Happy New Years 09-10!
Not surprisingly, the day was slow to start. We saw Charlene off (actually, I think she was gone by the time I awoke) and we went out to find some food. We ate lunch in the hotel because we were scared off by the cold outside and just ate a simple soba lunch. Afterwards we went back to our room and took a nap to prepare the upcoming night since we knew weren’t going to get any sleep. Actually, only Michael and I slept on the big bed because Owen didn’t want to sleep between us and he had no other place to sleep, so he stayed up, thanks for taking one for the team on that one buddy. After we woke up around 4, we decided to actually get out of the hotel and I decided to show them closer sights, so I took them to Harajuku and Omote-sando-dori. We had some fun marveling at the shops, the clothes and the people and started to think about someplace warm to get some grub. We stopped off at a ramen shop that had interesting menus but was surprisingly delicious. We found that Japanese fast food restaurants are infinitely better than the classic American burger joint and you can never beat a piping hot bowl of ramen anytime anywhere.
Sights of Harajuku and Ometesando Street
We waited to meet Charlene who miraculously finished her essay, convinced her manager to let her stay a few more days in her dormitory and found her way to our hotel. She was on a streak. We she got to our hotel room around 10 PM and we took one celebratory shot before leaving, but not before shoving a bottle of absolute vodka in Charlene’s purse. We took turns holding her purse because it was so heavy and she’s so tiny. We were to meet Jessica, Will, Ai, Baptiste, and Charlene’s friend at Ebisu at 10:45. Everybody was coming from a different direction and it was confusing to say the least to track everyone down. We were the first to arrive, met up with Charlene’s friend, walked around aimlessly in Ebisu and waited for Jessica and Will to arrive who were the ones directing us where to go that night. We opted against going clubbing because everyone jacked up the prices and most of the good ones were sold out anyways.
Side Story: “Yeah... they just fall sometimes.”
As Owen, Mike, Charlene and I walked through the busy Shinjuku Station, we came down a flight of stairs and saw a man about 10 feet away freeze, lock up his limbs, tilt over slowly and slam into the ground violently. There seemingly no cause for his sudden seizure but we rushed to help him up and ask if he was okay repeating over and over “Daijoubu? Daijoubu?” The people who were closest to him were understandably surprised by his fall and stood there helplessly looking at him like deer in the headlights. They quickly moved away from him and kept walking while glancing backwards but offering no help. He put his hand out to stop us when we reached to help him out. He obviously did not want our help for whatever reason. His eyes were the scariest part. He stared blankly, bug-eyed and didn’t blink. After a few moments, he slowly moved one arm under his body, propped himself up and got up off the ground slowly. We were amazed, shocked and horrified as this man laid lifeless on the ground and nobody seemed to give a damn. Tokyo can be a lonely place despite the millions of people who pass by every day. Charlene later tried to comfort us and said “Yeah… they just fall sometimes.” We were not comforted.
It was December 31st, New Years Eve, 11:45 PM and we still had no place to go and didn’t know how to get there. After trying to ask directions, wandering around and finally giving up, we decided to dodge into a small Irish bar so that we could at least toast to the new years. Will and Jess came running in 5 minutes before 12 and just in the nick of time. We all ordered a drink, they passed out Jell-O Shots and confetti poppers. We said farewell to 2009 and drank our first drink of 2010!
The Legendary Picture (Pretty Nice Except for How Faded Owen Looks Already) Zest Cantina
Next stop was our original stop, Zest Cantina Bar and Grill. The restaurant was decorated inside with balloons all over and like a western style saloon inside. There was a second floor that surrounded the center dance floor. There was food in the back and a bar in the front. Ai-chan and Baptiste eventually joined us and the gang was complete. Halfway through dancing, the DJ changed to a slow song, everyone stopped dancing, started to clear out and a big circle formed in the middle of the dance floor. We were pleasantly surprised to find it was intentional and a dancing/singing performance began that featured a girl singing electropop songs accompanied by two scantily clad (butterfaces, you can decide for yourself) girls and later by a rapper. We danced, talked, joked, laughed and spent the night enjoying being fortunate, young and happy. One of the best parts of the night for me was a short and seemingly unsubstantial conversation I had with Owen. We talked about how far we’d come, thought about how long we’d been friends, all that we had experienced together and thanked whoever and whatever was responsible for letting us share this moment in Tokyo together. I was just so thankful that he and Mike had come all the way out here to see me and that we were enjoying this together. This would be one of those moments we would remember forever.
The rest of the night…
We left the cantina after the part died in the early part of the morning and headed for the Yamanote Line (that was running 24 hours just new years eve). But not before “borrowing” a couple of unlocked low-rider bikes and taking it for a quick stroll around the street. After Will, Owen and I had our fill of the bikes, we returned them unharmed back to their original locations and left. We stayed at Shinjuku Station for roughly an hour talking with Ai, Owen, and Baptiste for some reason. Which is why I was perplexed when Baptiste called me and asked me to explain to him why he woke up at his station in Tokyo without really knowing how he got there or why he was asleep against a column. Apparently he spent the whole night partying and conversing but what really wasted. He talked with us for an hour at the station in the morning and left on his train. He arrived at his station and leaned up against a column presumably out of exhaustion and fell asleep for about 2 hours (math I’d figured between the time he work up and the time he left Shinjuku Station) only to wake up without knowing what he did for New Years 2009. Hilarious.
Side Story:
Because Baptiste was very drunk (and very sorry) as he wanted me to make clear, when he went upstairs to ask Charlene to dance and found her sleeping, he had to take drastic drunk measures. He tried lightly slapping her face and when that didn’t work he apparently stuck his finger up her nose… yes, he’s not sure if he did that, but Charlene said it happened and it freaked her out. Baptiste’s only defense is that he does that to his younger brother sometimes and he was too drunk to realize what he was doing to Charlene. He’s very sorry. Good story though.
Charlene once again got sufficiently drunk and sleepy, but only after she danced with every guy she wanted to including one Rastafarian guy who was so ridiculously high, he was almost falling asleep while talking to me. Mike took her home early and asked me to carry her purse home because she had to carry her home on his back. Later I realized I should have at least given Mike Charlene’s cell phone that was in her purse. Knowing Mike and his horrible sense of direction, Owen and I thought about what we would do to find two lost gaijin in Tokyo on New Years Day. But they didn’t get lost and all was fine.
Side Story: Mike the Rapist
On the way back on the train, a Japanese mad kept telling Charlene not to go back home with Mike because he thought Mike would rape her. We’ve laughed at Mike countless times and his new nickname has permanently been solidified as “The Rapist”.
Best Drunk Charlene Quotes:
*Talking about me sleeping with a sleeping bag in Owen and Mike’s hotel room.*
Charlene: “Damn, you’re like a homo.” - She meant: Damn, you’re like a hobo.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Owen: “Something bit me.” – Talking about a bug bite.
Charlene: “I didn’t do it.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlene : “Dude Japanese old ladies are fit. It’s like… damn they look good.” – Talking about checking out old ladies in a naked public bath. Note: She was sober for this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment