FirstView

So, even though Bill (my advisor), John, and I were all three flying to Tokyo from the New York area at around the same time, for some reason we took three different planes, but by chance, Herve was in my plane. I sat next to a japanese couple, and so I started right away to practice my japanese.
 
Ok, so I arrived in Tokyo on Monday... er no, wait, Tuesday the 21st after a very nice flight. Herve was very helpful since he is fluent in Japanese. I probably would have gotten lost 5 times on my way to the hotel without him. So we took the Narita Express to Shinjuku, then he abandonned me, and I continued alone like a big boy to Shibuya.

So, Shibuya. Those of you who have been there know, but for the others, I'll try to describe the place. Imagine Times Square times 5, a bunch of giant moving screens all over the place, a bit like the opening scene of Blade Runner, but way more intense. And then you stand there, in the middle of a big crowd waiting in front of a huge... no, a HUGE intersection. Suddently, all cars stop moving and people start invading the place. LOTS of people. Walking all over the place. Then the roads empty, cars starts moving, crowds are waiting, and then again they come. Amazing, simply amazing! That was my first image of Tokyo, and I am still amazed every time I see it.

Anyway, I am not going to continue describing my stay minute by minute, although I could, but I am not sure that would keep you awake. So I spent about a week in Tokyo, mainly in Shibuya, attending the conference which was great. The hospitality of people here was incredible, everything was extremely well organized, and people kept on taking us to great restaurants, and we had to fight to not let them pay for us. People in general are really nice over here. If I stay for more than a minute looking at a map or at some strange sign in Kanji, every time someone stops to offer some help. And people have the greatest shoes here!

After the conference, I spent Sunday walking around with Bill, then the evening with Herve, and Monday, I met Jane, Gary's sister, and we saw more of the city. I spent last night working in some manga-cybercafe. Time to leave Tokyo now.

Oh yes, almost forgot, I also spend one night in a capsule hotel. Interesting experience!