Christmas Day

So Christmas day was the busiest of my life! You know, normally one spends Christmas day well essentially eating and hanging about the house, well that was not my Christmas day. So after waking up and opening the few presents Mhairi and I had, we headed off to the post office a few subways stops from our house as it had Mhairi’s package from her parents and mine from my Aunty Cheryl. We then went to Ueno so Mhairi could get a coat from this fabulous store where I had bought my coat a few days ago (and fabulous red shoes). We had been planning to go to an Onsen (Japanese hot spring) but since we were short on time we went to a massage spa in Ueno which was lovely, but even then we were short on time. Mhairi and I ran back home after our massages to get changed for dinner and then down to Shibuya we went.
Dinner was wonderful! Lots of laughs, and a good time all round I think. After dinner the whole group of us (Ani, Nina, Suresh, Mhairi and I) went to Shidax Karaoke which was soo much fun as karaoke always is! Then after two hours of song we left and headed our separate ways home.
Once home I talked to my parents, Ashley, my brother Chris, and then Jen, David, Theo and Piper. Each told me how much I am missed which is really wonderful to hear.
Christmas in Tokyo was very eventful and unforgettable!
Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
All my love.

Christmas Eve

So Christmas in Tokyo. Christmas eve day seemed to pass by very quickly. By the time I was organized and ready to leave the house I had to go straight to meet a student ( I teach private English classes) and had no time to do my last minute elfish things, Mhairi was kind enough to pick a few things up for me. After my lesson I met up with Ani and Mhairi in Shibuya. We exchanged gifts and had a wonderful Indian dinner. I had made stockings of Ani and Nina so I wanted to make sure they had them for Christmas morning, and I had a little Christmas eve present for Ani.
After dinner, Mhairi and I headed home. We watched an episode of House ( oh I love that show), and got a tour of my house in London via Ashley’s webcam. The house looks so beautiful, as it always does on Christmas. My father read “The Night before Christmas” to Mhairi and I. Mhairi opened up her Christmas eve present form me, and I opened mine (Super Girl PJs!!!) from my Auntie Sue. Busy but very nice Christmas eve.

Yes I do have a camera on my phone...I just never use it cause I forget that its there.
I'm an idiot, but then thats not news!! lol
Okay so just another note, if you choose to make a comment and you are not a member of blogger, then I dont know who you are unless you sign your name. So please sign your name. And if you choose not to....well thats just a little creepy.
Cheers

Cameras at the ready!

This picture just proves that one should always have a camera when in Tokyo. I have seen stuff I can't even describe, this is thing was so funny cause there aint a person in there! I have also seen weird crazy performance art but I haven't had my camera. Luckily, today in Shimbashi, I did.

Pics from around Tokyo

Here are some pics that I have taken around Tokyo.
The one with the statue of Liberty, the Fuji nextwork building with its weird ball, and the farris wheel are taken near one of my schools on Tokyo Bay. The night pics are of Harajuku, and the fuzzy one was taken in Shinjuku at 5am.

Birthday Night

Mhairi, Michelle, Ani, and a sick but fabulous Nina came out for my birthday. I had planned on going to several cool looking cafes in Harajuku and Shibuya, but plans, like rules, are made to be broken. We went to a wonderful little tiny Thai restaurant in Harajuku that was tucked in the back of a little allyway filled with restaurants. The food was amazing!!! We ended up staying there for almost three hours. We did a lot of catching up as we had not seen each other for a while. Everyone enjoyed there food, the place was a great find!
After dinner, around 10:30pm, Mhairi, Nina, and Michelle all headed home to bed while Ani and I headed to a wonderful but pricy cafe in Shinjuku to chill, plan Jenn, Andrea and Isabell's visit through the late evening and early hours of the morning until the sun came up and the trains reopened.
It was 6am when I finally crawled into my bed.
When I awoke at 2pm I have to admit that I was rather homesick and strangly lonely. I went to check for an email from work and found that I had a notice from Facebook of messages on my wall. I had sooo many birthday messages from friends back home. Thank you soo much. Each of your messages means so much to me. Sometimes I feel how very very far away I am and to know people are thinking about you and remembering your birthday (even if facebook sends reminders) can mean more then most people can imagine. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have to give props to the Bull girls, Jen you got in there before Jill....impressive.
And Tem, our phone call lifted me. How I wish you could be here with me.
I had a wonderful birthday. And another big thank you to everyone who made it so special. And to those of you who didn't....I might overlook it, this is the season for generosity of mind and spirit afterall.
Much love

p.s. The pics are from dinner, Harajuku at night, and the cafe Ani and I chilled in until sunrise.

Birthday Day

Well I had a wonderful birthday day.
After waking up and opening my wonderful presents and cards from people in front of my mom and dad on the webcam, I headed off to Ueno park to see the Dali exhibit at the Royal Museum and then to the Tokyo Museum of Western Art which is also in Ueno park. Both exhibits were great. The Dali exhibit was way over crowded. The Museum of Western Art was actually great; they have wonderful Rodin collection with The Kiss and The Thinker - the original small sculptures. They also have some great Monet's, van Gogh's, a Rossetti, and many more famous works.
I had intended to walk through the park but it was raining so I headed home to clean up a little and rest (viewing art takes a lot of enery).

Day 2, my job is still amazing!!!

Hello,
Well it is my second day of work today. I am currently at the office trying to fill time. I have had a great day so far. I called my father this morning to wish him a happy birthday (Tokyo time) and the phone was passed to my neice Theo who told me that she wanted me to come home. Apparently I have exceeded my time allowed away and I need to return. This of course made my heart ach and I promised her I would return, just not anytime soon. God that was hard.
However, the day did pick up after that. I went to my frist school and taught three lessons with another teacher, well he was teaching the lesson, I was just following him around. It was easy and great fun. We started at 10 and were done at 11:15! Then I was on my own time until 3pm when I had to be back at the office for the afternoon (3-5pm). I emailed Mhairi and she was meeting up with two of our friends from Ota who were down to see the Dali exhibit at the National Art Gallery at Ueno. I met them for lunch and walked around Ueno park for a bit, and did a bit of shopping until I had to return to work.
It looks like I have bought a bed off of craigs list. I bed and bookshelf I believe. And maybe a stove if he gives it for the right price.
I think I will be meeting up with my Ota friends after work. They all hate me because of my fabulously amazing job. hahaha! No apologies.
Cheers
p.s. yourtvlinks.com is amazing!!! and I have missed House and Grays Anatomy so much! Mhairi and I have gotten into that show Heros. We watched oh...6 episodes last night. I LOVE TV and I am not afraid to say it!!!

Just a note, keep scrolling

Just a note, I have just updated the blog with 4 new entries, so keep scrolling down to see them all. And I tried to keep the short. I will add pics later

Ueno

Mhairi and I went to check out Ueno yesterday. All I can say is Ueno is crazy. It is also huge! There are these alleyways snaking around the station that are packed with shops that are all open, and they are selling all kinds of stuff. The only thing I have ever been to like it was the massive night market in Chang Mai in Thailand, but it is more condensed, kind of like a carnival with all the people and the venders. There are tones of clothing shops, but most for men, and then there will be the Body Shop, and a Canadian coffee shop, and restaurants, a 7/11, and well you don’t know what is going to be around the next corner. And it looks like it goes on forever. I was working on very little sleep so I couldn’t even comprehend what I was doing. Oh is there a coffee shop in Canada called the Benz? Mhairi and I came home around 7pm (we went to Ueno around 3pm) and I went right to bed and woke up at 8am. I was supposed to meet some teachers from Ota who were coming down to Tokyo to go clubbing but I was asleep. What can you do? lol
Mhairi and I are going to go back today. I will try to take pictures of the place for you all.
Cheers

Now in Tokyo!

Well now Mhairi and I are living in Tokyo. Last Thursday was exhausting as you can imaging I am sure. Three hours sleep, moving, getting lost trying to find the apartment, waiting for luggage to be delivered, unpacking, moving furniture around the apartment, poor Mhairi had to go to an interview. We went down to our agent’s office to sign our lease and when we came back we just passed out.
Friday: Well Friday was my first day of work. My job is so chill. Oh may I love it! I was in the office all day and they had nothing for me to do so I planed out my train schedule and the routes to the schools, and played on the internet waiting for time to pass. Oh and they decided to extend the teacher’s Christmas holidays so I now have the 22 of December to the 9th of January off. And this is paid holiday. Oh so chill. I have said before they I am only in each school for 2 hrs but I have found out that that is a max of 2hrs so I might only be in a school for one lesson (30mins). Man I love this job. There is a little work to be done in regards to creating flash cards and we are working out the new curriculum which is essentially the same as the old, with a few vocab changes and standardizations for fluidity throughout the year. That takes very little time. I am in the office twice to three times a week. The schedule changes a lot so I have one week where I am in the office for three afternoons and one day where I don’t seem to be anywhere…but that can all change. This job is so great and Tokyo is so amazing, I can see myself staying in Tokyo for over a year…who knows man….
Friday Night: So Friday was Michelle’s birthday and seeing as she has also moved to Tokyo from Ota (all the cool kids are doing it), we all (Ani, Nina, Michelle, Mhairi and I) hung out in Shibuya and it was awesome. Man I love Shibuya, it is like being in a moving. Every time I go cant believe that I live in this amazing city. Shibuya is everything I imagined Tokyo to be. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Its great, you order from a machine, give your ticket to the waitress and she brings your food. Fabulous! It was delicious and cheap for Tokyo. Then we went to a really cheap bar that we had stumbled on earlier while we were waiting for Nina. The $2 beers didn’t only draw us, but all other gaijin that were walking by. It was insane! 80-90% of the people were gaijin and it was like a big party. It was great to be around so many other foreigners, especially after the fabulous, but limited, foreign population in Ota. I spent most of the night talking to a Japanese women who is now working as an interpreter and who had just gotten back to Japan from a tour on the PeaceBoat so we spent a great deal of time talking about that and about conflict issues. It was great! She really encouraged me to apply to work on the PeaceBoat. Which is of course more reason to stay in Japan as I need at least 18months teaching experience. Mhairi and I headed home around 11pm, Michelle left a bit later, but she did catch her train. The trains in Tokyo stop running around midnight. Crazy early!
So that’s it for my first two days in Tokyo.
Cheers

Moving and the Last Night in Ota

Well moving wasn’t exactly easy, it never is. But add a language barrier and it is just that much harder. Well the movers were supposed to come between 1 and 2 and they didn’t show up until 8ish….not fun for me who was kept in the apartment waiting for them, not able to leave just in case they showed. But they did come and took all the bags, well first they showed up and then left after they saw our stuff and I was very afraid they weren’t going to come back, but they did.
So my actual last night in Ota. My Japanese friend Chiaki took me out to a little café/dessert shop because she knows about my dream of owning my own café some day. She is so sweet! Well we had a nice dinner of pizza and pasta. The pizza was good, if a little bland, but the pasta was amazing. Seafood spaghetti in a tomato blush sauce and you could taste the herbs! Oh it had so much falvour!! We then had coffee and desserts which we couldn’t finish cause we were so full. It was so nice. We didn’t leave the restaurant until long after our food had been taken away as we kept talking and laughing. And gossiping of course about Nova teachers and students and all that juicy stuff. Poor Chiaki was almost dining of laughter at some points. Great times…. lol! Thank you Chiaki for such a wonder dinner!
After dinner Chiaki dropped me off at the apartment and a few of the Nova teachers and I headed out to the Brazilian bar. It was a much smaller group this time. Mhairi and I were only going to go for one beer as we had to get up early to move, and although one beer only turned into two for me, the party continued again at our place until 2:30am. What can I say, our friends just didn’t want to have to say good-bye. It was fun, or funny, maybe funny is more a way to describe Rob and Tom. Well the next morning Mhairi and I caught the train to Tokyo on only three hours sleep. Oh fun I can tell you...but another time…

Our "Last Night" in Ota

Hi,
So my “last night” in Ota was probably the most fun I have had in Ota. I say “last night” as it was actually my second last night, but it was the good bye party for three of us who were leaving so that is just when we had it.
Anyway…. We went to this bar called Gin. It is in the Japanese style so we sit on the floor on little mats. It’s not that expensive and it is pretty chill - these being the most important things to consider. Well my friend Jacky and I showed up a little earlier then the other teachers and our Japanese friends who work at Nova and their friends showed up shortly after us. It was crazy, so many people showed!!! There were around forty of us in the end, or something like that. I got to meet so many Japanese people and through gestures and broken English we were able to communicate.
I don’t know what some of the Japanese boys were drinking but half of them decided that they were in love with me, and as the night wore on they were less and less shy about telling the extent of their love. It was so funny. Really, I though I was going to die of laughter.
After we left the bar some of the teachers (not the Japanese boys) came back to my apartment and we continued the party until 4am.
All and all it was a fabulous night.

Five Days Left with NOVA!!!

Hi all,
Well I will attempt to make my entries a little shorter so that reading them isnt such an effort. Sorry Mom. Is that better Issy? lol I am just teasing you.
So Mhairi and I move in a week. We are still sorting out banking details which is very complicaited when you cant write in Japanese!! But all is well. We have to arrange movers for our stuff and then we will be set.
I now have my address for my new apartment so if you dont have it yet and want it, just ask.
Ota remains boring but the weather has been fabulous the last few days....well yesterday it was 25 and SUNNY! Two days previous it had been 5 degrees and rainy. Right now it is cloudy and about 16 so I am not complaining. Mom, what is the weather like in Florida again?... Cold and stormy? Such a shame....Japan wins! Take that Dad. hehehe
Mhairi cant wait for us to get to our new apartment so she can get her Christmas tree and decorate. Yes, I know I am breaking my own rule, but I am allowing a Christmas tree to go up before my birthday. I just can't tell that little Scott no. And we can get them at the 100 yen store so they are CHEAP! not very big but then we don't exactly have tones of space.
I talked to Isabell yesterday until my phone died. Isabell, that you for calling that was such a wonderful treat! Hearing someone's voice is almost as great as seeing them. And I will be seeing her in just over a month!
Well that is about it for me. I think I am going to walk to the discount store to get some cheap bread and stuff.... my days off are soo exciting!
Next Monday is my last day working for Nova, and on the Thursday we move at 6:30am.

Cheers

Found an Apartment!!

I found an apartment!
Mhairi and I might not eat this next month so we can put down the security deposit but I saw a great one today and we should get it.
Ash and Jenna and all my guest, there is space for you! And I even have a desk for ya Ash, and there is internet connection. The bedrooms are really big and it is all brand spanking new! never been lived in, no bugs, no dirt. new shower and bathroom, new fridge. the only thing used is the TV and it cant changed over the English shows to English (they are dubbed) so we will probably need to get a more modern one and we are looking into getting satellite TV so we can get bbc, cnn, fox and stuff in English. There is one new double bed which I am letting Mhairi have cause she hates the futon mates we sleep on. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor so much so we are all good. oh and i have extra mates and blankets for my guests! i will need to get you guys a pillow though, I would like one myself come to think of it. The kitchenette and little dinning space are small but it is very sunny and CLEAN!!! you have no idea the apartments I have seen.
Oh for those of you who are interested it is one north of the Ueno station which is on the Hybia line. The station name is Iryia (r's are L's in Japanese). I want to get a bike for Tokyo and we will probably be able to bike to Ueno which has fabulous shopping, museums, and a ZOO!!! how cool is that!!! And Ueno is one of the major stations and connects to the Yamanote line which goes in a circle around the center of Tokyo so we are just outside of the Yamanote circle which is pretty central for Tokyo. are rent is inclusive, internet and everything and is $750 CAN a month. My rent in TO was more then that!
So if I have to send out another message saying we didn’t end up getting the apartment I will not be happy. But as of the moment there is no reason we shouldn’t get it.
Cheers

Day in the Life

Hello,
You ready? It’s a long one!
Well Christmas is in full consumer gear here as it is back home, no doubt. The mall where I work plays endless Christmas music, which I fortunately cannot hear when I am teaching. Christmas planning seems to also be at work back in Canada where my family so kindly includes me in their planning emails - it sounds loving guys, enjoy the tree and the skating in the park, why don’t you do some caroling while you are at it!…don’t worry about me, I’m not crying over here on the other side of the world…Mhairi and I were looking at Christmas trees today…nice tiny synthetic ones with fiber optic lights! Beat that! Ha and Mhairi says that we will find an ice rink in Tokyo…we will hold each others hands and get through this, family smaily, I have a cute Scot and you don’t!
Anyway….I have been asked to do a day in the life entry so here goes.
Yesterday, Monday, was busy as per usual. I biked to work which was my favorite part of the day. The sun was so strong and the cool crispy air softened by the rays. I love biking to work. I was running to work for a while there but as good as a workout that was, I can actually enjoy my surroundings when I am biking. I have been lent a bike to use for the rest of the month by my friend Rosie. After I arrived at work, clocked in and planned my first lesson the, the work day officially started at 1:20pm. One of the teachers at my school has been ill so we were short two teachers, as my branch manager was off doing training at another branch. This meant for big schedule changes and the Japanese staff juggled the classes around. So I started out the day with only three classes until my break (a schedule I had been hoping for since I had only had breakfast early in the morning) and I ended up with five classes until break which meant that I didn’t get a break until 6pm. But I survived and treated myself to some sushi for dinner. My classes went well. I have been in a strangely playful and giddy mood this past week and I have so much fun with my classes. My students may think I have a few screws loose but I get them laughing and enjoying the lesson so I really don’t care how much glue then think I have been sniffing. Bottom line is, if they’re bored, then I’m bored, and if I’m bored, I fall asleep, actually if I am not laughing or making fun of something or someone, I fall asleep. No one wants a passed out teacher, so they get nutty one. At the end of the day (9pm) I biked home with another teacher, also from Toronto. We talked all the way back so I hardly had time to notice the cold.
Almost as soon as I arrived in the door Mhairi announced that she was off to the internet café to apply for more jobs and to look for an apartment. We seeing as the apartment is for the both of us and we really need to find I a place, I joined her. The bike ride was chilly (Mhairi borrowed a bike as there was no way I was walking all the way there-it’s a 30min walk, in the cold) but quick. We were at the café for about two hours and found a few apartments which we made inquires about. (I have heard back for some and I am off to Tokyo to see two of them tomorrow.) So this took us until midnight. We headed over to our friend Bob’s apartment to return his bike keys and our quick little trip by ended up lasting until around 4am. An English movie came on TV as we were talking and we ended up watching it - The Secret Lives of Alter Boys. I don’t recommend it but I cant say I found it as bad as others in our party did.
So a typical day in my life does not include staying up so late, but it does generally involved watching movies and work.
Today and tomorrow are my days off. Today was spent grocery shopping, walking around the city, and of course, watching movies. Tomorrow it will be back to Tokyo to view apartments. I have high hopes that one of the ones I see tomorrow will be just fabulous and we can take it!
Oh, it is our two month anniversary today. Two months in Japan, and two months of friendship with Mhairi, the coolest and cutest little Scot in the world! When Mhairi gets home from work we will have a glass of wine and do something crazy! That’s right folks, we are going to watch a movie! It is either The Usual Suspects, or Four Weddings and a Funeral. Or maybe we will be REALLY CRAZY and watch BOTH! Can you handle it?
Oh and those of you who know me well will not be surprised to hear that I have been planning my birthday day. The lovely December 9th falls on a Saturday this year, my day off from my new job, and I plan on spending the day checking out Tokyo’s big museums and art galleries and drinking as much Starbucks as I feel like, and of course eating a fabulous sushi dinner! The girls and I will go out in the evening when they finish work…where has yet to be decided but there’s no real rush, we have about 25 days to figure that out.
Cheers
p.s. My skin has cleared up, not that any of you knew it was bad. The only reason that I say this is that I am afraid it is the cold weather that has inspired dermatological transformation which would seem like a good thing, except to a certain person who happens to hate the cold and would really not be happy to have her dreams of living in a warm climate plagued by her skin’s preference to Canadian weather!
p.p.s. yah, yah, I will lay off the glue….

Nikko

Nikko is an ancient city about two hours from Ota (or three by train). It is a tourist attraction for both Japanese and foreigners in all seasons, but the autumn is supposed to be particularly beautiful. So yesterday Jackie (the cat from Halloween) and I embarked on the long journey to the famous Nikko. The mountain regions of Japan are beautiful! And no, Ota is not really in the mountains, not like the little towns that we passed along our way. It was so beautiful, the whole train ride up, even getting lost, was a delight! It was Jackie’s birthday so the day was extra special.
The two of us arrived in Nikko at about half past eleven and after a delicious Korean lunch at a little local restaurant (Jackie’s first taste of Korean food), we headed up to the shrines. Along the way we passed by the famous World Heritage bridge which is crimson an particularly stunning in the fall with the colours. The Japanese maples were at their prime but over all I would have to say that Muskoka blows Japan out of the water when it comes to autumn foliage.
The temples and shrines that we visited were breathtakingly beautiful! I can now say I have seen the original carving of the famed Three Monkeys - hear no evil, see no evil, say no evil!!!!
We wandered around the temple area for several hours and allowed ourselves to get turned around in the narrow lanes and tall trees. There were lots of people there, and this was on a Tuesday so I have no doubt that the place is crowded on national holidays and on the weekend.
While we did see quite a few foreigners there, I don’t think we came across any that were English speaking. It really felt like we were traveling!
The pictures will, I am sure, speak for themselves . I did buy a photo book on the temples and on Nikko so I can provide you with more info if anyone wants more.
There is also a beautiful lake up one of the mountains, about an hour from Nikko which we did not get to see as we did not have enough time. I am sorry we didn’t get to the lake. I was so looking forward to it!
I am currently once again in Tokyo. I came in today for a meeting with my new company and I have spent the last few hours apartment shopping. It is frustrating.
So yesterday was fabulous.
I am looking forward to seeing Ani and Nina this evening. Ani has planned an evening for us. I will stay with them this evening.
The weather has just started to turn. The chill is in the air and at nights it drops below 10! I realize that you folks trapped in Canada have this as your daytime high if you are lucky but I am still working on temps in the 20s. This is apparently a cold patch so hopefully it will warm up again. I am not ready for this. I don’t have a coat! shame…I might just have to buy one of those fashionable Japanese ones…..
Hehehe……

Nikko Pictures

Photo of the month

This is our friend Shani at Matt and Rosie's house warmning party. But what is that behind Shani? Yup that's right, that's crazy Ani!

Halloween

So Halloween was crazy. Mhairi was a butterfly and I was a butterfly catcher. As you will see in the pictures, I looked completely crazy! We went to a party at the Brazilian bar around the corner and we won a price for the most original costume. We won a bottle of wine and some crazy stuffed skeleton that dances and sings. Today was spent in recovery. I was so tired. I got a call from my sister Jen and I got to talk to Theo and David. Piper was so tired from her trick or treating that she had passed right out when they got home. Theo however told me that she had gotten 143 candies and that she was going to send me some. Jen promised to send me pictures and David is still trying to wrap his head around somehow buying Burberry tights. David, you are lucky you have a production staff to save the day. I have been enjoying that story all day!

Ani's Birthday

Ani’s Birthday
So last Sunday was Ani’s birthday. After a nice spaghetti dinner with caesar salad and garlic bread we had the cake. The cake was created by myself but inspired by Ani. The cake was a tower of doughnuts. These doughnuts are the best things ever, and I don’t really even like doughnuts and these are amazing. Ani was so thrilled. After dinner we went to out to some karaoke place and it was crazy!!! Almost everyone came out, there was about 15 of us or more. We got there around 11pm and we left around 2 or 3am when it closed. We sang everything it was fabulous! The play list was as big as a phone book. We of course made asses of ourselves but it was lots of fun. It was also all you can drink with the price of admission so well we made sure we got our money’s worth and we ordered all kinds of crazy stuff just to see what it was like. The funniest thing was when the beer came. The brought a bunch of pitchers but the glasses they brought were so tiny! We were laughing all night. After we left Ani felt a craving for a burger so we went to a 24hr restaurant but they were out of burgers which is odd but whatever. All in all we didn’t get back until around 4am, work the next day was surprisingly not that bad. Well that night was also Ani and Nina’s send off. They have moved to Tokyo now. It is just me and Mhairi left in Ota now. (just click on the picture to see it-sorry I can't figure out what happened or how to change it)

Tokyo Continuned....

Roppongi-
If you have never heard of this gaijin strip of Tokyo then am not sure how to describe it to you. Roppongi is a neighbourhood in Tokyo unlike anything I have ever seen to date. It is the nightclub district, the gaijin (foreigner) hangout with a little bit of Las Vegas and Time Square mixed into the typical Tokyo landscape. Neon lights, hundreds of people on the streets, hostest bars, club promoters pulling you into their establishments, restaurants and bars packed on top of each other in ten story buildings, drag queens, starbucks, McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, and Lush, are all the things that make up Roppongi.
After walking around and having the most disappointing pizza ever (a story too pitiful to tell), Mhairi and I went into a Sheesha bar on the 7th floor of some building on the main drag. And yes, I choose the bar whose promoter on the street had been the first person to call me beautiful. Flattery goes a long way, and he was pretty beautiful himself. Mhairi and I were good girls, and after a few drinks and refraining from ordering sheesha, we caught the last train (11:55pm) back to our hotel. It was a lot of fun and we were sorry to leave, but taxies are WAY too expensive here and we were not up for dancing the night into the morning, although I am sure that those nights will be in our future. The next morning I caught a train back to Ota for I had to work in the afternoon.
Mhairi and I also walked around the extensive border of the Imperial Palace, pictures of which are below. And although we did view an apartment we choose not to take it as it is too expensive. Our apartment hunt will continue.
The train schedules and route maps which we received on our cell phones are invaluable in Tokyo.
cheers

Night Out in Tokyo