August 24, 2002
I bought a guitar today! I'm very excited about it. I'd been saying since I got here that I was going to start studying but now it is truly a reality. Its a nice one too, its black and red instead of the classic yellow color I love it. Here's a picture.

While I was out shopping Erica called me and told me that she was going to go to Tokyo to party tonight. Another JET friend of ours Monique had been telling us for weeks about clubs up there that she wanted to go to and we really haven't done much except explore our own cities since we've been here so we decided to throw caution to the wind and got to Tokyo. I left home at about 7:55pm and
the journey began from there...I got to the train station and sought out a parking lot. It didn't have any prices posted but it was not right next to the station I still had to walk some so I figured it wouldn't be that outrageous. Once I got to the station and bought my ticket (cost 2210yen for the actual fare and 1210Yen to ride the limited express train which only has 3 stops before Tokyo = 3420Yen), I had just missed the 8:21 train so I had to wait for the 9:07. I finally arrived in Shibuya, Tokyo around 11pm. I'm glad the clubs are pretty lienent about what you wear because if I had worn anything but jeans I would have been very uncomfortable on my trip out there.

I met up with Monique and her friend Rudy. We had plans to meet up with some more of Monique's friends and with Erica so we waited around and watched people. I swear, I have never seen that many people in a city just walking around at 11pm at night before in my life. I have been to Essence Festival in New Orleans. I've also been in Manhatten during New Year's Eve and I promise there were still more people out there last night than anywhere else I've ever been. There were people coming from EVERYWHERE they had vendors in the streets and I'm sure they make a pretty penny. They had Japanese Dreadmen and I even saw these 3 Japanese Dreads, putting wax and rolling someones hair trying to help his hair lock it was wild. I mean one dude had dreads he could sit on and had some of them bunched up in the cap he was wearing. I saw a girl in Starbucks (yes they do have Starbucks all over) who I swear looked like Beyonce! She was darker than me and had bright blond braids in her hair. She had on all this funny eye make-up but I had to double take and make sure some of those girls weren't really black. I need to start making some money braiding hair while ya playin!

Anyway to make an even longer story shorter (too late), we got the whole crew together at about 12:15 and took taxi's to this spot not far from there which was a Regge club. It cost 2500yen to get in but that covered two drinks once you got inside. One of the bartenders had a straight up fro and of course Erica asked him if it was real and if she could touch it. He took off his visor and let her see it was real and let her touch it. I touched it too, and it felt just like wool. I let him feel mine so he could see what a real fro felt like. Once we got to the dance floor I was completely in awe. You had Japanese folks with the long chains and Hip-Hop style baseball caps on, some had the long multicolored skirts on with tanks who were dancing like they were straight off the boat from Jamaica and the one that killed
me was this guy who was dresssed rather Mexicanish with a poncho on and this huge sombrero like hat only it was like the huge ones you might hang on your wall, and he was wearing it in the club. The Japanese are also real heavy on smoking and there isn't a lot of weed here so they just mix different types of tobacco until they get something that simulates weed for them or gives them another type of high. The Japanese Mexican guy had this cigar that was I promise, the length of my forearm. He was just a danger to be around on the dance floor. Either you get knocked around by the hat or burned by the cigar. They played some really old songs and some newer ones too, but only a few hip hop ones thrown in here or there. I think some of the locals were getting a little pissed with Monique, Erica, and I but its all good. If I were them I'd hate me too.(smile)

We left there and went to Roppongi which is another extremely busy club district in Tokyo. We stopped on the way to the next club at this Turkish restaurant and had chicken and rice. There was also a very attractive black man in there who I was trying to give the eye but its hard when youare in a big group. It was actually pretty good and also funny to see Turkish people saying the typical (Irashaimase!) and greeting us in Japanese. We went to this club called 911 which for me doesn't have very many pleasant connotations so I kind wasn't feeling it off jumpbut the bouncers there were Nigerians. And they kept telling is how beautiful it was to be black and how beautiful we were. One guy even assured us that he had been in Japan for 6 years and never had sex with a Japanese woman. Only because he loved Black women so much and because of the butt thing. Japanese women don't have any butt was his claim. I had to break it down that not all Black women have "junk in their trunk" either, but it was all in fun and they were really cool. We went down there and it was wack and they were playing this techno/backstreet boys mess that I know I didn't want to make my head hurt so some of us left and sought out another place to party. We found this club called Wall Street that shocked the crap out of us...I walked in the door and the first thing you see is this scantily clothes Japanese woman dancing on the bar, then you look further down and there are more. The music was like this latin type pace with J-Lo's song "Let's get Loud" if you can call that Latin. The music started to get better, but it left a bad taste in everyone's mouth the shock we experienced upon entry and every time you would look in the direction of the bar. So we left there in search of yet another club. By this time its about 4:30 and the sky is starting to lighten up. E and I just walked up and down and met some military men that didn't want to be label as military men because they are known for starting trouble. But when you walk around in a pack of five and all of you are buff out of this world, we're going to pretty much know what it is that you really do.

The night was winding up and the trains started running again at 5 so shortly thereafter we made our way to the train station. On our way to the station we picked up a stray Turkish guy who would not leave me alone. E and I were talking and saying bye and he was standing there waiting for me. All I wanted was to be left alone, so I kindly cussed him out and English and in Japanese and he was like I don't understand, I was like "Yes you do, yes you do" he started laughing and finally walked away, but we E and I went our separate ways he was standing on the other side of the entry just starring at us. I'm glad he wasn't on my train.

I bought a subway ticket (210Yen) to take me from Roppongi to Shinjuku where I had to catch the train that goes to Yamanashi. The return fare was another 3420Yen and I had to wait from 6am when I arrived at the train stop til 7am when it actually left for home. I couldn't stay awake no matter how hard I tried so I got a good seat on a bench, put my purse in my lap, set the timer on my cell phone and leaned over on my knees and took a nap. I don't know if the beer and Turkish food weren't agreeing with me or if it was just that I knew I still had an hour and a half train ride home that was making me feel sick to my stomach when the I finally arrived. The seats are very roomy and comfortable on those limited express trains so that made things much better. I set the alarm again for a 8:15 and fell asleep! When I finally got to Kofu and to my car of course I had to pay the attendant and it was 2900yen. This was a very expensive night and I love Tokyo and all but there is much to be said for staying around Kamiku and enjoying the simplicities of life.

"Oh, what a night...doodoo..doodoo"