Round the World: July 2013

I arrived back into Tokyo and was really surprised at how much there really is to see and as a creature of habit I headed back to the climbing gym for a six hour sesh with also a walk or two around Akihabara.

After that I went out and took some pics of the lights and stashed my bag in a locker at the train station for 600y total. I stashed my bag there because I was planning on not really returning to a place that night and just staying up all night to check out Shibuya. I got there and it really is something else to see. There is so many lights and different things going on all in one that I had to come back another night just to see more of it. What everyone knows is the huge triangle crossing where everyone rushing the intersection in a J-walk fashion and it is magic everytime seeing how may people are there all at once. So in staying up all night I set out to a local club called Womb that costs around 2,500y-3,500y, depending on the night, and had a good time throughout all four levels of house music. I stayed there for a bit then decided the smoke and heat was a little bit to much to handle so I left in search for water and some fresh air. Upon walking down the street, which was still filled with tons of people at 03:00 in the morning, I ran into a couple of Japanese guys playing a DJ program with huge speakers in the back of one of their trucks and decided to join in for an hour to kill some time. I then headed out to the train station to use the wifi to find a place to stay and then hopped on the train to pick up my pack and head in the direction to the hostel. The hostel is called Tokyo hostel and is quite a cozy place but the owners did end up in my opinion to be a little greedy. They asked me if I was joining in on their sushiparty which cost 1,000y for barely any sushi and a tiny beer which you I didn't enjoy because I knew that they would be taking a 80% cut off everyone. They also made me feel bad by saying: "oh your not coming, why not?" with a sad face. I was pretty surprised by that and headed to bed because I was running on no sleep within a 40hr time period. I then woke up and went back to the gym for some fun and met some new strong climbing friends that I taught how to do problems easier. I love teaching people and just helping them do things simpler if they're up to it and they were totally loving it. I then didn't have a place to stay so I looked back online to find a hostel and found the same one I was staying at for cheaper, so I booked it, and arrived back there at the greedy Tokyo hostel. When I got there the owner was like you want to stay in the same bed and I was like yea sure why not. I then asked: "what about tomorrow night?" And he said: "no problem" to then saying: "that room is full tomorrow night". I said: "ok" and then went upstairs to a different room which he said would be the same price then he came upstairs saying: "that the room he just put me in is going to be more tomorrow night" and I was like didn't you just say it was ok. He's says: "oh we will figure it out tomorrow" and I was like ok. I then woke up the next day and looked online at hostel bookers to see if the room that I wanted, 6 bed dorm, was open and it was. So I went to talk with the owner but he said: "that was only open to new guest and not old guest staying again". So by that time I was a little like well: "don't you want me to stay here and make money?" I don't think he understood so I said: "I want my momey back crazy man and I am out of here". Found another hostel and then on the way down the street he followed me saying: "did you find a place" and I was like: "yea man, I'm all good". Wound up at my place which was right next to the Skytree and Asakusa. Stoked. So I then checked out that area and then hoped on the metro for a cruise all over the town by buying a metro day pass for 710y, which is worth it if your going everywhere.

I checked out Ueno, Ginza, Roppongi, Harajuku, and Shibuya before coming back to Asakusa at night.

The next day I wanted to get a bike and ride around a bit through the town and maybe ride around all night to see how different things are and ended up finding a bike rental place that rents bikes out for 24hr at 200y. I was like sweet! So I grabbed the bike, threw the pack in another 600y, 300y to put in 300y to get out, locker and set out on the small town of Tokyo. I rode to Skytree, Akihabara, the Emperors palace, the imperial building, Yoyogi park and Meiji-shrine, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi, and everything in between back to Asakusa around 05:00 in the morning to watch the sunset. I got a little 30min nap on a kid slide before being awoken up by some old fogeees break dancing and kicking the stairs to the slide. I was like you criminals leave me in peace, but the sunshine illuminated me back with energy so I set out to the sports gym that was just down the street. After that half awake workout that only cost 250y for 3hrs, pretty cheap, I set out to couch surf with a new friend Trevor James Cox who lives in Seijo. I got there and we kicked right off talking about everything. We both where a little under the sleep deprivation side because he had been sick all night before so we had an easy night and then woke up rested to checking out the city with another couch surfer. We saw all the things I didn't see during the day and all the ones I didn't see at night which was still amazing because there really is a lot to see. After that we came back tired from walking all over the city and went to bed waking up to me heading out to Narita airport to fly to Beijig for another adventure.

Some thoughts:

You'll find me conversing with someone who has been to Cambridge and has a vast knowledge of a lot things that I don't know. I talked for hours on end about everything and learned so much in such a little of time that my brain was firing on all cylinders with eyes wide opened.

I hope you find someone out there that expands your mind farer than it is and that you take something from them that makes them apart of you now.

And I thank all the people who have taught me life lessons to experiences and everything in between.

Some other thoughts:

You can't dwell on the past.

You know this.

You can fight, hit, kick, yell, spit, and scream about trying to change something that your entirely powerless over, but it won't change.

I wish everyone could be on the same page in our society, in our world, but there's always going to be blood and something to point at.

It's just how it works.

Enjoy the pictures!

Bye for now...

Shinkansen ticket.