Trevor and I have had a busy couple of days in Tokyo – Saturday we did Asakusa, Ueno Park, Akihabara, and Shibuya and finished up at the brown beer fest in Meguro. Sunday we wandered around Shinjuku, Harajuku, Omote-sando, and Yoyogi park and finished up having kieten-sushi at a nice place in Roppongi.
Picture on flickr…
Saturday.
Sunday.

I am back, and this time I brought little brother Trevor with me. No problems so far, customs was a snap, and I even was able to navigate my way to Teman’s place from the airport without his intervention.
At Teman’s suggestion we got in on their N’EX/Suica sale where you get a discounted train ticket from the airport and a Suica card loaded with 1500 yen of credit for traveling the subways – what a great deal and very easy to use.
Had dinner at Teman’s then went to his favorite local bar where they had a DJ playing a great mix of jazz/electronica/dub/funk stuff – impressive given that the bar is literally a single bar that seats maybe 10 people tops.
No pictures yet, just unpacked my camera. I’ll post stuff to flickr as we go just like last time.

I awoke this morning to find a picture my friend Teman had sent me, one of him and along with a poor individual stuffed inside a life sized Tarako Kewpie mascot outfit, and knew today was the day….

After squishing out the cod roe goop I have to say I was pretty turned off – this coming from someone who has tried natto (and found they like it). It wasn’t as strong as I thought it was going to be though, reminded me somewhat of tuna noodle casserole or something. Except with seaweed. And bits of cod roe. Too bad I don’t actually care for tuna casserole.

A couple of weeks back I stumbled across what I found to be the most mesmerizing series of japanese commercials…
TV In Japan page
YouTube Commercial 1
YouTube Commercial 2
Kewpie Homepage
I found myself powerless to resist Kewpie’s amazing marketing skills – so great are they I ended up picking up a package even though cognitively I know that cod roe spaghetti is highly unlikely to be favorable to my american palate.

Since then the package has sat on my counter, mocking my consumeristic weakness. I’m currently firming up my resolve to try it this week and see how it turns out…

Last day. I sleep in after staying out a bit too late the night before and work my way out to the airport by working my way to Shinjuku and hopping on the Narita Express. Everything take a bit longer than I expect, especially once I get to the airport so I get to my gate about 5 minutes before boarding starts.
A uneventful flight back, a quick taxi ride, and I’m home sweet home – and completely jet lagged.