blakerson.com

So the real pics from Japan will be coming once I'm settled back in Austin, and in theory I'm leaving in the next few hours, just as soon as we know the ice is melting on the roads between here and there. El Niño is the only thing hitting me harder than jetlag right now - my flight into the US arrived at 10am, and after two days of attempted life in a-town I woke up at 2am today.

In any case, for the car guys, there's much to see from the Tokyo Auto Salon. The pics aren't captioned, but they are commented, and in there I describe and commentate on the cars, and I translate the important stuff from the spec sheets for each of the cars.

No, there aren't booth babes, except for one shot.

Anyway - click to check it out and whet your appetite for a whoooooole lot of Japan pictures, including a lot of wallpaper-worthy shots.

Wow. It's been an incredibly intense and incredibly long two weeks since I arrived here. It's just under one week more until I'm back to the States, as well. I'm a bit frazzled today, so here's what I've been up to in list form:

Ueno Park
Shopping at department stores and the Japanese Gap
Shopping at Japanese record stores, every place from Virgin Megastore to little house shops
Checked out an arcade and several video game stores
Fallen in love with Mister Donut (a chain, the best damned glazed donuts ever)
Dined and had all-you-can-drink in Shibuya with JA
Gotten a really shitty cold
Gotten over the shitty cold
Went home on New Year's Eve early due to the shitty cold
Checked out the new year sales in Akihabara (unimpressive)
Had traditional new year food at Rio's house with her family
Lost Sunny's little Mashimaro plush and replaced it with another companion
Shacked from the Apple Store in Ginza, while the guy next to me surfed for porn
Took amazing pictures at the Tokyo International Forum
Dropped my camera at the Tokyo International Forum and destroyed the LCD
Picked up an identical camera the next day in Akihabara for $200 (a Powershot S80 8.0MP, mind you)
Looked around Tokyo Bay and took cool pictures
Went to the Toyota Mega Web and saw the entire Toyota lineup, played GT4 on an amazing setup, rode in a self-driving car, and the historical museum full of classic cars from all makes
Went clubbing in Roppongi, protected girls from shady foreigners, enjoyed late-night ramen, and stayed awake until 6am to make it home on the morning's first train
Got a guided tour of Kabuki-cho (Tokyo's houses of porn/slot machines/strip joints/semi-prostitution places) from JA
Drank scotch (for the first time) at the New York Bar (the Lost in Translation bar)

Yeah. It's been a heck of a trip. My last few things are a few souvenirs and the Tokyo Auto Salon on this Saturday. I'll be home Sunday morning, and in Austin late Monday night, unless DFW ices over.

Things in Japan are expensive, and Internet access is no exception. So instead, I'll post the lengthiest thing I've written so far - an email to the girl.

ok! i started running around and found myself in ueno. here we are at an internet cafe so i can take a breather and email everybody, especially you!

i have bad news though. :(

mashimaro didn't survive the flight. see, that 6 hours of delays made us get on and off the plane 3 times, and he was lost somewhere in that mix. i'm searching for a new mashi, but i dunno. :( i'm really sorry i lost him.

if it makes you feel any better, i went on a shopping rampage once i landed in ueno. i walked through a mall and realized just HOW out of style i looked here, so i went through 8 floors of mall and found the cheapest store of them all - gap. got a pair of supa-fly jeans on sale for 20 bucks. i'm starting to wear them tomorrow, along with my nicer shoes, and my jacket, and my scarf. it's like part of the uniform here.

i mentioned all that to tell you that i picked you up a present to make up for the loss of mashi. there's likely more presents to come, and hopefully another mashi, but this one was a penance thing.

so far the really fun part is interacting with people. my japanese is getting me by surprisingly well, simplistic though it is. on the plane i made some friends. first off, eileen from JA was on my flight, so she was there. then there was a japanese girl named junko, who was studying at CU Boulder, who just became the president of their JSA. the three of us had a free lunch together when our flights got delayed. then we also made friends with a navy guy named chuck, who helped me get into a hotel and gave me a handful of pointers.

and that's about everything so far! hope HK's beginning to go well and that you're all getting by in some language or another.

love,
the really stupid boy who lost mashimaro