The Japanese Wake up call

So if the jet lag hadn't woken me up at 4am (thankfully I'd passed out around 9:30 and so managed to get some sleep), the Earthquake shaking the room for a solid minute and droning whine of the cicada's outside my window would have done the job admirably. I didn't know how much I missed the sound of the cicadas until I heard them, though I suspect I will be thoroughly sick of them by the end of the month.

Spent much of the day in a jet lagged haze. It's incredible what being off of your time zone does to your brain (pretty stars! Pretty, pretty stars!). Probably a good thing I'm not driving.

So if the earthquake weren't welcome enough, we had a typhoon today. It wasn't too bad, just rather... wet. Did you know rain can fall horizontally? And sting? I was reminded as such. Feels like being in a southern thunderstorm without all the fireworks.

So managed to meet up with my cousin and her friends after their abortive climb of Mt. Fuji (I wouldn't want to climb to the top in the middle of a Typhoon either). Her friends are just as insane as she is, and provided much amusement to both me and the ladies serving the mob of us in a random cafe in Ueno. Hearing about some of the "I don't speak English but let me try to communicate anyway" stories should probably get published some day. Somewhat mortifying and hilarious at the same time. Unfortunately it was their last day in Japan on the trip.

Killed some time wandering around Ikebukuro Stn. and then headed to Asakusa to meet up with Diana and her friend, Alex. The three of us reacquainted me with such mundane considerations as "food" (the only thing I'd eaten since the "lunch" meal on the plane was a bun of steam bread and some juice. Jet lag does mean things to my stomach) at a local McDonalds and we headed off for adventures in the city. Aside from getting lost in Ginza for a bit, we did karaoke in Akihabara for a while and that was freaking heaven. It's a little daunting to sing with two people who want to sing/voice act professionally, especially when my voice is shot from lack of sleep and time acclimation, but it was really fun. And they had painted the walls with UV paint so that it looked white until you shine a black light on it, which revealed some incredible artwork all around the room. Needless to say, they still kicked my butt.

Was asleep on my feet so headed back after dinner (Miami Pasta. A really nice pasta place with cakes to die for) and stopped by the mini supermarket next to the station for cheese and sausages. Unfortunately I think it is more of the import store variety as they didn't have such staples as fruit, veggies, and cereal, so I suspect I'll go wandering on an epic quest tomorrow in search of my apples and frosted flakes. Apparently I have a meal date with Johnny and the rest of the guys out at Pioneer Japan.

Plan for tomorrow: Gaijin Card apps, re-entry permit, and insurance.