Random Nighttime Pics

Tonight, I cooked dinner at the hotel (should take some pics here.  It's quite homey.)  I then visited Shinjuku (3.64 million people pass through this station EACH DAY), with a stop in Ueno to see if the lanterns were still lit up. They weren't, but it was still pretty crowded and worth a walk through.


There is a small grocery about 2 minutes from the hotel.  I can't read any of the packages, so I just buy what looks good.  Sliced pork, red pepper with sproutes, potato and carrot mixed together.  Some sort of...  soy-like sauce for flavor and I'm good to go!  There was a Japanese guy in the room so I offered him a bit.  He seemed to like it and was surprised I cooked.  Nice guy, though.  Itadakimasu!

Then it was off to Shinjuku!  No real reason other than to see the lights and crowds.  And lights and crowds there were!  But first, a shot of my hot cocoa.  The kid at the coffee shop (Excelsior!) was being trained, and there was a little mixup when he asked me, I assumed, "for here?", to which I replied "hai, koko desu."  Evidently my Japanese is so bad that he thought I was asking about the cocoa?  After a little back-and-forth, with both of us pointing to the store, he got the point.  I still need practice.  This prompted me to immediately email Eri-sensei and ask her about proper ordering for here or to go.  She verified it is, indeed, "kokode" (I was close enough).  Sometimes it's good to know a Japanese language teacher!

Random shot after exiting the Shinjuku train station (packed!)

And another random street shot in Shinjuku.  You don't really get a feel for the crowd, but trust me, it's nuts.

So this was interesting.  In amongst the neon and crowds there was this beautiful path.  Winding between buildings it seemed to access the back doors of many bars and restaurants.  I found this while wandering through a very sketchy area.  I found the male-host clubs!  Pretty-boy Japanese boys who host for the ladies (take THAT, feminism!  We've reached equality at last.  These guys wear more beauty products than any lady.)  Sadly, no pics, but instead of pretty girls' faces lit up on the signs, there were...  Equally pretty boys' faces.  Super androginuous but they seem to like it...

Stopped by Ueno Park on the way back, hoping the lanterns would still be lit.  Sadly, no.  But there were still plenty of people picnic-ing and waking.  No idea how I can take good pictures at night.  But it's still pretty.

This is the rail yard that I cross over every night to get back to the hotel.  Kind of cool looking.