This was a pretty great weekend. I aimlessly went in to Tokyo assuming something would be going on and I could meet some friends, and, sure enough, Ian called around 10 Friday night and asked what I was up to. We met under the Spider at Roppongi Hills and, after 5mins at a Chinese restaurant, left for Shibuya with Mayumi, Kaziya, Kota, Shun, Nao, and Sarah. Mayumi is Ian's girlfriend, Sarah was a Parisian girl in Japan to learn Japanese, and all were unknown to me. But we took the train to Ebisu and roamed around getting to know each other before going to Womb.
I'm never surprised anymore at how nice Japanese people are in general. After a couple conbini (convenience store) beers and a short walk to hachiko, we were all getting along swimmingly, talking about girls, hip-hop, and everything in between in the sort of hybrid Japanese/English that seems to come out in these mixed groups. Nao and Kota had been to Madlib the week before in Tokyo, and I tried not to let my jealousy destroy the conversation. But we shuffled in to Womb by about 1AM and had a great time listening to the Minimal/Techno/House mix that echoed throughout the club, featuring Swedish House-duo, Minilogue. It was a better mix that last time at Womb with Jon, Michelle, Rosie and Dave.
Kota and I were taking turns on the dance floor and the more laid-back bar area, because, frankly, there's only so much House you can take at a time. Around 5:30AM it seemed like time to leave the club and we stepped out to daybreak in Shibuya. Sarah was, by this point, wearing the distinctive smile of an inebriated person, but still agreed with Kota that we should continue the party at Tsukiji Fish Market, some 20mins away by train. Ian and Mayumi left to "eat some Ramen," but I continued on with my newfound tomodachi and hopped on the subway. All of us were trying to keep our eyes open (and Sarah was failing), but we were determined to get that morning sushi breakfast for which Tsukiji is famous.
I had never been to Tsukiji before. It's literally 4 minutes from the stop at which I usually stay in Tokyo (Shimbashi), but I've always been somewhat crippled by the fact that all the activity in Tsukiji occurs at some unfamiliar time of day called "morning." This time, I had conquered my failure to wake up early by staying up late. So I got to see the organized chaos or weaving forklifts, beeping trucks in reverse, and pleasantly baffled gaijin. And, even better, I was really hungry after an energy-draining night and morning. Avoiding the most touristy place, we peaked down a pathway and had some really good kaisendon (a sashimi and rice bowl) and misoshiru (miso soup). They were still hungry so they got some ramen.
Finally, it was time to go home. We said kyoutsukete (literally "be careful," but more like "goodbye") and went our separate ways. I slept at around 9AM but what a night.