Guys' Weekend in Tokyo

I finished the last post about Tom and Adam's weekend with our surfing trip to Chiba, which was on a Thursday. The next day, we went up to Tokyo for the weekend. We started Friday evening at the Tokyo Dome, to watch the home team, Yomiuri Giants, take on the Toyo Carp, out of Hiroshima. It was my first Japanese major league baseball game and I was impressed. The game is played like in America, but everything surrounding the game is completely different. The fans are crazy, doing cheers and banging just about anything they can to make noise. The walk-around beer vendors are 100% female and they have to carry around kegs on their backs. The concession stands are filled with all kinds of food, from traditional hot dogs and burgers to sushi and yakitori. What a great experience!

A Lone Carp Player in a Hostile Centerfield Fan Section

After the game, I took the guys to Shibuya to get their picture taken at the famous Hachiko dog statue and to show them the busy Shibuya intersection. We also walked around the area, people watching and window shopping. Eventually, we grabbed some grub and found the local Gas Panic club. After a bit of hanging out at the club, I got a feeling that the guys would get a kick out of Roppongi, a popular club area in Tokyo generally populated by foreigners. So we left Shibuya and headed for Roppongi. Several hours later, we left a club and found that the sun had risen. It was Saturday morning!

From there, we headed back to the hotel for some shut-eye. Waking up around noon, we headed over to Asakusa to see the annual Sanja Matsuri, one of the biggest festivals in Japan. We were fortunate that the guys were there that weekend to witness it, as over the weekend the matsuri festival generally is viewed by over 100,000 people each year. This year was no different - it was crowded. We spent a few hours at the festival and the guys were able to get some souvenirs at the local shops there.

Sanja Matsuri, Asakusa

Saturday night, I took the guys to Shinjuku. I walked them through Kabukicho, a ward in Shinjuku that's generally run by the yakuza (mafia)... where anything goes. But we didn't make it more than a few steps before the on-the-street salesmen started harassing us trying to get us to check out their clubs. We opted out, and instead ended up drinking at a British style pub down the road. From there, we ventured over to the Park Hyatt, which was made famous in the film, Lost in Translation. We had a drink at the lounge in the Hyatt and took in the excellent view of downtown Tokyo. By the time we finished our drinks, it was around midnight and we were all exhausted... mostly from the activities of the night before. So we called it an early night and headed back to the hotel.

On Sunday, we went over to Harajuku to see the artistically dressed "Harajuku Girls" and to do some more shopping. Tom went on a crazy sock shopping mission and the guys picked up a few things for themselves and the people they care about back in the States. After a few hours in Harajuku, we were ready to hit the rails back to Yokosuka.

Adam and Tom with the "Free Hug" girls in Harajuku

All in all, it was a fun weekend. The guys seemed pretty jazzed about the trip as a whole, and I definitely enjoyed seeing them again. It was a much needed vacation for me as well. All of the pictures are up in our Gallery, dated 06/10/2008.