Yesterday I went to the Tokyo Edo Museum, which is right next to the sumo arena. The museum was really well done and had interesting exhibits, and many of them even had English signs, which was nice. You could get a free tour guide who speaks English, too, but I didn't feel like it ._. I was kind of mad because I was carrying around my slightly heavy bag because I couldn't find any coin lockers, which seemed weird. After halfway through the museum I left the exhibit area to go eat at one of the museum restaurants and I found... coin lockers. Yay! I was only sad I didn't find it sooner. >_>
The museum had a lot of replicas, both life-size and scale models, of Edo-period buildings and homes, which were all very interesting. The models that had tiny people in them had binoculars so you could view it as if you were looking out onto real streets and such, which I liked. The little people... :< There was also a live traditional dance performance, which was interesting. I only watched part of it because there were no more seats, and I was hungry ._.;
The restaurant was at the top of the museum and had a nice view of Tokyo. I had cold soba with tempura. I don't think I'm a cold noodle fan. I liked the tempura though. I think one of them might have been okra (!) or a type of pepper the Japanese use in cooking... I forget its name... but either way that was definitely my favourite piece. It had bite, but not really spice, and it had a really good flavour. Now I'm going to look for okra dishes ._.
I met the Blacks at the sumo place around 3.30 or so. There were crowds outside lining the sidewalks, hoping to catch and glimpse and a photo of the wrestlers as they walk in. I saw a couple, all wearing yukata, and all very large men.
Our seats were near the top but they were nice and plush, and we could see the action well. We got some french fries which turned out to be amazing french fries ^_^ so then I got more french fries ^_^;;;; and we watched all the matches til the end of the group for that day. There is a lot of ritual and ceremony in sumo; of the time we spent there, I'd venture to say only about 15% was actual wrestling. The matches only last a few seconds, maybe a minute at the most, but that's once they actually start. Beforehand they do a whole ritual of basically trying to psych each other out, as well as purifying themselves and the ring, etc. The ring is on a mound about two feet tall, and a lot of the time they get thrown off of it or onto the edge of it or something, and it always looks painful. ._. It also looks painful for the judges and spectators who sit on the floor and get sumo wrestlers flung at them >_>
I didn't get any good photos cos my camera just wasn't capable from that distance, but Mr. Black took a ton. I definitely enjoyed sumo a lot more than I anticipated that I would. I'm glad they put a short time limit on the pre-wrestling waffling around, though. There used to be no time limit at all, so they could just walk back and forth as long as they wanted. Then they imposed a 10 minute limit, then 7,5, and the current 4. It still feels like quite a long time because they usually use almost every last second. Enough time to get a snack though, I guess. ^_^;
Afterward I decided to go back to Akiba, to hit up another maid cafe or two and to look intently for some figures, which I did first. I found a good store that does buy/sell/trade so you can get a good deal on a used figure, which I did. I got two Kujibiki-An figures and a fig of Souseiseki ._. She's so cute! I wanted to get her sister, too, but she was more expensive... I guess I'll try to get it another time, some day somewhere. In hindsight it probably would've been better to get Suiseiseki instead of one of the Kujibiki figs, but... oh well.
I also found a few places that are nothing but capsule machines, which was exciting because all the machines I've been finding have been the same stuff over and over. The specialty capsule places have some of the current but less widespread. I was happily surprised that every capsule I got was the one I wanted. There are usually about 4-8 different possible designs. I seem to have unusual luck with the capsule machines, like back at Asakusa when I got the gyoza-headed Kitty bag :<I found three (!) more maid cafes, and took photos at each. I only went into one, because honestly, I've been pretty hesitant about going into the maid cafes. At this one there were girls eating there, at least, but I always feel bad because I'm not just a girl but a gaijin. I'm also always afraid that I'm going to misinterpret something about the cafe before or during going in, so that I'll embarass myself or others. I went to Cafe Doll, which actually has my favourite figure of all my figures. The maids were really cute .__. just like at Jam. After overcoming the initial language barrier (happy hour is 500 yen, she says), I sat at a little tiny table and ordered picture pancakes, which they put a picture on in chocolate. What I didn't realize is that they bring it to your table and ask you what you want the picture to be :< and then draw it there :<<< the maid... So I asked for... a kuma. (:<) It was cute. She gave him a :3 face instead of a :< face but it was still very cute. All in all, the maid cafe was a pretty nice experience, but you definitely pay for being waited on by cute maids. >_>
There was also an abundance of maids out on the streets that night, probably because it was Saturday, and they were all passing out fliers. I took a lot of them because a maid gave it to me, heh. There was also one that was a ticket to do the lotto game, which was run by another maid, but I got a red ball so I just got a cracker as a prize ._. I got up the courage to ask one of the street maids if I could take her photo because you definitely can't in the cafes, but the street is a little borderline, so I thought I'd give it a shot. She was so shy and cute and she didn't know why I would want to take her picture. I tried to tell her it's because she's so cute, without sounding too creepy... hope it worked >_> She let me take her picture though ^_^
The other person that let me take their picture was the terrifying Suigintou-san. He (he!) was scary as hell, but that's why i had to take his picture. He was wearing a Suigintou costume (which, for those who don't know, was the second costume I've made for myself), but with weird shoes, and a generic loli headband instead of the regular one, which also had cat ears. And he had sparkly make-up on. He was terrifying. He even had props to pose when I took his photo, lol. I can't tell how serious he was about his cosplay o_o;;
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Part two of this epic entry is about today. First I went to the Meiji Shrine, which is one of the bigger and more famous shrines in Tokyo. There are usually some weddings there but as it was pouring, I wasn't very hopeful. But...! I saw two ^_^ Well, at least one, though I'm pretty sure the second one was also a wedding... I don't know what else it would have been. One of the brides was all in white kimono, and the other was in a vibrant red one. Both were really pretty. I liked the guys, too ^_^; There was also some sort of ceremony or ritual happening in the shrine itself that I didn't understand, but it involved a few priests and a giant drum, so I was happy to watch it anyway.I ate at the restaurant on the grounds, which was promising enough. My remaining skepticism mostly faded when I sat down and saw the food other people were getting nearby, which looked very good. My food, however... sucked. Totally. This is the only time I can say I've had an outright bad meal in Japan. The tempura was greasy and soggy...! Two things tempura should never be. Eew. And all the soggy greasiness dripped down onto the rice, so eating that wasn't too enjoyable either. They didn't give me a spoon for the miso, and I wasn't inclined to ask for one. The sides were tofu, which I don't enjoy no matter what, pickles (which looked pretty bad even for pickles), and something or other else. It was unidentifiable, but also not appealing. To top it off, it was a pretty damn expensive meal. I was pretty mad about that whole thing.
I walked back to Harajuku in the rain. Rainrainrain. It poured all day. A few times it went down to a mist/drizzle and I didn't put my umbrella up. The streets were packed as usual, but with umbrellas in the mix, it's even more chaotic, as there is now a third dimension in play with bobbing and weaving. Somehow everyone manages, though. I found a lot of fun little stores tucked here and there, as well as the stores on the main street.
I found this store with interesting clothes, and when I went inside and talked to the owner, I found out that he designs and makes everything in his store himself(!) so they are all originals. He has piles of semi-complete clothes and pieces of things with his sewing machine near the cash register. He loves rock, which is sweet, because I also love rock. The little space in his store that isn't full of clothes is full of posters of bands like Pantera (lol), etc. I tried on a bunch of his stuff, and went for a sweatshirt with bunny ears on the hood (I couldn't resist >_>). It has a very punky attitude. The only problem was that, on the ears in particular, it said some things that probably wouldn't be... uh... appreciated in America. It was nothing really bad, just nothing I should be wearing around everywhere. He brought out a baggie full of different patches with the phrases on it that are found all over his clothes, and we worked together to decide a solution. He did it in about three minutes for me on the machine... ah, true customization. :3He was really fun to talk to, and drew me a map to the post office. While he was drawing it we were both singing along to "November Rain" because that song is sweet. ._. lol He also told me that if I ever design any cool characters, he would buy them, because he's looking for new characters for his clothes. So now I'm thinking about clothing characters... heh
I bought a ton of souvenirs for other people, and a few other things for myself, then I went back... fortunately the rain slowed down so the walk was fine. Still no Harajuku girl photos... stupid rain :(
Now it's bed time... tomorrow is the trip to Kamakura. Big Buddha awaits ^_^; Also, the image upload for my blog is being weird, so fewer pictures in this entry than intended... sorry. It's probably a long enough entry, anyway. ;p
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