Shimokitazawa's most お洒落

Today was the best!!

As you can tell by the title, today was Shimokitazawa! It was nice to go here after the 'Ginza experience', because nearly everyone wanted to have their picture taken! We got 3 'no's'. 2 of which were people who laughed while saying it, and expressed interest in the website while 1 of the guys was straight-up rude. I guess there's a bad apple in every bunch though, right?

We didn't let the bad apple ruin the experience though, we THOROUGHLY enjoyed going there.

Please don't forget to vote for Ginza as well (voting ends on 10/10/09).

So, my adventure started off with...

#1 - These guys were crazy! When we got to Shimokitazawa, the guy in the middle was fighting with the guy on the right! Yes fighting! It was crazy! The guy in the middle was giving it his all too. He was head-butting the other guy, punching, kicking, and tackling. This is the first time I've seen a fight in Japan. 5 mins. later though they made up, and are now friends!!!! I don't want to make my friends this way, but to each his own.



#2 - With her bright smile, and yellow skirt, we could not ignore this girl.




#3 - These two girls seem to have mastered the conservative look. I think that they are proof that you can be attractive without exposing yourself. The girl on the left had a very nice braid that she wrapped around the back of her head.




#4- Electric pink, and blue, with high-top all black Chucks. I liked both of their outfits. I like the guy's boots too.




#5 - Again with the blue stockings. I Really liked her get-up, and she was super-cute! Click on the picture. One of her eyes is blue, and the other is brown.




#6 - Wow! There is a lot going on here. I think he pulled it off though.




#7 - This guy looked like he was from California, or somewhere on the West Coast. I think he's a skater. He had really nice hair too.




#8 - I wanted to get at least one person who had a somewhat "simple" look. Here they are.




#9 - This guy is... WOW! Look at those shoes! He's the epitome of cool, and he stays healthy by drinking his Aojiru everyday (just like me!).




#10 - Two more. I think that the one on the right may have possibly made the jacket that she's wearing. If you look closely, the emblem that is on the jacket is an Adidas emblem. She looks like a pilot. The girl on the left, looks like she has come from the future. I really liked both of their outfits.




I would like to say 'thank you' to all of the people who allowed me to take their pictures this week. I appreciate it very much. Please vote for Shimokitazawa, and Ginza. Voting for Shimokitazawa will end on the 20th of October. Thank you.

Harajuku's most お洒落 contest.

I've been talking about doing this for a REALLY long time. Well I've finally did it.

I've went out with a friend, and we searched for the most fashionable person in Harajuku. It was SO much fun. I basically walked up to people, and asked them if I could take their picture. There were a couple of people who said no, but for the most part, everyone was glad to do it.

So, my plan is to go to different areas of Tokyo and get an idea of how people dress there. I think that it would be useful for people who want to keep track of trends here in Japan.

What will happen is that I will take as many pictures as I can of people in each area, and each week people will vote on who they think is the best dressed person out of the pictures I've taken. I will keep the photo of the person who wins, and months from now I will do Tokyo's most お洒落 (fashionable), and the winners from all of the different areas of Tokyo will be entered.

Understand?

I may do some areas twice (I actually plan on doing Harajuku again), and I reserve the right to throw in at least one person's photo into the finals.

This is not a beauty contest. If you're going to vote, please do so based on the person's overall appearance. Please do not vote for someone, because you like their lips.

I forgot to get the names of all of the people (...), so I will number each photo, and if you want to vote, simply post a comment with the number of the person that you like the most.

So, here they are:

#1. - This person insisted that her dog be in the photo with her.



#2. - A duet. I actually helped the girl on the left with a homework assignment after I took her picture.


#3. - I've seen a LOT of people where neon colored clothing here, so I had to take his picture. I will try to get more later.



#4. - I love this guy's shirt.



#5. - Believe it, or not, but I think this is #4's girlfriend. They're both awesome.



#6. - This guy was so incredibly well put together. He's not a tiger, he's a snake (like my brother).



#7. - My friend, and I were drawn in by this guy's shirt, and pink shoes.



#8. - And last, but most certainly not least we decided to take the picture of someone who wasn't as flashy as our others subjects.



Please vote! If your picture is up here, feel free to vote for yourself, or someone else. Also please comment! Tell us what you think. If you'd like to see me shoot a different style than say so. If you want to suggest a place to shoot, let me know. I'm open to all suggestions. Voting for this will end on the 20th of September. If you post a vote after the 20th, it will not count, but feel free to do so anyways. Thanks.

お部屋探し

Hello,

So...

Yesterday, I went to Tokyo to look for an apartment, and I saw a side of Japan that I did not want to see.

There was an apartment in Ikebukuro that was absolutely perfect. It was 40,000 yen, and it had a tub, a toilet, and a closet (the tub being the main reason I wanted it). It had a balcony to! It wasn't huge, but again, it had a tub! The ad said that it was available, only for male students, so I went to the real estate agency's office with Touchan (my guarantor) to schedule a seeing.

Earlier I saw two apartments, and apparently if you want to see an apartment in Japan, they take you over to the place immediately. No checking planners, or scheduling of any kind.

So we go there, and the guy was very kind, he showed us a bunch of places that they currently had listed, but the one with the tub (ha) is the one that I liked the most, so he called the landlord, and told him that a gaikokujin (foreigner) was interested in the unit... THEY WOULDN'T show it to us! CRAZY!

I was blown.

So I asked to see one of the other units they had listed (one without a tub which, if you haven't realized by now, is quite common). Again, he calls the owner, and the owner will not rent to foreigners. We did this three times, before we actually found a place to look at.

The place was EXTREMELY small. It was literally the size of the hallway in my house. It had a shower, and a toilet, but they were right next to each other, and I'd have to sit on the toilet while taking a shower (I will try to post pictures soon).

I was really taken back by that. Touchan said that it's mostly because there are a lot of people who come from nearby countries that will rent a place, trash it, and leave, and the owner won't be able to do anything about it as the tenant is not Japanese. Being a landlord myself, I can understand the trouble, but I can't understand the generalization that ALL people from ANY country are prone to do such things. I wouldn't have been insulted if they asked me to meet with the landlord, and talk with him for a little while. That would've been nice.

I did find a place though, or rather I told someone that I was interested in there place, and I will most likely hear from them tomorrow, as to whether or not I can rent the room.

I guess it was a pretty bad way to start things out in Tokyo, but I'm still VERY excited about living there. Nothing is perfect, right?

Long time no see...

I think that the title may bit a bit unappropriate seeing as how no one has been keeping up with my blog so far. I'm finally selling things on ebay, so check out my things here. I'm selling various things. All of which are being sold, so that I can make the transition from Toledo OH, to Tokyo, Tokyo a bit smoother.

Two items that I'll be selling that I think are of particular interest are the miracle tomato, and the celestite. Both of which are being sold to help pay for school expenses, and whatnot.

So, I guess I'll have to update more often. As I state in my auctions, I will be telling when I ship things out from this website, but it's usually the next day, if not the same day that I receive a payment. Thanks for coming!