a centre with 5 different Pinball games! I wasted some more time playing Congo, Guns & Roses, Dungeon Madness, Shadow and my favourite game of all time...Twilight Zone! Alas, each of these 20-30 year-old games had seen better days and a lot of the play had left their bumpers.

I finally met up with Liverpudlian Andy and we went to an all-you-can-stomach Indian Restaurant. I didn't have much room to eat after the Whopper, but I still put a few plates away. We walked it off by heading to the Government buildings with a free Observation Tower on the 45th floor. Nice views of Smoggy Tokyo!

Those crazy hazy days of autumn.








Very Blade Runner-esque, with a blimp soaring overhead.
















Nice little park with the changing of the leaves in full glory.























Full moon over Yoyogi Park.

We'd spent enough time in Shinjuku and made our way to Shibuya to meet up with Mark & Yuko. Andy recommended a place called Tasuichi where you can get Draft for 200￥ from 5-7 and only 300￥ after that. Needless to say we wasted several hours there getting wasted on cheap beer and cheap company.

The food was typical fare, but we decided against ordering this.













Swilling down the swill.
































Enjoying a pint at the pub. We met a couple of backpackers from Wales who were on a whirlwind worldwide tour. We invited them out for Karaoke and they loved it but had horrid voices! (Word of advice if you don't wish to piss me off. If you plan to sing a duet with me while I'm crooning Sinatra, be sure you actually know the song!)

Mark and I continued drinking all night and took an early 6:00 train home. Mark slept ALL day and I continued a walkabout in Shibuya, hunting for a Santa costume. I went to my NERD store and bought this cool model of Gappa















Finally in a bizarre small world event, I met the girlfriend of one of Stef's friends from the night before at the pub. The next day, I met her friend on the Subway platform in crowded Shibuya while on the way home...freaky!

Falling Off the Wagon.

I fell off the wagon so hard, I bruised my bum! Since Stefan has been in town, I suspect than any weight I'd unacquired has been reacquired.

It started off with a terrific burger at Fat Robs (03-5768-9339) in Ebisu, but it was grease free and with a huge avocado slice.











I wandered around Ebisu looking for a great used book store, but never did find it. (By the way, it's called Good Day Books-now I know.) I did see an a cappella group warble outside the Yebisu Garden Palace. I recommend you go back there at night when it's all lit up...very illuminating.

Next I trekked to Shibuya where I saw a couple of entertainers advertising for the latest Pachinko parlour opening.




At the train station entrance, there are some rivals for Hachiko as the rendezvous spot of choice. These mini-sumo kids look like they're having fun.










Eventually, I'd be meeting the gang in Roppongi that night, so I made it there in order to book a Capsule Hotel. There's a nice one in the ロイ building...Super Sauna Roppongi VIVI (スーパーサウナ 六本木VIVI). Roi Bldg 4F, 5-5-1 Roppongi (Roppongi stn exit A3), tel. 03-3404-4126. While seeking my torpedo-shaped sleeping quarters, I saw this guy monkeying around above a pet store.




While waiting to meet up with Stefan and his pals, I continued my walk-about through Roppongi and took in the Vermeer exhibit at the The National Art Center. Though the painting was good, it was the only Vermeer on display and ALL the other paintings were variations of it by other Dutch artists. It was VERY dull. I did get to see a hurdy-gurdy though, so it wasn't a complete waste.





I wound up in Hiroo waiting and waiting and waiting. But at least I had some company.













Eventually, I did meet the gang and we ate at a place called Gonpachi. It's a warehouse-sized izakaya-style restaurant, with great food & beer.
















Afterwards, we went to Club Yellow to listen to some a friend of a friend named DJ Milo. Though a cool place for the younger generation to hang around, it wasn't my cup of java, so I trudged several blocks back to my capsule.



Part 2 tomorrow...

Return of the Native.

One of the founding fathers of Echophonyk, Stefan, is back in town. He moved out to Vancouver 3 years ago and though his wife and child have paid a visit, it's the first time that he's returned.









We all met up at Hide and Seek
(電話：022-214-7978 住所：宮城県仙台市青葉区一番町4-4-5 八百善ビル2F) and a small gathering enjoyed themselves immensely. As you can see, we weren't the only ones acting infantile.








We all ended up at Ernie's, and I remained until the wee hours.










The next evening, we went to an excellent dinner party at a photographer friend of his and we all had fun (I only wish I could remember their names.)









And the other night, I met he and Alex for his last night in Sendai at a fancy-shmancy restaurant and wound up at Title.









I've finally got rid of him and I can finally get back to routine. Oh, until this weekend, when I'll be clubbing with him in Tokyo!