My Oktoberfest
It might suffice to say that Oktoberfest this year was a little different. No feathered hats, no beer hauses and no pretending like you know how to polka with 500 other drunken bavarian-wannabes. Nope, none of that. Just Reeshma and I wandering the streets of Tokyo chatting up a storm. This picture is one of several German themed restaurants we saw on our travels. As you can see their attempts at authenticity are pretty spectacular. This place, along with many other classy restaurants we located directly beneathe a major railroad line. However, the noise produced above was barely audible below. We didn't go in because we were both broke with only maybe a 2000 yen between the two of us. We ate somewhere cheaper and later split a single slice of cake while the Japanese stared on like we had just stepped off a space ship. Not sure what they were so fascinated or concerned about, but whatever. So life has been pretty uneventful lately and so I was definately missing Oktoberfest and Turkey dump, but its just motivation to find some entertainment here.
Wonka Mobile
I think this pic kinda sums up Japan... In the background you will notice a convienience store. It has everything you could possibly desire and there are about a million on my ten minute walk home from the station. Another thing you might notice is that they drive on the wrong side of the road, (passengers beware when I get home.) Additionally it is very wet due to a hell of a storm we had. Oh, and if you're really keen, you might notice a bright pink van-o-mobile-thingy. Couldn't tell you what it was advertising, but the speakers were as loud as its paint job. They love blaring megaphones over here. It always sounds important, like a public safety alert, but more likely they're trying to sell chewing gum, pachinko (a gambling craze here) or maybe a new shampoo. Damned if I know...
Some of you know me for my down-to-earth sensibility, others for the strange absence of good judgement... this is a story about the latter version of me. It all begins in a land far, far away called Tokyo.Now in this fair city, there was a foreigner. He had only been in the country for 6 days. He found this place strange and many of the local customs were alien to him. Yet after nearly a week in Tokyo, he had managed to figure out a great many things and was feeling confident and gay (in the happy sense.) All these new obstacles had left Matthew rather drained and aching for some stress release. Now in the land of the Rising sun, the stress-release ritual is remarkably similar to the Canadian one. It starts with a cold, refreshing beverage.... and ends with the same. Joining forces with his North Irish coworker and a troup of Brits, the Genji (foreigners) headed to the core of Tokyo for a night in Rippongi. Rippongi is a district that attracts foreigners and adventurous Japanese for its night scene which is reminicient of the West.Several beers later (plus a few predrinks at the Irishman`s) the night had begun. Matt was feeling great, the atmosphere was fun, everything was bright and new and his company spoke English. They drank and danced and partied all night long, which is what you do in Tokyo because the trains stop at 11pm and you just can`t get home. So the plan was to drink all night and catch the train in the morning. Which was fine, until about 5am in a certain Karaoke bar, when things took a turn for the worse....Strangely reminicient of Matt`s infamous 21st birthday in Waterloo, he decided he needed some fresh air while his friends were distracted by a rivetting version of Sweet Child of Mine. At this point it is prudent to point out that Matt had burnt his breakfast in the morning and hadn`t eaten a bite all day. Another important memo is that part way through the night, feeling uncomfortable, Matt decided to remove his wallet from his pocket and place it upon the table. Bad idea. So, Matt walks out of the bar... and from here on what happened is only conjecture.... What probably happened was Matt stumbled into the street and wandered into an alley thinking he was going to be sick, but instead found himself lost and couldn`t find his way back. Drunk and exhausted he propped himself against a wall and promptly fell asleep.And believe it or not, that is just the beginning of the story.What happened next you ask? Well I`ll tell you. Matt suddenly sparked to life Saturday morning, took a look to the left and to the right.... and silently swore to himself. Jumping to his feet he realized he was still a little tipsy, but not wanting to stay seated against the...bus stop? Alley wall? Either way, he wanted to get away from there. Reaching down to his pockets, he cursed audibly this time. FUCK. No wallet, no money, no room key. Holy hell. First thing that occured to Matt was to find the Canadian Embassy, they would help. Picturing a map he glanced at once - thinking to himself `I may need to know this someday`- he took off to find this safehaven for travellers who happen to also be idiots. Without any reference and owing to his orienteering skills, Matt managed to walk for 2 hours across town, almost straight to the embassy. Arriving at the doors, Matt thought finally something was going right... but no, no it wasn`t. Saturday was a holiday... the embassy was closed. FUCK. Option 2: The police. Now, Matt didn`t want to go to the police because they couldn`t speak English and had a reputation for being unhelpful. With no other option, Matt walked into Akasaka Police Station and tried, with waving hands and slow English, to explain his situation. Several officers gathered to try and understand, many quizzing Matt about where I had been and if he was drunk. Drunk? yes. Where? No idea... After an hour or so of this, filling out forms and passing a translator back and forth on the phone, they handed Matt 540 yen which would get him back to my apartment and a bill for the same to be paid later. Also they gave Matt a number to call to have his flat opened. Extremely grateful, Matt followed their instructions and took the subway, then train home. By this point I should note that Matt was extremely fatigued. He hadn`t eaten in 36 hours, walked across downtown Tokyo and had slept in the street. But, he made it home! Ahhh... home sweet home.... shit. No key. No money for a phone call... screwed....again. Shaking from exhaustion, he collapsed in front of his door and fell asleep. How long he was there is a mystery. Perhaps 4 hours later some men in suits arrived. They were from the apartment. One of Matt`s neighbours must have called about the foreigner passed out in the hall. So they quizzd him about what happened and said they would sort something out. One man, ever-so-kindly brought him a drink and a small sandwich. The best egg salad sandwich he`d ever had. Many phone calls, and temporary absences later, (and 2hours or so) the men managed to reach the head office of GEOS (his company). The person on the other end of the phone quizzed Matt in order to positively identify him. Having proof of my identity, the men opened the door and changed the lock. Matt wanted to express gratitude, but he just stumbled in and collapsed on his bed. It was`t until Sunday around noon that I learned my friends had my wallet. A call home to cancel my Visa and cause my mom unecessary worry had already been made unfortunately. But a few lessons were learned on this fateful night. A) Eat some food dumbass. B) You are not Japanese, nor can you speak Japanese if you get into trouble. C) Those police were super nice. D) You got lucky. Really lucky.Since then, things have gone much better. I`ve learned to cook better and how to eat cheaper. I`ve also put my key on a chain around my neck. So I don`t anticipate repeating this stunt and it was a bit of a reality check to say the least. But in the end, it all worked out and I have a damn good story to show for it.
It might suffice to say that Oktoberfest this year was a little different. No feathered hats, no beer hauses and no pretending like you know how to polka with 500 other drunken bavarian-wannabes. Nope, none of that. Just Reeshma and I wandering the streets of Tokyo chatting up a storm. This picture is one of several German themed restaurants we saw on our travels. As you can see their attempts at authenticity are pretty spectacular. This place, along with many other classy restaurants we located directly beneathe a major railroad line. However, the noise produced above was barely audible below. We didn't go in because we were both broke with only maybe a 2000 yen between the two of us. We ate somewhere cheaper and later split a single slice of cake while the Japanese stared on like we had just stepped off a space ship. Not sure what they were so fascinated or concerned about, but whatever. So life has been pretty uneventful lately and so I was definately missing Oktoberfest and Turkey dump, but its just motivation to find some entertainment here.
