Drinking in Tokyo Report

I had fun over the weekend, heading into Tokyo to go drinking with some friends. We hit the "Lost in Translation" bar at the Park Hyatt to soak up the atmosphere of the city from a high altitude, then went down in the trenches for some serious pub crawling. Although there's no shortage of drinking districts in Tokyo, with Roppongi, Shibuya, and Ginza all offering their own particular charms, we decided to visit Shinjuku's east side and see what trouble we could get into. I don't know how New Yorkers cut loose on a Saturday night, but I was amazed to see the incredible number of people roaming around the streets with us in Shinjuku -- there had to have been 50,000 or more walking around us, letting off the steam that had accumulated over the week. I took my friends into the Kabuki-cho region of the city, just about the only place in Tokyo were you might not feel safe, and it was fun to check out the neon gaudiness then leave for someplace more pleasant. One of the great benefits of cities that use trains as much as Tokyo does is the ability for large numbers of people to get around without driving, especially good when so many are inebriated. I introduced my friends to my favorite Japanese drinks, the Lemon Sour and Grapefruit Sour, essentially shochu in a glass with soda water and a fresh lemon or grapefruit that you squeeze to get juice to flavor the drink. The next day I did some sightseeing around Tokyo with my friends, doing normal Tokyo things like taking pictures of Goth-Loli cosplayers at the traditional Meiji Shrine. It was fun, but I was reminded of another aspect of living in Tokyo: you have to walk everywhere, running up and down stairs and rushing to catch trains before they depart.

And here are some pictures of my trip to Tokyo:

This is Hachiko, the most famous dog in Japan. Like, ever.

At the California Bar in Tokyo. Nice place.

"For relaxing times, make it Suntory time."

A view of the lights. The building on the right is Tokyo City Hall. I wished I had had my Blade Runner soundtrack on my iPhone.

This is a Lemon Sour. I would so lover for these to become popular in the U.S.

Entertaining pretty Japanese girls near us.

Store my Ducks!

This is Meiji Shrine.

And these are the Gothic Lolitas we met there.