Getting in the Raivu Hausu

When The Kap’n was here visiting, we pushed it pretty hard. I mean, this city is so dense that by the end of my three month trip I’ll have barely covered the shops, bars, restaurants, cafes, museums, parks, etc., that reside within a five block radius of my apartment. So to try to squeeze in a comprehensive set of experiences in just a week is impossible, but we tried anyway. Combining that with pulling a few all-nighters for work, and a few all-nighters in the local bars, left me with a nagging cold that has persisted since he left. This hasn’t really slowed down the adventures (or stopped me from hanging out in bars), but it has caused me to sleep a lot more.

Aside from sleeping more, there are a few other noteworthy developments that have taken place over the last several days. First, we got a new roommate. She’s an Australian girl that is here for a month as a consultant for a new waxing salon. Going forward, if she comes up, we’ll call her ‘Sheila’ (since I don’t typically use real names - I don’t know why… I just don’t). Sheila is replacing our former roommate - a Taiwanese girl, studying graphic design here in Tokyo. We’ll call her ‘Queenie’, if she comes up (but she probably won’t, since she moved out).

Secondly, I noticed some advancement in my rock climbing skills. Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about this activity. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s pretty good exercise. Unfortunately, it seems to mostly work the muscles in the hands and forearms, which makes playing guitar very difficult.

Thirdly, we discovered a new favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant. When I worked at LMB, they catered our lunch everyday. On days which we had Chinese food, it was so bad - imho - that it literally ruined Chinese for me forever. I simply couldn’t imagine eating it anymore - good or otherwise. In Tokyo, it’s the opposite, but the same problematic outcome. The Chinese food is so good that it has ruined Chinese food for me forever. I can’t describe it. It’s the same familiar dishes, but with flavor and texture so extraordinary, that to this point I never believed something so delicious was even possible. Of course, extraordinarily delicious food is the standard here. Interestingly, it seems that some restaurants have an elegant theme, and some have a casual theme, but this doesn’t affect the price or quality. Quality is always as good as possible. Price is always pretty normal for a casual restaurant in LA - $12 - $18/plate. Mind you, there’s no tipping in Japan. So, it really evens out, even in cases where the price is a little higher than the US.

Lastly, we found a favorite (tied for like top five favorite) neighborhood bar. It’s called Daze, and I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re ever in the Harajuku area of Tokyo. Although seriously, good luck finding it. Everything in this area is obscure. It’s just a vast, endless, network of tiny, one lane streets, that combine every kind of shop and residence, like the organized chaos of a Zen garden. I even know of a custom clothing shop that is upstairs from a small bar, and can only be accessed by entering that bar and going up the stairs in the back. However, that bar can only be entered by first entering another bar and passing through to the hidden entrance in back. That street facing bar, is on the corner of two tiny, one lane streets/alley ways, and all together there are no signs for any of these businesses. For that matter, these streets - like most streets in Japan - don’t have names.

Let me add that I usually don’t enjoy going out to bars very much. Here it is quite different, though. The bars are very small, usually only accommodating between six (small bar) and fifteen (large bar) people. And, I mean - that’s it! It’s like hanging out in a big closet with a bar in it. The benefit is that everyone in the establishment tends to socialize. Everybody ‘cheers’ together, and engages in one large group conversation, etc. The only downside is that there are no smoking bans in place here (except outside, for some reason), and everybody in Japan smokes.

Anyway, I digress. We found this place called Daze, which is tucked away on the third floor of a building that sits on a small alley between two parallel allies. It holds about 12 people comfortably, and has an upscale vibe to it. As is often the case, the bartender is also the owner. But, he’s also a part time sound/recording engineer. He supports many bands in “live houses” (what they call live music venues) around Tokyo. After mentioning that I play and teach guitar, he asked (maybe in a somewhat challenging way) if I’d like to play a guitar that they already have set up with the house PA system. Being just drunk enough, I accepted. He seemed to like my playing, and on a subsequent visit, has offered to get me gigs here the next time I visit (as long as I play his place first). Sweet! That is exactly the kind of connection I was hoping to find.

Those are the adventures for today! Peace, yo!