Hermit Fortress: Grand Opening

A toast to the grand opening of Hermit Fortress!

I have an apartment in Tokyo. A 2 1/2!
 I'm on the 4th floor, my window overlooks a 24/7 eatery, there's a park and a river running behind the place. I can see the Sky Tree, the world's tallest tower, from the bridge going through it.
 I'm not allowed to own a duck, but I'll probably go for the axolotl.

Lonely Tokyo

And so, Julian "Shank" Einschenk has returned to his country of Germany, leaving me short a friend and a roommate. Though the past few months had us on different schedules and completely unable to hang out outside of home, Julian was the last of the original batch of people I had met in Tokyo.
 Whose bed will I jump on now?
 Tokyo just got a little lonelier.

Lock-Up

Louise, myself, Rob, Ken, and Haruka.

This evening brought me over to a dungeon themed restaurant in Shinjuku named "Lock-Up." I guess when you have a restaurant in a city as crowded as Tokyo, you have to find new and innovative ways to lure in customers. This one happened to have a lot of people screaming, and cute girls dressed as jail wardens who bring you to your seat by handcuffing you and dragging you in.
 Neither my companions nor myself had seen any of the place before, so the experience was quite fresh. I was in the pleasant company of a couple of people whom I had only met briefly beforehand: Louise of Switzerland, Rob of Australia and Haruka, a Chinese-Japanese half-blood, all of whom I had kind of met through Ken, who was present and who had organized the event.

A staff member jumping in to drink with us, briefly.

 The theme isn't taken so seriously, really. The place comes out as being quite goofy, but it's lots of fun to eat behind bars while the background music switches from death metal to birthday celebration songs. At certain intervals, the lights go dark and the staff don costumes and jump from prison cell to prison cell in an attempt to get a jump from the customers. It's easily anticipated, but you'd be surprised at the number of young Japanese girls who shriek in terrified surprise anyway. Rob tested them by yelling while sticking his face between the bars of the other customers' cells, something I regret not having a picture of.

The food itself is quite delicious, but, just like in most other restaurants in Japan, portions leave much to desire. There are also a number of interesting drink options, all of them somewhat obscure sounding and served in beakers instead of mugs or glasses. One item (pictured) had dry ice inside. I'm pretty sure solid nitrogen must pose some kind of a hazard to your health, but, meh. I was told this item in particular tasted like marzipan. Style over substance, I guess.
 All in all, Lock-Up was fun and had a lot of interesting things going for it. Of course, these places are as fun as you make 'em!

Interesting Tidbits: Hanafuda

This drawing is by Sebastian McKinnon.
I did NOT draw this. I did NOT.

Over the course of my stay in Japan, I think hanafuda cards have been one of the most important bonding agents between me and my current friends. Although I had left my own set of cards at home, I now own a new set, which I have bought in shabby-looking shop in the backstreets of Minami-Senju, the first area I landed. It cost me roughly 1,50$.
 Hanafuda cards are basically the local people's response to traditional western playing cards having been banned a few centuries ago. Of course, the ban has long since been lifted, but hanafuda remains as a vestige of the era.
 Just like regular playing cards, a number of different games can be played with the hanafuda deck, which contains 48 cards arranged in 12 sets of 4. Each set of 4 depicts a different flower, and most of the games involve matching the pictures. There are no numbers on the cards.
 Nowadays, hanafuda is played mostly by gangsters and the homeless, with most Japanese people having no idea how to play any games using the deck. I, myself, only learned to play through a video game called Yakuza.

 These days, hanafuda (notably the game koi-koi) has been a major pass-time among friends and I. Japanese people are often quite surprised to see I can play. Here's a list of people I've taught to play, both in Japan and Canada.

In Canada:
 - Julien
 - Sebastian
 - Josiah
 - Mama Kazumi

In Japan:
 - Mori
 - Jon
 - Julian
 - Ken
 - Erika

Anecdote: Familiarity

Today I was working at a different branch of my workplace than my usual one.
 While running Jungle Time (free-play time), I notice one 3 or 4-year old boy doing nothing but running around the gym in a circle while making his own sound-effects (eg; pew-pew, bang bang, crash, bam!) He had slightly darker skin and curly hair. At one point, another kid happened to be standing in his way, so the curly-haired boy shoved him on the ground and kept running in circles.

 It's like I traveled back-in time and met my brother from 16 years ago.

#alangoharzadeh

The Dane

Sofie Katrine Monrad is a Danish girl I met through Ken shortly before the Yamanote Line trek. She's surprisingly good at keeping up with Ken and I's shenanigans, and I've kicked her in the butt and shoved my hand in her face more times than I can count already.
 Sofie's in Tokyo for another two months or so, and she's always available to hang out or do something spontaneous, so it's more than likely she'll show up in quite a few posts in the future.

Brief Note: Getting My Own Apartment!

I'll have an apartment in Tokyo! I'm currently finishing up with the arrangements, and should be settled in by the 4th week of May. I'm seriously also considering getting a pet DUCK. Also, an axolotl.

Colors

(This picture is unrelated.)

Today was a regular day at work. I was running a free-play time. Generally, it's an easy 45 minutes of light work. Just being around the children, being there in case there's an accident. But the parents are also present, so my job is made that much easier. I greet the parents and tickle a child here and there.
 I recall I was thinking of something completely generic, along the lines of what it was I would be eating, when I feel a light tug on my hand. I look down.
 It's a little girl I know quite well. She has the cutest laugh. Her entire face lifts when she smiles. She's not quite 2-years old yet, but she's quite vocal. Her whole hand is wrapped around two of my fingers.
 "Hey there!" I beam at her. She giggles and pulls me along. "Where are we going?" It's not like I expect an answer. I have to bend down for her to hold me by the hand. Although she's running, I cover her tiny steps in just a few of my own strides.
 We arrive at the base of a folded gymnastics mattress. It's just about one foot high. She climbs up and beckons me to step on top as well. And then she jumps off with her stubby little legs. Landing, she looks at me.
 "Jump!" she says -- one of the English words she picked up. I do as told. Her shrill laughter can probably be heard from across the room. Satisfied, she grabs the two fingers of my left hand again, and runs to the next point of interest.
 This one happens to be a small tunnel, intended for children to crawl through. Its diameter is probably the same as that of my shoulders. Of course, she fits inside like a jellybean in a roll of toilet paper. To her, the tunnel is huge, and me, I'm the smallest of her "big friends." She's convinced I can fit inside. I awkwardly try. My shoulders get stuck inside, but I manage to crawl through, much to the girl's delight. I'm not even standing up yet, that she grabs my hand again and starts running, letting go half-way. But she's right to assume I'll follow her. I'm curious as to what she wants to have me do next.
 She looks at me as she jumps into the ball pit. As I stand nearby, she fishes out two larger soft balls, and hands those to me. She then picks two smaller ones out for herself. Then, taking the two balls she's holding in her tiny hands, she presses them to her head.
 "Minnie Mouse," she says.
 I get it. I press the two larger balls against my own head. "Mickey Mouse," I reply.
 "Minnie Mouse," she repeats.
 "Mickey Mouse."
 "Minnie Mouse."
 This goes on for a few minutes. At this point I'm smiling so wide my face hurts. And I just can't help it. It felt like when I was laughing the whole world was laughing with me.
  Slowly but surely, I'm rediscovering colors to my life I never noticed I had forgotten about. Everything else fades away when I'm given a chance at being a child one more time.

Tokyo Foreign Immigration Office, You Suck Balls

Kindly eat my shit.

I had my visa renewed recently. I had to haul my ass over to the immigration bureau in Tokyo in person, because it couldn't be done by phone. The damn place is in some kind of warehouse district and can't be accessed directly by any of the train lines, and is open, like, 5 hours a day and not on weekends. Here's a photo that adds insult to injury.
 Maybe open another branch? You slimy bastards.