Rainy Season

So; June is the rainy season in Japan. Which just means I have to take what nice nights I can, and dart out to explore as I can. Last weekend, I decided to check out Roppongi on Friday night. The tricky part is; Roppongi doesn't really start to get going until after 11pm; so I would be there till the trains started up again at 5am on Saturday.

Worth it!

I started out in Shibuya. There is a street crossing there that is absolutely hypnotic. It crosses in a bunch of different ways, and all the street crossings go green at the same time.

This means that the streets just flood with people; all of whom are able to get where they are going, and not run into each other. I liken it to when you see a massive flock of birds in the air that can bank and turn without colliding. And then the light goes red... and the streets are empty. It's magic.

I got dinner at a TGIF's, because I had heard that they were something else. This happened, spontaneously...

The rain came sooner then I expected, so I ducked into a bar once I got to Roppongi. It was absolutely the right one; I ended up meeting some fantastic people, and spending the night talking and drinking. You would never believe it; but the girl in the below picture is a scotch fan.

When 5am rolled around, I deposited myself on a train, and got myself home. I even somehow tapped into the ancient art of sleeping on the train, and waking up right before your stop comes! I proceeded to sleep a bunch more Saturday; and the did productive things around the hotel on Sunday.

Then on this last Thursday, the weather got awesome out again - so I ran back to Tokyo. I do really love Tokyo. I had mapped out a route between Shinbashi and Akihabara to walk, that went through Ginza (Ginza being the super high class shopping area of Tokyo).

 This is Ginza

It was good stuff. I ate at a cafe/panini place somewhere along the route... and got to Akihabara with just enough time to play a game of DDR that almost made me miss the last train back.

All the Pictures