Tokyo Tower! Beer and Bananas!

Evening of the 13th, on the return from Tokyo Bay, at the confluence of the Yagami and Tsurumi Rivers. You can actually make out the silhouette of Mt. Fuji in the dead center of the frame.
A bunch of kids catching bugs near the river.
"The Tsurumi River Basin is Shaped Like a Tapir" "Tsurumi River: Exercise with Lots of Cherry Trees and Greenery" "The Alliance of Area Residents' Associations is Aiding in the Management of These Trees."
Momma cat with nursing kitten, near Tokyo Bay.
I know I'm getting close to the bay because I'm seeing these moored to the riverside.
The confluence of the Yagami and Tsurumi Rivers (again), early afternoon.
When the ticket clerk saw me taking a picture of this sign and joking about it, he asked me what was wrong with it. He then had me write the correct English on a piece of paper- I ended up writing "Observatory Tickets are Sold Outside." It was nice that he cared; I'll have to check later in the year to see if they've changed the sign.
Maya in her cute boots, with Tokyo Tower in the background. This was just before the tower darkened and the colored lights came on.
Empty beer cans and discarded banana peels around the karaoke laptop at the Beer and Bananas Party.
This glorious King of Banana is now mine. Or rather, it became mine, then I gave it to Maya : )
The heart of the party- the banana table.

Life, as ever, is crazy. I skipped class today in order to sleep. I haven't really had a sleep "pattern" for a couple of weeks now and last night I just couldn't sleep. I just hopped from Wikipedia article to Wikipedia article all night. I don't plan to make a habit of skipping class, but it was nice to sleep.

So, what did I do with my day? I ran. I ran like Forrest Gump, until I ran out of road. Unlike Forrest Gump, I only had eight or nine kilometers of towpath to run on before I hit Tokyo Bay, but that was enough for me. The view at the end of the towpath isn't exactly remarkable (a big multi-level suspension bridge blocks the horizon), so I had to check with someone whether or not I had even technically made it to the bay! I know Paul will be unimpressed, but it's a rare day when I can run 17 km without my right knee giving out >: /

The other night (Sunday) was Yutaro's 22nd birthday, and to celebrate, we trekked out to Setagaya, on the outskirts of Shibuya, for a beer and banana party. Hmm.
It was here I attained the greatest glory of my young life, by wolfing down four bananas faster than anyone else could.
Much faster.
And my prize was the symbol of the party, a large banana-shaped pillow emblazoned with the words "King of Banana" in red on its side.

In all, I think I ate seven bananas at the party, which was unwise considering I was to meet Maya in Setagaya in less than an hour for dinner. But I was coerced into participating in the contest by an alcoholic Norwegian (my friend, whose name eludes me). Gastronomic overindulgence aside, I was actually able to enjoy a light dinner of soba with Maya soon afterwards, so all is well.

Monday night Maya and I went out (again : P), this time to Mita, where my campus is. We had dinner at Saizeriya, which is a wildly popular chain of family-style Italian restaurants. Prices are low, service is swift, and the food is delicious- if not artistic.

After dinner, I meant to show Maya the Mita campus of Keio University, but unfortunately it was shut (possibly for "Sports Day," in commemoration of the 1964 Olympics). So we decided to walk to Tokyo Tower, which is only about half an hour away and clearly visible from the east side of campus. As we were walking toward it, the tower put on one of the light-shows it's famous for, shimmering in a rainbow of electric light.
Halfway there I nearly became hysterical after noticing a small Triumph dealership inconspicuously tucked into a row of buildings across the street. Of course I immediately went to check it out, and I had a great time straddling a beautiful new Bonneville T100 and making vrooming noises with the back of my throat. Maya gets props for so patiently tolerating my obsession(s)!

Then on to the tower...
There's a small mall at the base of the tower, so once we arrived we spent a few minutes wandering around, in and out of souvenir shops. Tickets for elevators to the observation deck run 820 yen. This conflicts with my new monetary philosophy of monkish frugality, but in the end we couldn't resist. Actually, I think Maya payed for the observation deck tickets. But I bought dinner!!! : ) And what can I say- Tokyo at night from 150 meters up is pretty beautiful. And there was mellow atmospheric music drifting about the dimly lit spherical deck, so it felt like being lulled in Tokyo's arms. Very nice.

After Tokyo Tower, we walked until we found a Starbucks annexed to a large book shop, where we lodged ourselves for an hour or so in comfy armchairs with coffee and scones and a couple of English-language books about baroque painters that we had found on a shelf.
This fulfilled a need for soothing coffee-shop surroundings that I had been feeling acutely since the last evening, when I watched four episodes of "Friends" back to back with my friend Daniel "The Polish Typhoon" Kaluza.

All in all, Monday's was probably the single mellowest evening I've had yet in Japan!

And comment on my blog or I'll assume you've all died : (