The Reason I Love Tokyo...

Not that I didn't know before, but I was reminded of it this weekend. Friday night I was supposed to meet my Japanese friend Y. at 19:30. I wasn't going to go all the way home and then come back into town, so I left work and went straight there. Little did I know she would be stuck at work until 22:30! So what was I going to do all by myself in Roppongi?! I called other friends to meet up for dinner or drinks, but they all had plans already, so I went to this little bar that I had been to a few times before. I bought my first beer, and didn't buy anything more the rest of the night, including delivered Thai food that the bartenders paid for! I'm became friends with the bartenders quickly, and soon became friends with everyone else in the bar too! This is why I love Tokyo. I go to a place totally by myself, which I would probably feel totally awkward doing in the States; I don't pay for anything and still get sufficiently intoxicated for the night; I make new friends instantly; I get asked out to a party and on a date by some French guy; and I get free dinner!

It's so much easier making new friends here, I think, because everyone is always looking to meet new people and there are so many different types of people here from so many different countries. And of course half of these people I met ended up knowing someone I know, or we have some kind of strange connection. It's exactly the type of atmosphere that didn't really exist in D.C. Not to mention that when you go to karaoke bars here (we went to 2 really awesome places in Shinjuku Saturday night), people actually listen to you, or applaud, or dance along with you even if they don't know you! In a way, for such a huge metropolis of a city, Tokyo is quite small-- small enough that on Sunday I couldn't remember the location of the restaurant I wanted to go to, and as I was trying to find it, I ran into my friend on the street, the one friend I have who goes to this place regularly.

FYI, Monday I did have a date with the Australian, which went ... well, I don't really feel like going into detail now, but if you really want to know, send me a mail! Another reason I love Japan this week-- 2 holidays! Tonight it's out to the clubs for me!! And yes T-pan, if it weren't for you, I would never have been introduced to the wonderful world of HOUSE...!