Kieran does Karaoke

I had another great night's sleep, and happily awoke to the sounds of breakfast being prepared. Boy am I on a good wicket here...

"Frisk" mint - promo girls

A quick assessment of my feet revealed some of my mangled toes didn't exactly improve much, but they didn't get any worse either - I have too much to see for some puss and bruises to stop me! My bravado quickly vanished as soon as I slipped back into my offending shoes, with a grimace.

Some good friends of Shiho and Yoshi were leaving Tokyo to go back to their home in the north, so we met up with them at a restaurant below Tokyo Station for an early lunch. After that we headed to the electronics hub Akihabara for a look at the latest gadgets. It was 7 floors of some pretty amazing stuff, but unfortunately I was only after an iPod cover and they were a bit pricey (not to mention made in China). We went to the other side of Akihabara Station where there were even more electronics stores, but more interestingly there were all sorts of crazy costumes to see. Shiho explained that the area was famous for the schoolgirl/nurse/maid/manga uniforms, because they seem to congregate there for some reason. I didn't manage to get a good photo, but I'm determined to do so before I leave...

Akihabara Street - plenty more electronics

Then we headed to Shinjuku, another big shopping district, and after avoiding a couple of places with long waiting lines we settled on a place to have a snack and cuppa. I was then handed the ultimatum that regardless of my boycott attempts, we would indeed be firing up some karaoke - we had an hour to kill before going to watch a baseball game. I reluctantly went along, figuring if I was in Japan it would be remiss of me not to have a crack. It cost roughly $1 each per hour (during the day), and not only was one drink required on entry, but it was a bloody good idea anyway. I was a little concerned that the only english songs would be the Titanic soundtrack, but before long I was turning heads with my renditions of "One", "No woman no cry", "Piano Man", and the pleasant surprise of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing".

Akihabara Yodobashi - huge electronics place

Then it was time for the baseball: Giants vs Swallows... read the next entry for more!

Hanamo Restaurant early lunch, Tokyo Station

Sing us a song, you're the pianoman...

Tomako & her new baby boy Banta (at Hanamo)