I *heart* Tokyo

What is it about Tokyo that makes it so different from all the other big metropolises?

It's not only because it's Japanese since Kyoto and Harakone were not the same. It also isn't because of it's huge size since Istanbul, Cairo and London are all of similar size. There's something else that sets this city apart from all the others.

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After taking the superfast Shinkansen train back to Tokyo, I spent the following days exploring this huge and mind-bogglingly radical city. I went to the Harajuko district where many teenagers hangout and some dress in crazy costumes (Little Bo-peep?) and found the Snoopy Store. I also spent nearly 3 hours at an 8-storey high electronics store where I found some Panasonic replacement plastic embedded earbud for my headphones that I had lost in London on Day 1.

I also visited the commercial districts of Shinjuku(where I had a great 40min nap in an upscale department store, there were 4 other people doing it). I then spent nearly 1 hr at the World's Busiest Boardwalk in Shibuya. I just couldn't get enough of that place. The massive number of people moving to the sound of a traffic tune looked like 10 000 people playing musical chairs. Sometimes, some people wouldn't even realize that the game/tune was over and they're still stuck in the street as the cars start to move and hong angrily at them.

Met up with Yuki at Shibuya after work and we had McD's Mega Mac Attack for dinner. While this was a technical violation of Rule 2 (No American fast food), I thought that it was a unique Japanese experience since it doesn't exist outside of Japan (not that I know of). Our visit to the first Pita Pit outside of North America also didn't violate the rule since Pitas aren't quite fast food and the taste of Kingston and home was too good to resist. (As soon as I'm getting back to Canada, I'm getting the biggest poutine I can washed down with Rickards/Sleeman's and a Tim Hortons Ice Cap for dessert)

Took a day trip to Harakone today. This place was the security junction for people who wanted to go to Edo (Tokyo) and visit the Emperor. Its also a beautiful area surrounded by mountains (including Mt. Fuji), forrests and natural geysers. What was funny though was that with my 3-day pass, I took the subway, train, tram, cablecar, rope car, boat/ferry all in one day. Unfortunately, the weather didn't allow me to get a good look at Mt. Fuji. Nonetheless, it was a good day and I'm just waiting for the express train back to Tokyo.

I truly hope I get the chance to work on a few projects here some day.
It would be amazing living here for a period!