An evening venture into Kabukicho

Friday, May 2, 2008 - First Evening in Tokyo

After getting settled in the hotel room, Meg and I decided we needed something to eat. We also wanted to try and stay up until at least 10PM Japan time so we could acclimate our bodies to the time change.

So we headed out to Kabukicho - Tokyo's version of Times Square with the greatest concentration of neon and drunks you are likely to see anywhere in the world. I am not even sure that description does it justice, and it definitely kept us stimulated after the 18+ hours of traveling. The best way I can describe it is to imagine Las Vegas and Times Square coming together and then add a couple hundred thousand people more and you are close. Check out some of the pics that follow to get a taste.











Now remember, our primary goal was to get something to eat. Of course, we were both delirious from lack of sleep so our minds weren't working that fast. We started looking around for food and this is what we noticed:







Instead of doing the sane thing and eating at one of these well established and well known locations, we decided to venture off the beaten path. After walking around for about 30 minutes and looking at window after window of food displays we grew tired and settled for what we thought was a tempura restaurant. Once inside, we discovered there was a whole lot more (see the menu below).



Meg decided to stick with the standard tempura shrimp platter. As for me, I decided to venture out and order some type of chicken bowl (at least that is what they told me it was). When the food was served, Meg's looked great. Mine, on the other hand, looked anything but great. Imagine a mixture of the items in the following picture in a broth with some noodles.



Needless to say, my stomach was turning over. However, I decided when in Japan do as the Japanese do, and I dug right in. I managed to finish most of it with the help of a little Asahi beer and some prodding by Meg. Fortunately, I also managed to keep it down :)

By 9:30PM we were done with dinner and we decided we had enough adventure for the day. So we packed up and walked back to the hotel room. Just in time to call home and tell everyone good morning. I still can't get over how great the soft phone on my laptop works. Everyone came through crystal clear and it definitely makes being half way around the world a little easier.

After the phone calls to just about everyone we know, we decided to call it a night. Both of us were asleep by the time our heads hit the pillow. We had a big first full day in Tokyo planned - read more about that in the next blog post. Love to all!

Jason and Meg