Saturday, January 1, 2011
I'm in Tokyo on a layover on New Year's Day following my trip to Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in December 2010. After the heat of those countries the freezing cold of snowy Tokyo was startling, and I really wasn't prepared for it. I had enough of a layover to take the train to Shinjuku for breakfast at Starbucks (nothing else nearby was open) and some clothes shopping. Lots of stores and at least one very large shopping mall were closed but I eventually found enough stores open to keep me happy for a few hours. There was some snow on the ground and some light snow here and there with very few people walking about. I learned after a few mistakes to remove my shoes before entering the dressing room. Patrick picked me up from the airport. He drove to his place, then I drove home. Shower. To bed. Woke around 7 PM. Unpacked some, cut my hair, showered. Can of minestrone soup, ginger tisane with raw sugar. Veggie pizza slice at Pizza By The Slice. Dancing at Underground SF. Encountered Alex C, Ramy, Matt, Tony, Chris, Christopher, Alex (who has a boyfriend named Sergio but Sergio did not attend), 2 guys from L.A. (Thomas and ?). Home. Late meal: TJ's veggie chili.