Hello from Tokyo. Ande and I are in the middle of a two week vacation here. We've set us a photo blog on Flickr if anyone wants to see our pix. I decided to post it here when our emails to Johnny and Chi Chi came back as undeliverable. The page is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/planet66

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Hey Goils,
You two really get around!
Have fun. Try some of those wiggling noodles, the ones that look like they are alive.

(You must have some ancient address for us)

Great photos Pops and Andi..Have fun!

Looks like you are already having a great time. If you want to see more of the city that survived the war, and so has a lot of traditional streets plus a great temple go visit Senso Ji. If you want to check out some clubs I would recommend WOMB. The crowd is very young but the music and environment are quite intense though you'll have a hard time finding the one tiny bar on the fourth floor. They have a great web site with full informaiton, directions, etc.The imperial gardens are great for an escape from the overcrowded streets but be prepared for a long walk as the gardens are huge.

Thanks for the tourist tips, Seven. We did go to Senso-ji and the area around there is great. I love the old section of town and we noticed quite a few oldsters dressed up in kimono and parading around. We hear that it's known as "the old people's Harajuku." Unfortunately, the old people scatter when you pull out the camera. We can't go to WOMB, we're way too old and everyone would (rightly) think we're a couple of "kowai obaasan" - scary grannies. We should shop at Takenoko and try our looks out on the old people in Asakusa.

Thanks for the great photos. I really enjoyed those. I grew up in Japan and lived in Tokyo, but SEVEN and Miss Understood know much better than I do... so I can't think of any suggestions now.
Please go anywhere. Young Japanese are very curious and still fond of Americans even after Bush won.(some questions like "Why there are people voted for Bush? They watched "Kashi (=Fahrenheit)9/11" didn't they?" would be asked though..)
Just (you wouldn't but) don't go to Fukuoka prefecture (where I'm from btw). After magnitude 7 earthquake attack (10 days ago), they're still experiencing 3 to 4 magnitude every day.(My parents' 32 years old house is still surviving! btw..)
Looking forward more report from you
Enjoy***

Maki, I'm glad your parents' house is holding up! I saw a lot of video of the earthquake. It looked really bad. I was just kidding about not being able to go to clubs because we're too old. I mean, we probably are too old for that club, but the people here are so nice, we really do feel like we can go anywhere. I'll tell you one thing - I don't want to open up a can of worms but - we did go to a couple of clubs and the smoke was unbearable. Going to bars here really makes me appreciate New York's smoking ban.

Ahh Thank you for reminding me.
That smorking situation is one of the hardest things to deal with for me as well.
Oh,if you are interested in watching a play, there is a company called STUDIO LIFE. It is really all male theater company and they are getting really popular.

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thanks for sharing this stuff... feels like Ive been there!

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/0...ac_geisha/html/1.stm

BBC news have a cute report on photo journal day in the life of a geisha...

Anyone know anyone who worked out there in one of those hostess bars.. i find the whole concept fascinating... cos I believe (am I correct) that they don't shag the men but talk and entertain them? That is prob worse to put up with than having a shag LOL

> BBC news have a cute report on photo journal day in the life of a geisha...

Picture 12: amazing make-up (and trully beautiful hair/clothes/accessories...).

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This just in from our daughter DJ Sammy Jo.
(On tour with Scissor Sisters in the orient)

I heard that everything in that part of the world was upside down. That people walked on their heads and talked backward an' that's why we can't understand them.
That's what Jackie Bigalow told me anyway.

Anyone know if this is true?

yes, it tlue.

Now stop spleading myths Yoko. Tokyo I have to say is quite fierce. First day I thought, "Enh." but now I live. Shibuya shopping is amazing. And as my friend Amy said, "It's nice they had the crap bombed outta them recently so you don't have to bother visiting a buncha old shit and you can just shop." While I may not have put it in such a culturally insensitive way, I couldn't argue with her logic.

Shibuya and Shinjuku are a total sense overload at night. And there are really jarring contrasts where next to eachother on the street you can see something really traditional next to an electronics store selling the latest computers or personal music players you can't even get here yet. The revenge for the bombing though is you are likely to end up with an empty billfold.

We really liked Harajuku.