There was a big earthquake in the north of Japan this morning, but thankfully we didn't feel it in Tokyo. Here's an article: http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/09/25/japan/

It's been a slow couple of days as I have been concentrating on getting sleep, catching up on e-correspondence, and getting my photos organized. I put some of my favorites up at http://www.nosillaklaf.com/gallery/ I will put all my photos there instead of here in my blog from now on, and I'll do my best to keep them current as I am traveling around.

I am still in Tokyo despite plans to leave yesterday because Grenache sent me some information about an event here on Saturday night thrown by his friend Kenji that I am going to attend. It sounded interesting enough and then I noticed that the visuals, a 15-minute video created specifically to go with Kenji's violin performance, was done by Scott Draves, aka spot, who some of you know and love. Jon then mentioned that Kenji used to live in San Francisco and was part of Rhythm Society, the community Jon and spot are both a part of. The synchronicity was too much to ignore, so I'll be there for sure. Some info: http://www.dakinirecords.com/~English/DakiniNights_11.html

Last night Aurelio and I had some bad Indian food at a buffet place called "Ethnic World." I should have known. We washed dinner down with a few drinks at an American bar called Crossroads and then back to my favorite hole in the wall, Oxygen Funk. One odd thing about the bars here is that they often give the illusion of attentive hospitality, e.g. giving you little bowls of snacks when you belly up to the bar, but then they charge you through the nose for what you thought was just a nice gesture. Two beers and a little bowl of crackers cost me $20.

I never made it to the travel agent yesterday, so am going there now. Sayonara!

Today I took a train southwest to the town of Hakone and the Ten-zan Notemburo Onsen. We went by Mt. Fuji (aka Fuji-san) on the way, but I could only see the base of it since the top, as usual, was shrouded in clouds. I do hope I get a chance to see it before I leave Japan as it seems ludicrous not to, but the weather may have other plans for me. The hot springs were wonderfully relaxing, and a much-needed break from the mayhem of the city. It was particularly nice given the rush-hour subway ride I took this morning to get to the train. Holy mother of god. No one informed me of the importance of properly positioning your body so that the crushing weight of the dozens of bodies doesn't contort you into some excrutiatingly precarious position, and I spent 10 minutes on an express train squashed between various elbows, shoulders, feet, breasts, purses and briefcases.

At the onsen today, I made a startling discovery. This is probably more information than anyone needs, but since when have I kept anything to myself? I was in the bathroom and found myself intrigued by the very fancy looking toilet with its series of buttons and levers. All of the text was in Japanese of course, but there was one button in particular that had what appeared to be a picture of a butt with a stream of water squirting up. Well, curiosity overwhelmed me and of course, I pushed it. Seconds later, I screamed when, well you can guess what happened. Aurelio said, "Well what did you *think* was going to happen?" Yes. He has a point. OK, onward.

There are more vending machines per capita in Japan than in any other country. Soda, beer, iced coffee, tea, juice, water, you name it. There's even a rumor that there are vending machines selling schoolgirls' underwear, but I have yet to see any of those.

Despite the fact that Japan is as expensive as it is, thanks to Chez Aurelio and the generosity and kindness of friends, I've spent a lot less money than I anticipated at this point. This is a relief, since it was hard for me not to think about every yen I spent in terms of days lost in Southeast Asia. e.g. "This 6000 yen bowl of ramen is an entire DAY in Thailand!" I still think that way, but at least I haven't broken the bank yet. One annoying side effect of being in a country that costs so much is that I am not meeting many other travelers, which makes for some lonely moments. Tomorrow I am going to the travel agent to find out what my options are for destination numero dos.

"ACCOMPLISH. It is important to say that it changes. You must change. It is important to catch it without doing criticism. It is always absorbed, and you must make that it is necessary your thing in the life." And so begins the wisdom displayed on the t-shirt I picked up in Harajuku after chortling over the various illiterate messages available for my perusal. I guess English looks as novel and exotic to them as Kanji characters look to us, regardless of what they actually say.

Today Ky, his boyfriend Tash and I went to the Senso-ji Buddhist Shrine in Asakusa and sampled some of the cheap food for sale along the way. Most of it was excellent, with the exception of these skewered gelatenous balls that felt like wads of month-old jello in my mouth. We then met up with some more of their friends and had tempura and soba for dinner. This was followed by Starbucks and donuts at Mah's (Ky's best friend) apartment, where we are now. I promised myself I'd boycott American chains while traveling, but the offer of a mocha was too good to pass up. Krispy Kreme take note: the donuts here are just not the same. Ky and his friends are so friendly have been incredibly hospitable and I feel blessed that I've been able to spend some time with people who actually live here. It's an entirely different perspective on a city that can feel so inpenetrable.

At its best, Tokyo is beautiful, charming, fascinating, and offers more to explore than can be discovered in a lifetime. At it's worst, it's crowded, smelly, loud, and homogenous to a fault. Tomorrow I am off to Hakone, one of Japan's best known hot springs resorts (onsen) about an hour outside of Tokyo for some quiet, relaxation, introspection, and maybe some thoughts on what's next.

It's been raining for three days and in my Gore-tex jacket and sneakers, I feel even more conspicuous than I already did while most Japanese women in Tokyo insist on running around in their tiny strappy sandals and high-fashion outfits in gail-force winds and rain. However, despite the fact that I am one of perhaps three blondes I've seen since I arrived, the Japanese actually don't pay me much mind. I've noticed as a general rule they are not big on eye contact, which makes me feel pretty anonymous for better or worse.

I've explored most of the major neighborhoods in Tokyo; Shinjuku, Ginza, Akasuka, Shibuya, Rappongi. Aurelio's house where I am staying is near Shinjuku, which is what most people think of when they imagine Tokyo's buzzing neon, thousands of people bustling in the streets, mass commercialism and grandeur. His neighborhood is quaint, and like many neighborhoods here, comprised of a network of lantern-lined narrow streets full of life and surprises. On Saturday, after a failed attempt to meet Ky for dancing in Rappongi, Aurelio took me out to one of his neighborhood haunts, a *tiny* (about 7' x 14') five-seat bar called Oxygen Funk. Tucked away on a tiny dead-end alley, the bar offered everything you could want and more (where else can you go and have the bartender whip you up a quick batch of chicken fried rice?). We even watched Jackass with Japanese subtitles.

Last night, Rick (the American) and I explored Shibuya, an area of town where you're hard pressed to find anyone over the age of 30. Rumor has it, this is where rich businessmen go to pick up high school girls. In exchange for company of one sort or another, the girls then receive gifts or money to buy the latest fashions, gadgets, whatever. Shibuya is also home to "Love Hotel Hill," which is home to dozens of hotels that offer "rest or stay" rates (i.e. by the hour). We took a stroll around looking at the illuminated photos of the often-garishly decorated theme rooms and speculated that perhaps the businessmen took the girls they picked up in Shibuya up the hill, did their business, and then sent the girls on their way down the hill to go shopping.

I leave you with some random observations. First, contrary to popular belief, the Japanese are not *that* short. They do, however, all have really cool cell phones (albeit, they all seem to have the exact same one, which they use to feverishly text message on the subway since phone calls are not allowed on public transport). Did you know that karaoke as we know it isn't all that common anymore in Japan? Here, most people go to a "Karaoke Box," where a group of friends can rent a booth by the hour. According the bartender at Oxygen Funk, this is because the Japanese generally like to confine the embarassment of their drunken crooning to their immediate friends. Doesn't seem as fun to me, but then I haven't tried it. The Japanese drink a LOT, and seeing strumbling drunks peeing in public is commonplace. (Aurelio is no exception to this rule by the way, which may cause me to leave Tokyo soon, but that's another story.) The biggest fashion trend for girls seems to be the schoolgirl look, sometimes with a sailor twist. I've never seen so many knee-high socks in one place. The food is really, really good. I tried shabu-shabu (thinly sliced beef that you cook by dipping it in boiling broth with vegetables) last night and had very tasty and CHEAP sushi with Ky and Tash for lunch. Also, it's true that fruit costs a fortune. I took a photo of $25 cantaloupes in Shinjuku. Speaking of food, time to go eat.

Yesterday started out pretty badly, as I awoke with a headache, a serious case of homesickness, and the temporary inability to find anything resembling breakfast food. I walked around and found a 7-11 where I got some yogurt and coffee, which I then took to a small shrine and ate overlooking a giant buddha statue with tears streaming down my face. When I got back to the ryokan (guesthouse), I met Rick, an American from Atlanta who's been traveling for 6 months all over SE Asia, basically doing my trip in reverse. I was elated to meet someone I could talk to, and we spent the day at the Tokyo National Museum. We had some cheap ramen in Shinjuku for dinner and then he went to the Lou Reed concert down the street, allowing me to explore one of Tokyo's most hustley bustley neighborhoods alone on a Friday night.

Wandering around Shinjuku, I found a gay bar called Advocates where there were 400 yen drink specials, the requisite cheesy house music, and best of all, dozens of expats. One of them, a Texan named Aurelio who'd defied his Jehovah's Witness upbringing, came out of the closet and moved to Japan to escape his family, was appalled by the thought of my leaving Tokyo so quickly and offered me his couch to sleep on to save some money. Yay!

Ky, a friend of danah's from her Amsterdam days, came to meet me at the bar and we spent a few hours chatting. (Thanks for the connection danah, he's great.) We caught the last subway home with all the very drunk businessmen, which was an experience unto itself. I seem to recall taking it upon myself to help two guys still in suits take their ties off, advising them to relax a little. This was received with many giggles from girls in the vicinity. I got home and rolled very drunkenly into bed around 12:30.

I am on my way over to Aurelio's place now, and will be able to stick around Tokyo for a few more days. Ky and his boyfriend Takeshi are taking me out tonight for a little more exposure to Japanese nightlife. Dancing perhaps?

I arrived in Tokyo this afternoon and found it's surprisingly easy to stay awake when you're chasing the sun across the international date line. While in line for the security check at SFO, I met three traveling women who took one look at my tear-stained cheeks and immediately began to do their best to reassure me I am not out of my mind. It feels right being here, but also so wrong being away from the life I loved so much at home. Damn all my friends and loved ones for making me so happy.

In search of cheap accomodations in Tokyo (of which there are few), I found a place called Suzuki Ryokan for about $40 a night in Nippori, one of Tokyo's less central and thereby less-touristy neighborhoods. OK, so I didn't actually find it myself, since the address numbering system in Tokyo is utterly mindboggling, but a lovely middle-aged woman who spoke no English walked me through a series of small winding streets and a cemetary (!) to arrive at what turned out to be an absolutely adorable, could it *be* any more Japanese, guesthouse. I took off my shoes and gasped with delight when I saw my room. I can't wait to sleep tonight.

(Me at the cemetary near Suzuki Ryokan in Nippori, where I stayed the first two nights)

I left in search of food (at one of those places that has plastic models of their food in the window so I could just point and smile), only to find myself on a three-hour meander through Nippori's tiny alleys. Past "The Boozy Enclave" bar and the "Come on my House" restaurant, past Pachinko Parlors and bus-waiting salarymen playing with advanced functionality on their top-of-the-line cell phones, I found myself darkening the door of "Kura," an adorably quaint restaurant with a posted menu of which I could not make out a word. With the waitress's limited English, I ordered an incredibly tasty fish and rice dish for about $6 and chatted with her throughout the meal. She said she was bored of Tokyo because she always met the same people over and over. I guess that's what happens when you work at your mom's restaurant in an untouristy neighborhood in what could possibly be the most homogenous country in the world. I seriously have not seen another person of any nationality other than Japanese since I left the airport.

With a budget of $100 a day in Japan, I am not sure how long I will last before departing for warmer and cheaper locales. In the meantime, this place is really freakin' cool.