Got a chance to practice getting around Tokyo.
This city is huge! It's a dense, convaluted, spiraling jumble of concrete, metal and train tracks. It's uber-claen. It's got neat sudden little hilly parts which seem to nest most of the interesting restaurants and bars (and scary looking dudes).
The officials are friendly, and helpful, though it's difficult to get the help of passers-by. I think this would be a tremendously exciting city to visit if you knew some-one who could show you around... and I'm guessing it really excells at nightlife (not my thing)... or if you could speak the language, right now it seems like it's going to be kind of a lonely trip (day one... 41 to go).
My hotel is right at the Shibuya intersection (What a trip!!!) Check it out...
http://blip.tv/file/101418
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipEEGG_VY5k&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TucFJIpVI8Q
http://www.worldofstock.com/closeups/PAN1012.php
I've acquired my monthly pass for the JR Yamanote rail system, one down one to go. I still have to get the monorail pass. I travelled to Hamamasutcho station today, but the ATM-like machine which dispenses the passes for monorail only accept cash, and I had none. It was about 25 minutes travel from Shibuya to Hamamasutcho during non-peak hours, so I got an opportunity to travel the system without the typical crowding pressures...
The ATMs in the station didn't want to accept my corporate AMEX card, nor my personal debit card, and I returned to the hotel area to try to find a bank. Success was finally had at CitiBank, though they didn't accept the AMEX either. I've debited 300$ cdn from my account (which is already on a tight budget) to be able to get the monorail pass.
While searching for the CitiBank I accidentally found Yoga-Tokyo where the Chicago ashtanga teacher was guest teaching, though this is probably not the place where I'll practice. I'm still waiting for exact loaction details from the teacher at Mysore-Tokyo... likely I walked by it today as well... it's hard to figure out what's right in fron of you here.
Anyhow by the time I had some yen, it was too late to get down to the client's location to do the data transfer, and pc check, that'll have to wait for Monday. I wanted the opportunity be kind of formal and get to site before Monday, but thats the way the fish-cracker crumbles.
It's early Friday evening, and I'm starting to get hungry (surprised?) Going to have to decide between trying to find the unagi http://www.flickr.com/photos/59642267@N00/29212879/ house I walked by earlier, or trying the hotel's japanese restaurant.
Sending photos will have to wait until I get a usb cable for the camera...
Hope you're all well...