My vacation elsewhere
I vacationed in Tokyo and walked a lot (at least a third of it underground, changing trains) and ate some very tasty noodles, some pretty tasty noodles, noodles that were not that great, and some excellent sushi from a grocery store -- not a food hall in a fabulous department store but a grocery store a mile from my hotel.
I walked into a pet store and saw breeds of cats that I've only otherwise seen in magazines, all of them in kitten form. Some of them were asleep but a few were paying attention. The Bengal was one of the especially lively ktitens and that little asshole was ripping his little cardboard cat hut slowly apart. He would claw it and bite it and rip off a piece and play the hell with it until it was played out. Then I got his eye. What a charming little fucker and we played hide and seek. I told the young woman who worked there that I was seeing most of these breeds in person for the first time and the only one I was missing was a Singapura. "He's over here." What a sweetheart! He was playing with my finger, claws extended, biting me, but not breaking skin. He was a delight and I wanted to take him home and love him forever but I wisely thought better of it and fled -- but first did Face Time with my sister so she could see all the breeds, especially that little effer Bengal and the Singapura.
I went to temples and stores and even went on two hotel tours and a daytrip to a Unesco World Heritage site and then Kegon Falls and a lake where the rich go to escape the Tokyo heat. That is it! I was going to Osaka but decided I was not done with Tokyo. Good thing -- a massive typhoon hit Osaka and the bridge to the airport was half destroyed by a tanker that came loose from its mooring and slammed into two of the car lanes, pushing them onto the railroad tracks.
My favorite thing was the owl café. Cities in Japan all have cafés that feature animals. You pay money and you might get tea while you interact with cats. I chatted with a fellow on the return flight and he and his sisters had gone to various cafes featuring cats, hedgehogs, rabbits, and pugs. He'd gone to an owl cafe but it only let you look at the owls and take pictures. I went to Akiba Fukurou and it lets you interact with two owls which means they sit on your hand. In the case of the smaller owls, they might walk up to your shoulder, or, oh, look, a higher point, and the top of your head would be its perch. This much I know: If a bird poops on you, it washes out.
Akiba Fukurou is in Akihabara and you have to make a reservation, get their confirmation email and then confirm back that you're coming which is when they send the instructions on how to get there. They have pictures and descriptions. You pay JPY2000 cash and enter. You're immediately surrounded by owls -- solitary on high or lined up with others of their size on perches or the bigger ones living on tree stumps to accommodate their big feet. It doesn't smell and should an owl drop a load, they clean it up immediately. The employees clearly care for the owls and want the experience to be good for the humans and the owls both. Only ten people can come in at a time so it's not overrun and they very tightly control how people act. You can only touch the owl lightly with one finger on the forehead. When you leave, you are given a laminated picture of yourself with your interactions.
Enough of the blibbety blab, here are pix:
Next week? More pictures of people taking pictures of people. And that thing about not being done with Tokyo? I am wondering if anyone can be done with Tokyo.
I walked into a pet store and saw breeds of cats that I've only otherwise seen in magazines, all of them in kitten form. Some of them were asleep but a few were paying attention. The Bengal was one of the especially lively ktitens and that little asshole was ripping his little cardboard cat hut slowly apart. He would claw it and bite it and rip off a piece and play the hell with it until it was played out. Then I got his eye. What a charming little fucker and we played hide and seek. I told the young woman who worked there that I was seeing most of these breeds in person for the first time and the only one I was missing was a Singapura. "He's over here." What a sweetheart! He was playing with my finger, claws extended, biting me, but not breaking skin. He was a delight and I wanted to take him home and love him forever but I wisely thought better of it and fled -- but first did Face Time with my sister so she could see all the breeds, especially that little effer Bengal and the Singapura.
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| Meet the Singapura, a kitten who would weigh 3 kilos tops |
My favorite thing was the owl café. Cities in Japan all have cafés that feature animals. You pay money and you might get tea while you interact with cats. I chatted with a fellow on the return flight and he and his sisters had gone to various cafes featuring cats, hedgehogs, rabbits, and pugs. He'd gone to an owl cafe but it only let you look at the owls and take pictures. I went to Akiba Fukurou and it lets you interact with two owls which means they sit on your hand. In the case of the smaller owls, they might walk up to your shoulder, or, oh, look, a higher point, and the top of your head would be its perch. This much I know: If a bird poops on you, it washes out.
Akiba Fukurou is in Akihabara and you have to make a reservation, get their confirmation email and then confirm back that you're coming which is when they send the instructions on how to get there. They have pictures and descriptions. You pay JPY2000 cash and enter. You're immediately surrounded by owls -- solitary on high or lined up with others of their size on perches or the bigger ones living on tree stumps to accommodate their big feet. It doesn't smell and should an owl drop a load, they clean it up immediately. The employees clearly care for the owls and want the experience to be good for the humans and the owls both. Only ten people can come in at a time so it's not overrun and they very tightly control how people act. You can only touch the owl lightly with one finger on the forehead. When you leave, you are given a laminated picture of yourself with your interactions.
Enough of the blibbety blab, here are pix:
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| Last Samurai, my first interaction |
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| At the top on the perch is Mr. President plus taking pictures of people taking pictures |
Next week? More pictures of people taking pictures of people. And that thing about not being done with Tokyo? I am wondering if anyone can be done with Tokyo.
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