Needed a little spring, it wasn't coming up north quickly enough...

... so I went down to Tokyo.  The Fantastic Mr Flynn offered to put me up at his new Tokyo pad, but was at work during the day. I stowed my pack in a coin locker at one of the stations near his place and set off to amuse myself. My initial plan was to get my nerd-on in Akihabara. Buuuuuut the near constant deluge all day made this feel rather uninviting. I was having some trouble navigating the area anyway, possibly due to the lack of sleep from riding the highway bus down overnight. Yes. We'll blame that. :D


After seeking refuge in a few different coffee joints (and finally succeeding in finding one with public-use outlets so I could charge my precious phone) I made plans to meet up with one of my Narita airport buddies. I got there a little early and waited in the Opera House just inside the gates of Ueno park, and saw this (<<) lovely bit of Engrish... Glad they just made the error on the rack and not all the fliers, but jeebus... *facepalm*
We attempted to enjoy the cherry blossoms in Ueno park, but, alas, the rain simply would not stop. We sought refuge (and beer) at the food stands, but the tarps threatened to fall down on us. We figgured if we're going to get wet anyway, we might as well do it under some pretty trees instead of blue tarps.
After a while the sounds of sloshy shoes grew tiresome, and we looked for somewhere to have a pint or two and give our sneakers a break. This brought us to The Rose & Crown pub attached to Ueno Station.
Just in time for 'Happy Hour'. Ahhhh yes. Slightly less expensive imported draft beer get in my belly! :D They were going down smooth and easy and warming my insides as only yummy beer can. We opted to give up on trying to 花見. (Hanami: sit under trees and drink) I wasn't quite sure what time David would be done work, so I made my way to the giant Tower Records building for a little retail therapy. Finding no special items on my list, and upon hearing he was finished work and on his way home, I set off to meet up with Flynn at one of the stations near his new apartment.
I brought him a housewarming gift, inspired by the Ginger Milk beverages we had enjoyed together in Towada, I tried my hand at some ginger cookies. I think they turned out pretty well, though there are a couple of things I want to try differently for the next batch (and before I post the recipe). We were both pretty hungry and decided that we needed dinner ASAP. Flynn's new place is in Akebonobashi and there are a number of different restaurants near by. Including this delightful Indian restaurant, Paras, that everyone should check out if they are in Akebonobashi. So many delicious curries to choose from and gigantic naan bread. The owner was really nice, too, and we chatted with him a bit. He gave us coupons for 10% off our next meal and a free drink. GO THERE! For serious!

The weather on Friday was a lot more promising, so I set out with my camera. My first stop was the Japanese Sword Museum in Yoyogi. I hopped on the subway and got off at Hatsudai station and followed a bicycle path running parallel to the main road. The sky had started to clear, and the cherry blossom canopy was quite lovely. So lovely, that I *may* have missed my turn to the museum at first.
Oops.

It's a small gallery with examples of blades, hilts, hand guards and full swords through the ages. There was even some explanations in English, elaborating upon why certain symbols were commonly found on the blades and how the blades were forged. Definitely worth checking out, however keep in mind: it could be full of little boys running around hopped up on swords. I was relived that the gift shop didn't sell cheap plastic ones, but just being around weapons was enough to get them making sword fighting sound effects.
My next destination was Yoyogi park. I'd been there last October on my way to Australia, but entered from a different gate this time. Found me some pony rides, but was dead set on finding a nice field to sit down and soak up some sun. As luck would have it, I found a great spot in the sun where I could relax for a bit, and let my pants and shoes finish drying. Hooooraaaaaaay~!

Saturday, I decided to try my hand at going to Akihabara once again. I had much greater success and got to see gals advertising for Maid cafes and other cosplayers, checked out a 7 story comic book & collectables shop. As for the rest of the things that I saw around there, I think they're pretty self-explanatory, don't you? Cosplayer and other nerds flock to this mecha (HA!). I was a bit sad that I was unable to find any Zelda stuff for myself, but not heartbroken. It'll just make it all the more satisfying when I *do* track down some things. 

As nice as it was to get down south and away from everything, it's always nice to go home again. After getting some sleep on the bus, I awoke in Iwate prefecture at some rest stop along the highway and was greeted by Mount Iwate.

... and also Japan's copious types of garbage disposal bins. Burnable, unburnable, cans/tins, PET bottles, glass and paper, to name a few. Vending machines usually have the appropriate bins nearby, but heaven forbid you need something else if you've been naughty and eating while you are walking down the street. Almost makes a gaijin wanna toss trash in the wrong receptacle...