No, this isn't Paris. In early February Ami-chan and I got to visit the (in)famous Tokyo Tower. We had seen the Tower nearly every night walking from the Law School to the Alley of Awesomeness, and had been hoping to go for some time. On a whim, we decided to just go, as it wasn't that far from the school and neither of us felt it was the right night to be in a class. The towers was spiffy. The lower levels contained lots of various shops selling fun touristy stuff. Amusingly, they sold a lot of knock-off Suntory Boss stuff. Ami got me a cool lighter that looked like a Boss Coffee can, but sadly I wasn't able to bring it back with me to the states. Although the bottom levels were free, it cost some Yen to get up the Tower. Braving her fear of heights, Ami and I went up to the lower observation deck. From there we got a nice view of the Tokyo Skyline. I paid a little more money, and went up to the higher observation deck, after waiting in line for 20-30 minutes. That deck...not really as worth it. A fun time though! We went back to the Tower a few times while in Japan both for souvenirs and to go to the aquarium! YAY!
Mandy got herself an AWESOME Tokyo Tower T-shirt. Here we are at MOS Burger with a look of pure "Why are you taking my photo again J?" A quick word about MOS Burger. It's a damn yummy chain, if you're looking for fast food in Japan. Good prices, and perfect portions. Their "onion potato set" gives you the right amount of fries and a couple onion rings to go with their burgers. Mountain, Ocean, Sun....what's not to love? Also, another great fast food chain is Freshness Burger. They're another wonderful chain, with a bit of a laidback atmosphere. Their burgers are really good too, and they serve steak fries! I loved the Salsa Burger, the Teriyaki burger, and the Katsu burger. Oishikatta. 
They also had really good "ginger protector" drinks. There was a Freshness Burger and Mos across from each other in Monzen-Nakacho where Ami lived. For most of our time in Tokyo, we would go to Mos. We finally tried Freshness, and it was really good. We ended up spending many hours studying for finals there. On the topic of food, another great place to go, which we went to in the Alley of Awesomeness is Doma Doma. Similar to many other Izakaya, Doma Doma is almost like a Tapas place. Lots of small dishes (though a lot is put on those dishes) at very cheap prices. Also a great place to observe after-work Japanese people doing their thing.
Now, who wants some Engrish? I forget who had this shirt, but they were wearing it on valentine's day. Valentine's Day (St. Valentine's Day there) is done differently. The ladies give us guys gifts. Mind you, we have to give them an even bigger present on White Day. I personally appreciate the Korean Idea of Black Day. Hah!
Admit it. My ties ROCK. The purple ones, the cool black ones, and the ones with the fans I got in Japan. The 3 black ones (one with chains, one with a chain and spiders, and one with leather straps) I got at Richards in Harajuku. I've previously posted some stuff about Harajuku, but haven't really gone into it. Harajuku is a capitalist dream. It's a test market and admittedly it has some cool to it. It's way pricey, and very chaotic, with stores opening and closing all the time. It's crowded with a lot of young people dressed up looking to find the latest and coolest thing. On Takeshita Dori you'll find a lot of stores, and some yummy crepe places too. It's nice...but not necessarily my thing (especially on a student budget). I found my groove in Shimokitazawa! Again, another place that we didn't discover until late in our time in Japan. It's kinda like Tokyo's East Village. Very hip. Very laid back. Very cheap. Ami and I found the most awesome hookah place ("don't you worry about Pimps?"- fabian) in the world there, Shisha. The place was very chill. The owner's friends constantly were coming in and out to say hi, and have a quick puff. The guy knew how to mix his tobaccos, and liked to play his Nirvana. More than that, the price for a hookah was only 500 Yen! CHEAP! During finals time, the place was invaluable. We went there, relaxed and Ami found hydration in it.
Anyone up for some product placement? Hah! Another one of those awesome Dr. Pepper labels...right next to a boss coffee and my laptop. Clearly this was taken in mita hall.There was some traveling in Japan as well. I'll post some pictures in a re-released edition. In late January/Early February as mentioned, we went to Sapporo. During spring break Evan and Kendra visited us. We stayed in Tokyo wandering around a few days before we went to Kyoto. Sugoi time there. Stay tuned! As always, other things interfere, so I can't do a full posting. For now, let me leave you all with some random images.
GUNDAM POCKY! THE SARGE'S FAVORITE!
That's right ladies. F Cup Cookie! Eat these cookies and your boobs will grow!
And if that doesn't work...Miracle Boober!
Sums up the Japanese view nicely, doesn't it?
What? I'm having breakfast?
