London, Paris, maybe TOKYO! (Tokyo...definitely)

My favorite city in all of Asia was Hong Kong.  Don't get me wrong.  I like other Asian cities.  Shanghai is youthful.  Beijing is full of exploration.  Manila is an adventure.  But now it is very clear to me.  Tokyo is the definitely the place. Actually, I think it even beats Paris on my list of cool cities.

I arrived just before sundown.  As I got to my hostel, I was greeted by a bunch of backpacking hippies. My hostel room reeked so much like man-sweat, I immediately began to miss the Joyce's place in Sendai.  Maybe it was because I was so used to being around such people over the 3 weeks of my backpacking trip, I began to not want to see them anymore.  Spent a bit of time looking for other accommodations around Asakusa, but stumbled across some interesting attractions along the way. I got to see some nicer accommodations for about the same price, and a major temple.  I also came across an internet cafe which rented adult mags and vids, sold new underwear and had small, cramped booths with both a computer and aTV with a DVD player...aiaaahh perverts!).  It was also packed with people, which made it all the more weird. I just wanted to check my email.  I washed my hands so many times after touching the keyboard, you'd think I was a germophobe.  Well, I guess in those few minutes, I guess I would count as one.

Dinner was small and inexpensive.  Many places were closing down as I continued across the Asakusa region.  It also started to drizzle snow, so I stepped into a "shot bar," where there was all you can drink for dirt cheap.  An interesting experience happened. 

I saw a bunch of these kinds of places around, but it didn't really click into my head that these places were for heavyweight whiskey connoisseurs.  As I sat down at a bar stool, I realized that this place had a capacity for max 8 people.  There was another guy there just drinking in silence.  I decided to follow suit, although once the bartender found out I was a gaijin, him and I had a long conversation about Vancouver, what I do in China, the various budo I have studied, different kinds of drinks and how much I missed my girl.

I swear the place had about 100 or more types of whiskeys, sakes, and various other kinds of hard liquor.  I mostly tried my favorite: single malt scotch whiskys.  The one that stood out above all was the Islay single malt Lagavulin.  It actually tasted like burning.

I also tried various sakes, which I didn't particularly enjoy.  Most of them reminded me of baijiu back in Wuhan.  I could stand it, so I delved into some American whiskeys that I would probably never try ever again. Okay fine, I'd drink Maker's Mark again because it was delicious.

The cool night air kept me focused and awake.  As I walked back to my stinky hostel, where it still took me quite a while to fall asleep despite all the drinks I had, I ran into Ultraman near the BanDai commercial building. Strange way to end my first night in Tokyo, but whatever.  More fun was to come!!