Jan 21, 2008

東京 TOKYO pt.1

Next stop: Tokyo...it was only right that we continue towards the capital. The name comes from being the city east of the capital...'to' = east, 'kyo' = capital, the old capital being Kyoto.



Kyoto is approximately half way between Fukuoka and Tokyo. However instead of taking the overnight bus, we took the train, the Shinkansen, making it seem like it was just around the corner.


Voila Pauline-san, une des envoyé spéciale a Waseda University, qui nous a acceuillis pendant notre petit séjour dans la capitale.


15h10 : The emperor of Japan shows himself only 3 days throughout the whole year, and his last day happened to be the first day we got there (jan. 2). Ten minutes too late, this is as far as we got to seeing the emperor's hand wave out to the masses.


Visiting Tokyo is like sticking your finger is a sumo's butt: it seems like an impossible thing to do, but once you do it, it's a lot of fun. Just look at Anne-san. Merci Anne. Respect Anne.


Really though, just as I had expected, Tokyo is a very crowded place...take a look.


Harajuku: massive amounts of people...all the time.










Shibuya : the famous crosswalk, before...


and after.




When it comes to architecture in Tokyo, obviously there are many amazing places and buildings to see...Tokyo prefecture is a place that nests too many references, that i've only seen in photographs, or read about in books...


In the Ginza area of the city, there is a handful of designer stores, drawn by some of the world's most renown architects...










random: this is actually the Tokyo International Forum...different hood!




Takadanobaba: can't forget this place...5 people in pauline-san's waseda uni. dorm room for 4 nights is enough to leave a mark...


look familiar? (peace sam-san.)


place a une petite fete d'anniv. dans un resto Coréen...voici une autre envoyé a Waseda: Maria-san.

after a party, always comes karaoke...even if you can't sing. Maria-san happened to be very graceful on the mic.


Newsflash! Image insolite: eh ouais!...on l'a eu en train de chanter!


the gyoza boy...


that's one thing that was more predominant in Tokyo, compared to Fukuoka...the amount of graffiti. We are not used to this in Fukuoka...we also don't have many gaijin, but that's another issue.

Akihabara: electric city...on weekends, the streets are closed to cars.


here, you can find anything from rare manga comics, cheap video games, obviously all sorts of electronics and...


live performances!...sometimes sad but funny.


Tokyo is a place where lights just don't have an off button. to be continued...

1 comment:

ramyo said...

that's dope. i knew you would get the hang of it, with the blog and all. good looking out son. see ya soon i hope, in the capital or elsewhere.