(now, I know what you're thinking - but when did I ever say that I was anything less than a procrastintor of the highest order?)
...and back on the tour bus we go. The plan for today is Asakusa, Tokyo Tower, The Imperial Palace, and then Tokyo Bay Fireworks.
I've been feeling a bit lonely this week. I haven't seen Mr. Awkward since, what, back on the 27th? I get the distinct impression he's avoiding me, and while its not really that big of a deal, you know, I'd kinda like to know why...especially if it's something I did unintentionally. We had a pretty good time that last weekend, I thought, and we'd been hanging out quite often since Kamogawa, so it felt abrupt...
Anyway, onwards and upwards, as they say. So, I'll say right here that my new *fav* place in Tokyo is now Asakusa, at least for shopping. This is tourist central for non-name brand, uber-generic omiyage ^ ^
We didn't have all that much time, so I have vowed to return before I go home. Waaaay to much random shit I want to buy. On the way back to the bus, I dropped one of my smaller packages and, not realizing that I'd dropped it, proceeded to kick it and stumble slightly over it, then mutter "Somebody's gonna be pissed they dropped that..."
*kicks self repeatedly*
So, I get back to the group, stand around for a while, until somebody asks me what I bought. "Oh yeah, I got these great little---あれっ？"
ピンポン！
So I run screaming back through the throngs of people, foresaking any hopes of staying fresh and only lightly coated in my own sweat. At least I wore a skirt and tank - I might actually dry off before the evenings out. It doesn't take long before, looking frantically about near the area I remember kicking it, that I see it placed gently-- not kicked, mind you-- perfectly upright against the side fencing. I would have not been surprised if someone had tied a bow around it.
In the US, it would have probably lasted 30 seconds before somebody picked it up, made a show of looking around like they were actually trying to spot some the poor sap who dropped it so they could feel like a good samaritan, and then shrug their shoulders thinking, well, finder's keepers. That's if they were really nice. F*ckers. Next! Tokyo Tower. This was a bit awkward, as for a brief period nobody was quite sure who had our passes or how they were supposed to work, but after a bit we all got in in a somewhat orderly fashion. We got curry for lunch, and then everyone milled around in line for the elevators, until a bunch of us decided to quit being lazy and just walk up the stairs. All 600 of them...
See it there? Waaaaaay in the far left hand corner. Yeah. We didn't get very close. Subsequently, this thing here --->
on my shoulder, received the most attention and picture taking. The grounds surrounding the Imperial Palace were predominantly gravel, with large exspanses of grass and sparse trees. Not the most colorful area I've seen, but you definitely got the impression you were on well-groomed, government property
Next stop....I'm still not really sure. We got dumped off somewhere on the farside of...somewhere...walked for quite a while and ended up in a semi-industrial area with a mostly decent view of Tokyo Bay, where we proceeded to set-up camp (that is, picked an empty stretch of sidewalk and rolled out the plastic tarps) and wait for about 4 hours for the fireworks to start.
This was probably the least well-planned excursion, so I can't complain too much. But if I'd known this was how they were going to go about things, I would have not worn a skirt, and brought some kind of blanket to sit on. A tarp just does not offer any kind of cushion on an asphalt surface. There was a convenience store a few blocks away, so about half of us walked out there to pick up dinner and, of course, lots and lots of alcohol. ...with humorous results (you can hear Mr. Awkward commenting drunkenly on the fireworks =)
I was probably the only person not even mildly buzzed. Mr. Awkward got pretty wasted (no surprise), and halfway through the fireworks was near falling over sitting on the sidewalk. I cleared a space on the tarp I was standing on, and drug him over to lay down, and he was out for a good hour there at my feet. Poor sap.
When things finally started to wind down (and the rain started up again), we gathered ourselves and all of our trash and started the march to the nearest subway to get back. In the dark and pouring rain.
I ended up hanging out with a Japanese student (who was kind enough to share her umbrella, and whose name I have naturally forgotten), Austin, and Mr. Awkward, who I tried to keep an eye on because he seemed really, really out of it.
We had a memorable conversation that involved the three of us making fun of Mr. Awkward who was both too sloshed and not advanced enough in the language to grasp what we were saying, as well me, being the haughty-taughty 4th level student, trying to explain various American idioms to the Japanese girl in Japanese. I think I did alright - Austin seemed impressed anyway.
This was really the first and only time I experienced anything resembling the crammed-in-like-sardines phenomenon Tokyo subways are so infamous for. There were thousands of people, and I only just made it on the subway, though I was stuck pressed against the doors. Good thing Mr. Awkward found a seat after the second stop - he was in pretty bad shape.
And so ended the night...
