When I got to my hotel in Shibuya last night the first thing I did was turn on the TV and see what gameshows were on. I don’t know what the one I finally settled on was called but it consisted of a host saying a string of 3 words like “frame frame flame” and then a panel of 6 contestants who would have to figure out which was the different word. Was amusing to say the least.

I barely unpacked before deciding I had to hit the streets and hunt for something to eat, which I found quickly at the corner mart near the hotel. Natto maki, Inari, and Pocari Sweat. The dinner of champions!

Dinner!

I walked around for a while after that and felt a lot of what I felt the last time I was here. People told me the awe and wide eyed amazement of Tokyo wears off quickly but I was here for 2 solid weeks last year and while it got more familiar it wasn’t any less amazing. This time it’s just as fantastic, I really love this city and could see myself living here or at least spending a lot of time here. It’s alive 24 hours a day, there’s a million things going on, bikes everywhere, and amazing trains and transport. All things that turn my eyes into pulsing pink hearts when talking about a city.

The fun wild card thrown into this trip is that I brought 2 credit cards to cover any expenses or things that might come up. One of them notified me about 48 hours ago that “due to the current economic situation” they are readjusting credit limits on all their accounts to reduce risk. That means lowering my limit to $100 above my current balance. Not helpful. The other, which I specifically called and asked them to approve for usage in Japan was throwing errors last night, so I gotta call them during US working hours today. That leaves me with the 9,000 Yen I have in my pocket, so adventure here we come!

My jet lag fighting techniques so far have just been to switch to Tokyo time as quickly as possible. I changed my clocks the moment I got on the plane and slept right away to match timing here. I made sure to be asleep by 11PM and awake by 6am this morning so maybe I can fool myself. We’ll see. Now I’m running out for breakfast before a day full of meetings. Will post pics on flickr when I’m able!