I want to archive this page, but I don't feel like I've put enough entries on it yet. Sad that I think in terms of wasting pages even when it's not actually using paper. XD;

So, Tokyo last weekend. I will say it here but I am certainly not telling anyone I work with because their opinion of my ability to take care of myself would plummet: I missed that damn bus Sunday morning. Yes, I woke up late, but not too late, not at all-- I got to the bus stop and I was waiting and I pulled out my ticket to double-check and ED, you FUCKWIT, that's the Bus Center, not Eki-mae on your ticket. I raced to the Bus Center only to arrive at seven on the dot and the bus had apparently JUST left, because it was nowhere in sight-- and if it left EARLY, oh we'll just not go there, because kousoku buses in this city NEVER leave early. That would be the way my luck works, though, I'd bet money on it.

Upshot being, I wasted fifty bucks on that ticket and ended up taking the shinkansen at eight AM anyway, and getting in at about the same time-- that bus from Nagaoka to Echigo-Yuzawa took FOREVER! And most of that eternity was spent sitting in one place, outside the Nagaoka station, for no discernable reason whatsoever, after the bus was full and we were ready to get moving. Oh well. At least I wasn't stupidly late to Ikebukuro, but it did precipitate a huge waste of time on Monday, having to discover where the buses left from when I would have already known, had I fucking come IN on one.

Met Homasse and Cat and went for delicious Mexican food, which I was too tired to enjoy as much as I had expected to, but the conversation and the company were fabulous anyway. Then we poked through the Animate, which was fun but not as productive as I'd hoped-- either I was too tired or just not in the mood for anime or a little of both, but I just couldn't bring myself to even think of the things I'd wanted to look for, and then there wasn't really any of the merchandise I was in the mood to buy anyway. Six floors, and they never seem to have that much more of what I want-- it's overkill, I think; my poor country-bumpkin equivalent of a fandom consciousness just can't deal. XD; But I did score something for the otouto, and a little charm for me. Thanks, Homasse!

Then on to Harajuku, to refresh ourselves with coffee before invading Little Village (because that's what it is when the foreigners descend, an invasion-- we monopolize half the staff, and try on half the inventory!). I had pretty much convinced myself I was going to buy a coat there, even though I had no idea what styles they were carrying. I lucked out, though, because after dismissing all the Karrimor guy-coats and considering a fuzzy long number that looked similar to my furry-denim coat, Ryo (bless him, he's a great salesman) pulled out The Perfect Coat from some undisclosed location, and proffered it to me. It's hip-length, dark cocoa brown almost-corduroy, with dull bronze zippers everywhere and FUNCTIONAL TASTEFUL POCKETS oh my god and the sleeves are the perfect length and so is the cut and it has a furry collar that comes off, and after all that how could I quibble about the price? That jacket is and will remain the best purchase I've ever made in that store, or in Tokyo, period. It was made for me.

My first hunch was correct, though; they did have that delicious pale suede-fur concoction Gackt wears on the cover of January 05 Fool's Mate. (For a decent look at the jacket, rather than Gackt's face, click on that link with the arrows on the bottom right corner of the page-heading spread, then click on the link just below the top photo that says 'from BACKSTAGE'.) I saw it on the mannequin that stands by the stairs, that's usually dressed up in the Gackt Outfit Du Jour, and had to pet it (it's really really soft and I love the color). Ryo pulled another one off the rack in spite of my protests to the tune of 'too expensive, I know it's too expensive, no way!' So I tried it on, but the color just isn't flattering on me, and neither was the cut (though it was heavy and warm and damn it felt nice). Ryo commented on the suede and I said, "but if it rains, it'll be ruined, right?" And he hastily blurted out, "no it won't, it's fake!" rather loudly, actually, because he looked vaguely alarmed as soon as he said it (there were other customers nearby, we were mostly using Japanese, and that place is SMALL) and I burst out laughing. But he showed me the tag-- I've never felt polysuede that soft and convincing before, though. Damn. We all agreed it still wasn't a good coat for me, though, especially compared to that lovely dark brown jacket.

We tromped upstairs after that and totally took over, pulling out shirts and pants and I almost bought a gorgeous slinky purple-silver t-shirt that looked awesome, but it was just too expensive and I'm really glad I only brought a limited amount of cash with me, or I'd have bought it anyway! There was this really awesome black fake-fur-trimmed robe with kimono-like sleeves, though, which I would have been sorely tempted by if it had been just a tad looser around my hips, because then I could have worn it with jeans.

As it was, I bought the jacket, and caved and asked for my own point card (Homasse's put my last two purchases on hers, but I finally balked and gave in to the fact that I've bought something there every time I've gone so far). I don't do it often, and much of the time I don't like who I am when I start, but once in a while I really really love indulging that repressed part of me that has always longed to be really decadent and actually have things I've daydreamed about (or things similar). It's a teensy step up from being on the outside, looking in; it's being invited in for tea, but with a time limit. I can't stay forever, but that just makes it even more fun while it lasts. The wannabe high-roller in me's so severely stomped on, usually, that it takes comparatively little to make that part of me happy and send me up to cloud nine. Which is good, I think. XD; Yet another argument for me not living in Tokyo, fundamental nature and personality aside.

After that we stopped in Cyberdog, where I always /almost/ find the perfect t-shirt but they never fit right or they cost way too much, but I do always get a great handful of club fliers from their rack by the door. I'm gonna have to find a new patch of wall to put these on; I've run out of space over my fridge and the bed. Maybe it's time for Sam and Frodo to come down from the wall by the balcony door....

Then Cat took us to this little place for dinner where the menu is comprised entirely of pumpkin (Japanese pumpkin is 'kabocha', small and green on the outside, bright orange on the inside, tastes like a cross between the usual pumpkin and sweet potato). I had pumpkin soup, and it was really tasty. Then we parted ways and I went to Ikebukuro to get my bag, then on to meet Liz at her station. We ate dinner and hit the sack, and slept till ten AM. The weather was kind of gross and rainy on Sunday, but yesterday it was gorgeous, gold sunlight and pale blue-gold sky, really hazy but from the high train tracks we could /barely/ make out Mount Fuji, thanks to the sunlight reflecting off its fresh coat of snow (it looked just like another cloud, unless you knew what and where it was already). It was incredibly beautiful. Liz's neighborhood is quiet and relatively uncongested compared to most of central Tokyo, much more residential and spread-out and clean.

We went to Ikebukuro and I proceeded to waste an hour attempting to find someone, ANYone, who could tell me where to find the kousoku bus terminal-- and of course it turned out to be in a place I already knew of, but hadn't been to that side of the street before. In a station that huge, it's laughable, but I only found two station attendants and one Customer Service office (the police boxes were closed!) and in the end it was the man at the Limited Express ticket counter who had the presence of mind to give me a station map and tell me the NAME of the exit rather than the NUMBER (all the exits have names, and technically they all have numbers too but the numbers aren't always on the signs, as dictated by the Universal Stupid Public Signage Law.) He also was the only person who told me the /correct/ direction to take from said exit.

Small victory: I managed to ask all questions, and understand all responses, entirely in Japanese. (What made /me/ happier, though, was that not one person tried to speak a single word of English to me. THANK YOU.)

Stupidity dealt with, I dumped my bag and we set off for Ueno, where we did some serious shopping in Marui (I scored a purple leather belt and a present for Liza, and drooled over wallets), grabbed sandwiches for lunch, and then practically ran by the bracelet kiosk to get personalized bracelets (mine says 'wicked', I am determined to come up with something better and more enigmatic next time, however). We were pressed for time and the cashier did a routine entirely from Love Actually-- you know, where Rowan Atkinson's character is boxing up this necklace for a guy and he keeps doing little froufy unnecessary things, extra bags, ribbons, and he takes his sweet time about it all. EXACTLY THAT. It was hilarious and maddening. Then we dashed for Shinjuku and met Liz's student for bubble tea, yes, I finally had bubble tea! It was good, but I'm not a huge fan. Still, something to be said for the filling quality of the tapioca. Next was an hour of karaoke with another co-worker, and it was loads of fun because we all sang crazy stuff and didn't worry about how much we sucked or how bad we were at reading kanji. It's surprisingly hard to find other people who have the same attitude towards karaoke, and who /also/ like to sing in Japanese, at least some of the time.

Then it was five and I had to leave and haul ass back to Ikebukuro and catch that damn bus. I made it with fifteen minutes to spare, even accounting for the freak-out I had in Shinjuku over getting on a local train (Liz had to reassure me over the phone that yes, the local would get me there, because it was the VERY NEXT STOP)-- I have a very deeply ingrained mistrust of local trains, because they are so slow and run so infrequently in most places, and the few times I've had to use them I've almost always been incredibly late to my destination for one reason or another. Bad associations, I tell you.

But I got there and the bus ride was uneventful and quiet, and in the future I'm definitely using the kosoku bus to get to Tokyo. Maybe not both ways, but at least one way. I can take the shinkansen down on a Saturday night, and the bus back on Monday, or I can take the bus down Sunday morning, and the shinkansen back late Monday night (either way gives me more time in town, and saves me about five thousand yen.) Both ways, though, is the price of one shinkansen ticket, so it's hard to beat. If I do that, I can go more than once a month! In theory. XD Here's hoping I can do it in January; I have aspirations towards a day in Yokohama.

But right now I have to go to bed because I can't see straight and I have to get up in like eight hours. Augh. Photos to be posted tomorrow, I think.

ED wandered off @ 12:34 a.m.

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