Rockin’ Room with a Space-Age View

We came to Japan with one major goal in mind, to experience the awesomeness, the craziness, the cuteness, the unexpectedness, the weirdness and the wonderfulness of the Japanese people. In other words, the Japaneseness.

When we told friends that we would be spending half of our time in the country just in Tokyo, they seemed a bit surprised by our decision. Why so focused on the capital? Why? Because Tokyo is prime hunting ground for everything that makes Japan so Japanese. We want skyscrapers decorated in giant video screens, anime madness, hustle and bustle, Harajuku girls, streets aflow with humanity, and food, food, food. First reaction to Tokyo… fabulous shock! It’s overwhelming in the most positive sense of the word.

Our first wow moment in Japan came on day one when we arrived at our rental apartment in Nishi Shinjuku, opened the curtains, stepped out onto our balcony, and discovered the view of a lifetime. Simply amazing! Our second Japan shock – in the most literal sense of the word – was our first Tokyo earthquake. Good news: our 13th-floor apartment seems to be on some kind of shock-absorbers because the building bounced and bobbed with the quake quite nicely. That’s a relief because, as of writing this, we’ve already had three… make that four quakes. Welcome to Japan!