Shinjuku

Since Steve went to his conference I had to wander around alone today. Being kind of tired, I just walked around the Shinjuku neighborhood. First for lunch I went to the Isetan food court. I assumed this would be like American mall food courts only with better food. Instead an entire floor is taken up by individual booths selling some really tasty looking stuff. Clare told me yesterday that eating while walking is considered a no-no unless you want to be seen as a glutton, so I carefully looked for tables at which I could eat my treats. None! Unbelievable! I was quite hungry by this time. I asked the information desk for a place to eat, but since they didn't speak English I tried to mimic eating and sitting at the same time, though this is difficult to do without making it look like you are sitting on a toilet. She led me to some seats where absolutely no one was eating. In desperation I followed a couple hoping that they would lead me to the eating area, but they just kept stopping to buy more stuff. After getting way too much food because at this point I was afraid I would starve in a food market, I walked all the way back to the hotel to eat. So I think part of the reason I am so tired is because I feel like I am in an endless game of charades here. If I win, I get to eat right away, if I lose, I have to wait another hour.

After my 3:00 lunch, I went to the Metropolitan Government building which happens to be directly accross from our hotel. Steve's coworker calls this building awesome. It has nice views of the city. The city is gigantic.

At night I met up with Steve to go to a Yomiyuri Giants and Orix Buffaloes baseball game. The bleacher section is really good at organized cheering. They sing the player introduction songs long after the PA system stops playing it. And it seems like each player has his own personalized cheer. The game ended in the 12th inning in a tie. Yes, I know...