Crowds of Shibuya

Crowds of Shibuya
Originally uploaded by erickpineda527.

This coincidentally puts us at our next stop, Shibuya, home of every teenagers' wildest entertainment wet dream. Kids seem to come here immediately after school and hang out til closing time. Here the neon lights are more and brighter. Pachinko Slots, retail shops with the latest fashions, gacha vendors, restaurants and bars line the streets. Kids are everywhere. We met a woman today who had some interesting information about the district. Many of the teenagers come here to chill out, but unfortunately, since they are underage they have no money. Shopkeepers and vendors lose money because of it and rent here is very high so there has been a recent move to cater more to the older set (20-30 year olds). Still it's fun to watch the sea of people move around.

As a driver in any district, especially this one, it can be intimidating. The sheer number of people crossing a crosswalk during a light change can be overwhelming. As I driver I would think I may accidentally bump someone walking and get a mob motivated enough to yank me out of my car and beat me to a pulp. Nobody here jaywalks since the drivers are also pretty reckless in speed and turns as well. Even more reckless are the bicyclists. in the US cyclists would use the road and follow traffic. Here they use the crowded sidewalk. There's been a few times where El and I were almost clipped by someone weaving their way through. If you don't pay attention you may end up with someone in your arms.

After this day it was all we could handle and decided to head back to the comforts of our western style hotel. A four-star hotel here is relatively simple compared to back home. The most outstanding feature is the bidet. Of course, even that has to be engineered to be the most technologically advanced. But, even still the rooms are comfortable and the staff fast, efficient and courteous. It would make the most luxurious hotels in America shamed in the fact that the Japanese don't work for gratuity. They work hard because it's the right thing to do. The more and more I type I realize how much of our culture could learn from the Japanese.

Everything it seems at home is driven by money. Make as much doing as little as possible as you can seems to be the modus operandi. Here they truly believe in the team effort. Even the "lowliest" job is taken with pride and diligence. It's also very rare to be "fired" from a job. I learned talking to people that Japanese tend to stay with a job for longer periods of time. The "back pat" only comes when someone is nearing retirement.

**NEWSFLASH**

Around 2:30am this morning El and I were awakened by something I haven't experienced since I left the Philippines - earthquake! El freaked out a little, but I assured it would only last a moment (about 30 seconds). The only difference in my past experiences was that I was on the ground, not on the 29th floor of a high-rise hotel in the middle of downtown Tokyo. El later told me the building was actually "earthquake-proof".

Pop Trivia time! Japan experiences about 100 (or is 1000?) earthquakes a year. Most aren't felt by anyone except by measuring equipment. Something about this part of the world I guess.

Later, we received news about another typhoon making landfall in Japan by Saturday. Gre-e-a-a-t! Back to bed...