Tokyo has been amazing. Where to start? The heated toliet seats? The vending machines on every corner? The crazy Japanese teen fashion? The mobile phone culture?
The work portion of the trip went very well and consumed most of my time here, but I did steal of yesterday morning--very early ~5am--and
visit the Tsujiki fish market, the world's largest. Makes the Pike Place
Market look like amateur hour. Wandered around trying to stay out of
the way and finished the morning with sushi at 7am, the best I've ever had.
People here are completely attached to their cell phones, and it's not just a 'phone'--large color displays, complete Internet access, mesaging, news, music, you name it. I rode the subway next to a woman about 20 years old who was busy checking messages on two phones while also swapping the memory card between her
two portable music devices.
Young women in Tokyo seem to cleave to a strange uniform that includes school girl skirts and boots with 4-6" platform heels. I have no doubt
there is a porn site somewhere devoted to this. Adherence to the uniform is a public health threat--apparently eight women have died in the past year, loosing their footing and tumbling down stairs at train stations. Talk about fashion victims.
Wish I had weeks to explore the city, but alas, I have another 24hours and am itching to return home to Dia and the kitties.