Day 46 (January 3, 2013)- Colleen Conveniently Gets "Sick" And Brent Has To Forego The Red Light District. Coincidence? I Think Not!

Not surprisingly, we started off my Mom's final day on the great continent of Asia with a visit to the most American of establishments: Denny's.  It was a bittersweet celebration of sorts.  On one hand, it was sad to see my old roommate Mom leaving, but it also meant that we were getting closer to hitting up some more tropical locales very soon in the form of Thailand and its surrounds.  My Mother's departure also meant that I would hopefully no longer have to spend any more nights on the floor; that is unless I pissed Colleen off immensely, which I'm sure was bound to happen in the weeks ahead (stay tuned to find out!).  Originally the plan was for my Mom to go back to the airport that day the way we came when we arrived in the country, by riding multiple trains/subways/cabs and praying to whatever God you believe in that you will arrive there in one piece.  Rather wisely, she nixed this idea and we decided to buy her a bus ticket which would take her directly to the airport.  I guess everyone doesn't share my enthusiasm for close-calls and getting super stressed out before a flight.  So, we said our farewells and waved goodbye to my one and only Mommy.  I felt so sorry for her, flying home first class from Tokyo to Toronto (some perk they gave her for working for Air Canada for 600 years).  With my maternal connection now gone, it was time for Colleen and I to paaaaaaaarty! And by party, I mean we promptly went back to the hotel and I enjoyed a nice, long nap on my miniature Japanese bed which was actually a HUGE upgrade over the floor I had been sleeping on the previous two nights. 

The illustrious Hachioji Hotel.  not surprisingly it was full of people who smiled a lot and had straight black hair.

Since we were well rested from our afternoon siesta, Colleen and I decided to take the subway over to Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's more well-known districts and explore it by foot.  That was the plan at least.  Seeing as how we were going to be heading to Thailand in a couple of days we had sent home our heavier coats with my Mom and decided we were going to tough it out like champs in the cold weather and just wear our sweaters.  Well, at least that was my idea.   Colleen quickly nixed this idea though and after a short time wandering around lost and confused, we decided to grab some dinner at place called Kirin Beer House.  I must say the food was fantastic and the brews were delicious.  Highly recommended.  I was hopeful now that Colleen had her fill of tasty food that she might entertain the idea of sauntering over to the "Red Light District", but alas she claimed it was too cold out and that she wasn't feeling well.  Instead, we headed to some 15-storey shopping mall, the not-so-originally-named "Times Square", and proceeded to shop for jewelry.  Funny how things work out sometimes. 

Inside the Kirin Beer House. Tasty times.

Back at the hotel, I was still feeling pretty crushed about not getting to see the red light district.  I mean, come on baby, I just wanted to compare notes with Amsterdam's version!  Research I tell ya, research!  With my heart in my hands, I was left to do my first and thankfully last load of laundry in Japan.  The dryer took over  90 minutes to dry six items, which I can only assume is because it was not used to my "Godzilla" size clothes.  Either that or our hotel just had a shitty dryer.  I'm gonna go with the first option though cause it just makes me sound more bad ass.

~Brentski~

In case you didn't know...