go go swallows!!

We've seen quite a bit of Tokyo since Tuesday morning's tuna feast. That afternoon we met up with Josh, Steve's girlfriends's brother, who has lived in Tokyo for the last couple years or so. After a quick stop in Akihabara we went straight to Shinjuku. As advertised, Shinjuku really does seem like a scene out of Blade Runner. It's impossible to capture in pictures because you're completely surrounded in all directions by flashing neon, hordes of people and cars zooming by. It's dizzying, though in a good way. Think Times Square on steroids. Later that evening we met Josh's wife Kumiko in nearby Shibuya for dinner and drinks at a cool Izakaya (restaurant/bar). We had our own private little nook and let Kumi do the ordering. Very cool little place, plenty to drink and good food.

We got off to a slow start Wednesday morning since neither of us have really fully adjusted to the jet lag yet. We stopped at the Asakusa Kannon Temple, which is Tokyo's largest temple. Kind of an introduction to what we'll be seing a lot more of in Kyoto. We spent the rest of the afternoon taking a boat cruise down the Sumida River and wandering around Hama Rikyu Gardens and Ginza - Tokyo's fifth avenue. Really we're just absorbing all of Tokyo's eccentricities each day. It's all quite fascinating.

In the evening we met up with Kumi and Josh again and went to see a Yakult Swallows baseball game. The swallows are Tokyo's B team - kinda like the Mets and A's are to NY and SF. The stadium wasn't close to being full but there was plenty to keep us entertained. For staters, each player their own chant which fans sing the entire time he's up at bat. This goes on for all nine innings and for both teams. It's quite impressive and makes US baseball fans seem pretty apathetic. Fans from the opposing team - the Nagoya Dragons in this case - are assigned the left field grandstand and bleachers, so each team has its own side. Another startling event is when the Swallows score, all the Tokyo fans raise their umbrellas up and down repeatedly and do some more chanting. Definitely caught us off guard. Finally there's the food. You can get a hot dog, but why would you when you have Bento Boxes, Ramen Soup, Rice Bowls and all sorts of other things to enjoy. After the game, we ended the night at Okonomiyaki restaurant where you essentially make your own savory pancake with all sorts of stuff in it - bacon, shrimp, scallions, noodles and whatever else - right in front of you. It's an Osaka specialty, but this is one of the few places you can cook one yourself. Very tasty stuff. Alright enough rambling, now I need to get geared up for Japanese wrestling!