From the Big Apple to the Big Mikan

In the final scene of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Toula's dad makes a speech:

"You know, 'Portakalos' - my family name - means "orange" and 'Miller' [Ian's last name] comes from the Greek word for 'milo' which is 'apple.' So, we are apples and oranges, but at the end, we are all fruit."

Same thing goes for Tokyo and NYC. NYC is the Big Apple. Tokyo is the Big Mikan (a Japanese orange). Different countries, but BIG cities. To be quite honest, when people ask me about my opinion on Tokyo, I say the same thing, "I guess it's sorta like NYC - but it's NYC on LSD." My opinion drawn from the endless photos of neon-lit streets and seeing "Lost in Translation." I do very well with crowds and hustle and bustle (heck, I have been on crowded subways since before I could even pronounce my first gurgle practically) but man, I think Tokyo just takes it to another level.

Or maybe not. I have been here for about 7 hours, and it is not that bad. I was a bit apprehensive at first, to be quite honest, but Tokyo is not that bad. On the other hand, I can only imagine what it would be like for someone who can`t speak the language - I at least have that advantage.

Right now I am at the Apple Store in Ginza (think 5th Avenue) and get THIS:

Apple Ginza is FOUR floors. It`s even cooler than BOTH the ones in Manhattan - SoHo is quite small and 5th Avenue is overrated and a bloody tourist attraction. I would take a picture right now with my cell phone, email it to myself and upload it to Blogger because I can do that but there is a security guard, so I kinda feel a bit wierd taking pictures with my cell phone. So, just as I leave, I will play silly little tourist and take photos of the cool elevators. I love this store. They have an INTERNET bar - two whole rows of Macs with FREE INTERNET. FREE INTERNET!!! Nuff said. I am here right now, waiting for my mom to come on AIM so that we can chat a bit. This saves me a trip to Shibuya, and about 2000yen in internet fees/food at that internet cafe that I was going to go to. Plus I am totally justified in chilling here - its not crowded, there is no line here and is IS a designated internet cafe. Apple rocks. I love Apple. Besides, I need to get my VGA Adapter for the Macbook so I can do powerpoint presentations. That`s why I was here originally.

But back to Tokyo. I really do not think it is that crazy as everyone purports it to be. Then again, maybe it`s because I am in Ginza where it`s just rich people - but I was in Harajuku earlier, and come on, it`s not that crazy in terms of the fashion. Maybe my senses are a bit dulled because I have seen some wierd stuff in Kyoto already, so it`s not like `OMG, I cannot beleive she is wearing that!` It`s more like, `Hmm...interesting...`

Then again, I haven`t been in Shibuya or Shinjuku yet. And because I came so late into Tokyo, I didn`t get the chance to ride the `Women Only` cars and thank god, no one has tried to grab my bum yet. Yet.

But I need to backtrack a bit. My trip was HELL of a mild sort. Mild because I had no problem sleeping - I brought my blindfold and my Miffy inflatable neck pillow, the sort that is sold at airports - so I wasn`t that uncomfortable. What happened was early in the morning ,we had stopped. I thought it was another rest stop - turned out to be a 4 hour rest stop. There was a traffic accident on the highway to Tokyo and traffic literally stopped to a halt. Like NYC-gridlock-worthy `shut-Midtown-down-because-the-president-is here` traffic. But much, much worse. There wasn`t even any creeping along. I started to midly panic - I had an appointment to get my eyebrows done at 11:30am and was worried that I wasn`t going to make it; I was also about check in at my (budget) hotel so I made some phone calls, sent some emails via my cell and voila, got the appointment postponed till 4pm, and the hotel knew that I was going to be late. Huff, puff, lug suitcase up and down stairs, get some blissfully welcome Starbucks coffee (tall regular in a Venti cup, Starbucks on the cheap!), try to figure out the Tokyo Subway system on the cheap, and finally get to Hotel New Koyo over in Ueno.

Budget hotel for sure. It`s spartan, but not like it really matters - I am just going to use that place to sleep and shower since there is no breakfast there. I`ll just get breakfast from combini. I even had a mega budget lunch - I needed something filling and fast before my appointment for the yebrows in Harajuku so I went into McDonald`s. Now those meal sets are an arm and a leg, and I really don`t like fries; so what I did was I ordered two small cheeseburgers and a small soda off the dollar menu. Total? 300yen.

In short, I really feel like I am back home. This city is highly navigable - I only needed to pull out my fat Lonely Planet Japan guidebook to just confirm my direction so that I really didn`t get lost and I didn`t lose my way getting to the salon - which was actually a bit complicated to get too. My eyebrowist was actually a Greek Australian so she was fun to talk to. If I come back to Tokyo and in need of a waxing, I will go back.

I know that if I lived here for the duration of my scholarship, I would be flatbroke - the cost of living IS expensive here, and I don`t think I would be able to save enough money. For one thing, I would definitely have to commute and the trains here are expensive - I am getting by with the one day 1000yen pass and avoinding the JR Yamanote Loop line as much as possible - or if I have to use it (like I did today to get to Harajuku) I just take the Metro subway to the station closten, so that whay I don`t have to pay so much for the JR Line, just the minimum 130yen.

However, it is a good place to visit. Highly recommend. Would LOVE to stay at the Park Hyatt like Charlotte in `Lost in Translation` but that sucker is $300 a night. Maybe one day. It`s raining here like in the movie, but I haven`t had a `Lost in Translation` moment yet. I think my perspective is different than from that of the average tourist - I don`t live in Tokyo, but I live in Japan. So it`s sorta wierd, and I feel sorta wierd, plopping my camera and taking photos, even though I am a tourist here. The sentiments are mixed, but being here did show me one thing - I miss the buzz of a big city. I miss that `go-go-go` sorta feeling, which can be exhausting but let me tell you, having that feeling again, pounding the city pavement, riding the subways, it felt exhilirating.

I miss the Big Apple. But the Big Mikan ain`t that bad, for the time being.