A Narrow Fellow in the Glass

I work nearly 48 hours a week, from 10-6 Monday through Saturday. After work is finished we have dinner, which starts at 7, and goes anywhere from 9 o'clock to 10 o'clock. My free time is a bit limited as far as the time I have to update the blog, but I try. On Sunday though, Nick and I had the day to ourselves, and we rode the subway east into Kichijoji, a bustling city catering to the young generation with many vintage boutique shops, bars, and cool art galleries. Some describe the city a mini-Tokyo. And, as with any major Japanese city, sitting directly off of the noisy streets are quiet temples with neatly manicured gardens, and quietly modest landscapes.

After the temple, we wandered around the city, stopped in a ramen-ya, and got some salty ramen and a beer and were on our way. We made it to Inokashira park, which is awesome. After the park we walked through the shopping district, and pretty much everywhere around the city. But I wanted to go to the famous Yodobashi camera. A playground for any electronic enthusiast, and if you are not you will become one there. They have everything from $15,000 watches to more camera tripods than you could use in your life, and every new little gadget in between.

Night came, and the bars were open. So we headed around the shopping district, it closes shops and night and opens delicious restaurants and great bars. We stopped in at a Hawaiian-Okinawan themed restaurant and bar called Jingle-Jangle. It was awesome. We had some delicious Japanese Beef Tataki.

We met a couple of Japanese natives. They introduced us to a new beverage that I have always seen and wanted to try, and I finally did. Habu-shuu, or roughly a rattle snake curled up inside of a bottle of strong rice liquor. Tasted great, and apparently its nature's Viagara too. Or so they say.