Tokyu Hands ( Tokyo II )

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It's a small world even in Japan with its 137 million inhabitants.. I met Miho, a friend of Diana, on the plane coming from Nagasaki. She's doing an aroma therapy course (involves flying up to Tokyo once a month).

Friday afternoon I visited the Okura Museum of Arts. It's a private small museum run by the Okura Hotel chain where the exhibit Japanese heritage art like the as National Treasure registered "Samantabhadra on an Elephant" bronze plus scrolls, paintings, swords and Noh masks belonging to the Okura family. It's a beautiful building established in 1917 in Minato-ku right in front of the Okura hotel. This area of Roppongi 六本木一丁目 is very green, hilly and just a delight to live. Needless to say this is where a lot of the embassies are.

In the eighties and nineties the area just west of Shinjuku station used to a bit run down but now there is a huge shopping mall with 14 floors called Takeshimaya Times Square. On the floors 1 thru 7 there is this fabulous store called Tokyu Hands. Majella had already told me about it because it has everything you need or (not need but) want. From fancy-party dress to timber flooring. You can spend an afternoon there and still want to come back.

Had a drink at Advocates, a gay bar in Shinjuku nichome, where you can stand outside and watch the world go by. Talked to tons of people and it's reminiscent of "Happy Hour" in the April in Amsterdam. The have a "Beerblast" everyday from 6.00 pm till 9.00 pm. You pay ￥1000 and you can drink as much beer as like within these three hours. Loved it.
The photograph on the right is by courtesy of QTMagazine.com

In the evening I planned to have dinner with 'Opera man' Minoru for his birthday so we met at Shinjuku station. He is a 42 year old opera groupee who goes to the opera three to four times a week and hangs out at the hotels where the singers stay and collects autographs, photographs and anything else he can lay his hands on. He's quite annoying too. During dinner his life story came out (not a pretty one) and he basically lives in a virtual opera world. He's constantly mailing, texting and talking to his "opera friends" about where to meet the Divas etc.
There is this famous phrase in the movie 'Muriels Wedding' where Muriel says "If only life could be as good as an Abba song" or something like that. Well he wishes life could be as good as the Opera....but he should know that most operas end in death and despair.
Go out and get a life.......