新橋

On the up and up! It is Sunday today in Japan and true to the face of this entire week it is raining today. Woot. Talk about another crazy weekend with crazy weekend stories. Boring stuff first: Showering at night (I might have said this before) not in the morning is the norm, Japanese people like their layers of clothing despite the heat (i think this is due to the humidity; the outer layer stays dry and looks nice no matter what), Subways and trains stop at midnight and the only mode of transpo at that time become the pricey taxi, 栄　is the center of the night of life, and you HAVE to remember where you parked your bike!
So Saturday, I left about 1pm to head out to the Zoo with 下. It turned out to be a great experience really. There were so many animals that I had never really seen so up close and they were all super-active. A lonely Rhinoceros, a few cats that I had never seen before, a couple of elephants taking a bath, kangaroos, a couple variations of penguins...really it was amazing. There was even a molting camel and a man with a very large hose...cleaning the cages. A certain someone lost all restraint at the zoo and basically lead our group through the entire place in record time. She really likes zoos! I don't know what I was watching more.
Our group then headed out to 名古屋,　not 栄, where we grabbed something to eat. RAMEN!! It got all over me, that カラーラメン。I was looking everywhere for a bank at this point too because I had run my initial wallet funds to the ground (there was still some I had at home but for all practical purposes I had no money at that point). Citibank is where I was able to get some cash. Ask any Japanese person for directions and they don't know the place they'll still tell you to go a couple of blocks in some random direction and then to turn right and look for the コンビニ or 7-11 shop and the place you are looking for is right around there....they always say that. Red Bull in 栄　last night--fo free! We found a Red Bull truck that was handing them out. Woot again. There are so many high-end shopping centers in 栄 it's nuts! We stopped in a Coach shop to ask for directions (this was actually helpful info).
To end the night we went to JoyJoy for some Karaoke fun. I really didn't want to go though, I really wasn't in the mood and something was irking me the wrong way. It didn't really get better as the night progressed into the music. Others drank too much, cigarettes belched their smoke with such a pompous air that that room...me, three guys, and a starfish getting too close to the shore. The waves crashed her hard on the sand last night and I could only do so much to show her back to sea. The tide is low again now but my mind is set; I cannot let that happen again. To the rhythm of my own heart she told me today that she too was far too close to shore and sorry to have made me worry the way I did. I would like a quiet afternoon.
The trains stop running at midnight by the way. It would be best if you returned to your home station before then. Take it from me.
So I'm pretty much finished with my homework for tomorrow and it's almost 5. I might go for a jog.