Reunion a long time in the making

Back in high school, I knew a fair amount of people. With a graduating class of 700+ (!!), there were a lot of people to know. I feel I was pretty lucky in that I was able to float between groups without too much trouble. I was friends with people in athletics, band/orchestra, art, theatre (I was in there), and others.

It meant I knew people, but I wasn’t close with a ton of people. Thanks to facebook though, regardless of my prior relationship with someone, I’ve been able to keep in touch with many. One of those people is Jim.

Spotted a Lamborghini in Omotesando.

He was recently here in Japan as part of his trip around the world with his dad. First stop was Japan, then South Korea, India, and finally England before heading back to Texas. So, on Wednesday, March 23, we met up in Shinjuku after about 13 years of seeing each other.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of us together. >_<

First cherry blossom tree I saw this year. Near Tsukiji.

First stop was Shibuya to see Hachiko, Starbucks to admire the masses crossing in front of Shibuya Station, then we headed out for a nice walk to Omotesando.

Speaking of, the weather was FANTASTIC while Jim was in town. He really should visit more often.

Approaching Tokyo Tower.

From Omotesando we headed out to Tsukiji, a first for me, to eat some sushi, and hopefully fugu. But our search for fugu ended with no results, but we ate some good food, and I introduced him to basashi, or horse meat. Yes, Mr. Ed.

A horse is a horse
of course of course
And no one can eat a horse
Of course
That is, of course,
Unless the horse
Is served here in Japan.

View from Tokyo Tower, 250 meters up.

We then trekked over to see Tokyo Tower, another first for me. I’d seen it from afar, but never actually gone in it, let alone seen it up close. And that’s what we did. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy, but we got there at dusk, so we were able to see the city lit up at night from a high elevation. Definitely a nice sight.

Tokyo at night.

The only thing during our visit that disappointed me was that before we met up, he hadn’t eaten any Japanese food! McDonald’s, Subway, food at the hotel. I understand there’s a language barrier, and it can be a harrowing experience ordering food in a place where you don’t speak the language. But–and maybe this is just me–I find a big part of the fun when traveling somewhere new is eating the local food.

But other than that one small personal gripe, it was a fantastic time, and I’m so happy I took a day off of work to meet up.

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