Tokyo

Tokyo is an amazing city. It almost rivals Istanbul as one of my all-time favorite urban spaces. Like all major cities, Tokyo has numerous distinct sections of town that each have their own flare.

There is the posh Shinjuku area:*Fancy department stores with multi-level gourmet eating halls in the basements (These eateries are the most gorgeous spaces, with rows and rows of impeccably plated and delicious looking foods ranging from dumplings, to sea grass, to french pastries.
*Really expensive boutiques that sell $6,000 puppies (Apparently, celebrities like Paris Hilton travel here to get their toy poodles).
*Apparently the metro station was named after a dog, who followed his master to work everyday and waited for him at the station...one day his master died, and the dog continued to wait for him. The people of Tokyo cared for the dog, bringing him food etc, and the station was named in his honor.
Shibuya:
*Similar to Time Square...it is the big "meeting place" and has all the giant electronic billboards

Harajuku:
*This is a super hip part of town, where the famous Harajuku girls come from (the high fashion, beautiful Japanese girls that Gwen Stefani was obsessed with a few years back).
*The main streets are bustling, but the real jewel of this area is its winding side streets that have the charm of small town village, but are brimming with high fashion boutiques and great cafes.
*Near Harajuku there is the Meiji Shinto Shrine in a large park (kind of like central park). This shrine was built in 1920 in honor of the Emperor Meiji and his wife. Jennie and I saw a traditional Japanese wedding take place here yesterday. Beautiful!

Roppongi:
*Hip part of town with a huge clubbing culture. We went out here last night to an American Bar called Geranimo's (famous for it's 15 shot challenge).

Shinagawa:
*This is the area that Jennie and I are staying in with our host David Wright.
*A big convention center type area