Six days a week, every week this month. So if you feel neglected...well, I've only got so much energy (heh.)
I DID get away a bit during the first week. Here's my friend Junko (not the dancer...another Junko) standing in the street in Ginza.
To give you a sense of scale, Junko is seven feet tall.
Afterwards we went to Odaiba, which is the seaside resort/shopping mall type place that isn't Yokohama. There's a gigantic Ferris Wheel that takes 15 minutes to go around once on, and it affords some pretty impressive views.
There's also a big car convention/showoff area.
Here I am looking absolutely captivated.
Anybody who knows about cars know what this thing is?
I also had time to squeeze in a BBQ with my new co-workers, the female versions of which seem to think my camera will steal their soul, or something.
Well, we can't all be loved by the camera as much as fashion plate here is.
"OK, nice, gimme some sugar, come on, good, good, good..."
I also witnessed three events simultaneously: my friend Dan rejoining his old band Dot(.), the old drummer from Dot(.) playing his last show, and the birthday party of Dot(.) guitarist Rei, shown here with said vanishing drummer.
Looks pretty good for 73, don't she?
Anybody see any flashing blue ghosts around here?
Translation: please don't let your pet turd out of its box.
Moving the clothes from one basket to the other won't get back your brain, lady.
(Seriously, what's with the expression on her face?)
On Sunday, I went to Akihabara to buy a scanner so I can scan the covers of obscure Japanese CDs that I'm gonna review for the upcoming site (which has been put on the back burner until I can make it clear to my employer that I didn't fly to the other side of the world to spend all my time in a room in a mall in Kita Toda. I could do that...anywhere. Iowa.) Anyway, there was some sort of something happening.
All the photos are from the waist up, since all the men were wearing thongs.
You're welcome.
OK, from Akihabara to Saitama Shintoshin, where GAAAAAHHH WHAT IS THAT THING!!!!!
(I think the sign says "nightmare fuel." Yikes.)
The weather was really clear one day, and I could see Mt. Fuji. I got on the roof (aka the parking lot) of a mall and took some pictures. And...
What's the deal, here? Is Mt. Fuji shy, or something? There it was, clearly visible, and despite taking its picture with three separate cameras, that's the best shot I've gotten so far.
OK, Photoshop to the rescue. Just pretend this was taken at night.
A more cooperative mountain, this one in Maebashi (which is two and half hours away, one way, which I was sent to on what had previously been my day off...OK, I'll drop it.)
To conclude, I leave you with the battle of the century:
As always, mail me here.