30 Seconds: Shinjuku Station

Last night I went to Shinjuku ni-chome for dancing times! It was fantastic. Shinjuku ni-chome is the gayest place in the world. Seriously! It has the highest concentration of gay bars of anywhere in the world!

My life lately is work during the week and then food, drinks, and karaoke with friends on the weekends. It's been rather fun, but not really much to post about. Although speaking of karaoke, karaoke song suggestions would be welcome. Sometimes I sing something new, but sometimes I can't think of anything or can't find what I want, so I just end up singing the same things every time.

Anyway, in lieu of having anything interesting to talk about, I thought I'd start a new thing that maybe I will continue to do every once in a while in future. Enjoy 30 (okay, actually 40) seconds of random Japanness. Last Monday night, outside Shinjuku station. I think the guy in the chef's hat is amaaaaazing.

there could be worse themes to a vacation than crepes and bubble tea

I've had three days of vacation so far, and I've had a crepe and bubble tea on each one of them. Got a crepe and not-the-greatest bubble tea (it said it was tapioca, but it was more like jelly) at the conbini on Sunday on my way home from a party. Got a crepe and bubble tea in Ikebukuro on Monday. Got bubble tea and later got a crepe in Harajuku yesterday. Realized the trend while I was eating that crepe (totally amazing crepe, too, with lemon slices and lemon sherbet and honey and stuff). Will it continue?

Anyway, yesterday! Since the fireworks festival was postponed, ended up spending the day in Harajuku, Nakano and Shinjuku. Bought another yukata and obi in Harajuku (the yukata has a grape pattern...maybe I can wear it to a winery back in Washington?) and was finally able to visit Forever 21 (with minimum waiting in a line to get into the store...seriously, it's been open since May and there is still a line to get in). Forever 21 was wonderfully not disappointing. H&M here is - it's the same quality as at home, but costs about 3 times as much - so I was worried Forever 21 would be too. But it's super cheap! And it's a giant store, so there's a ton of selection! I got 3 t-shirts and a headband for 1200 yen, yay.

After Harajuku, went to Nakano for more shopping and wandering around. After that, went to Shinjuku for Vietnamese. Pho! Mango pudding! Yum! After dinner, wandered around trying to walk off the food coma we were in.

Enjoy the lights of Shinjuku at night, Shinjuku Station South Entrance, the singer we momentarily listened to in Shinjuku and Takeshita Street in Harajuku during the day! I felt like such a tourist taking these pictures.