Nakano and Ikebukuro

We spent the day walking a LOT around Nakano and Ikebukuro yesterday. Our feet were killing us. Most of the time was spent checking out anime and record stores. I`m not a huge fan of the anime so everything started looking the same to me after a while. Even the record stores all have the same stuff so there was nothing too stimulating there.

We ate lunch in Ikebukuro. I was feeling a little better so I decided to actually eat lunch (which I had skipped the previous two days). This was our most confusing food ordering episode yet. In fact, they were actually out of what I pointed to like a mute simpleton and I had to order again. I got the old `hamburg` steak as it is called everywhere over here. They started out by giving us each a whole stewed tomato on a plate. I had a bite or two, but I`m not really a tomato fan. If you were into tomatoes, I`m sure it was a killer appetizer. I also got a plate of some kind of clear mash that I was assuming was radish (`cause I thought I saw that on the menu). It didn`t really taste like anything.

I did get to encounter my first super-packed train ride that morning though. I was really amazed that people just kept getting on and we were all packed tight for much of the trip. We had hit the rush hour so there were a lot of people heading to work. It is a situation that seems very incongruous... the people here are so polite and do anything to avoid embarrassment, but all bets are off when you are riding the train.

I`ve gotten a few internal chuckles seeing all ofthe kids running around with english phrases on their clothing. I`m not sure they always know what it says. I saw a guy with a cap yesterday that said `Nonth Carolina` and I figured it was probably the same way for Americans who wear clothing with Japanese writing. The best so far was a teenager wearing a black T-shirt emblazened with `Backroom Bitch` in bright pink letters. He wasn`t so punk that I could assume he understood the irony of it.

We ate at the Chinese buffet in the hotel last night, which not only proved to be extremely expensive, but it also proved that I need to stop eating adventurously for a little while longer.

Anyway, this is our last morning in the Shinagawa Prince hotel. We check out and take the train to Nagoya. I don`t know if we will have internet access there, but we are only there for one day and then it is on to Osaka. We hopefully have wi-fi access there so Bagley can finally upload some photos.