August 12th, 2004

10 o:clock in the morning. In preparation for the long day ahead the following items were packed in a plastic bag: water, harmonica, GBA with Mr. Driller 2, and my trusted Pikachu.

First stop in the day was the Itabashi City Hall. I needed to inform the local law of my then-recent move. I rode the train and got off, expecting the city hall to be somewhat close to the station. I was wrong. The station employee told me it would be best to take the local subway line two stops and I thanked him. Before finding the station, I discovered this handy-dandy sign post. Apparently the city hall was a mere 15 minutes away on foot, versus the 150 yen it would cost to ride the subway there. Also I think the subway would have taken more than 15 minutes somehow, but that:s just my guess.

And in a more ha-ha, less-boring way, check out this picture! City-funded Engrish!

After the city hall adventure in paperwork and red tape I got the great idea to walk to Ikebukuro. ...Which took a little over an hour. Slightly wore down, I pulled into an internet cafe with Nick, who was fully aware of my plan to walk many many hours and still agreed to come along for the day.

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WALK THE FRIENDLY YAMANOTE 2004 START!

Ikebukuro - 00000
Just moments after beginning the trek towards Mejiro, Nick spotted this drug store owned by T3H K0J1M4! Haha! The "00000" followed from the station name is how many steps Pikachu has counted. It:s a way to keep track of the distance between stations.

Another discovery of mild importance!!1 Lemonade! Honestly, this is the first time I:ve seen this drink since coming to Japan. It:s just not popular here, and since it:s sold in this one convenience store just outside Mejiro station (to my knowledge) I:m guessing that:s why. Mejiro will now be known for two things, and this bizarre "Re-mo-nehh-do" is only a glimpse of things to come for WTFY 2k4!!

Mejiro - 02518
Mejiro is a station I have been to on more than one occasion. My old friend Michael used to live there. I also had an indie adventure there many a months back.

Slipping just past the station, we found Tanakaya. Nick was impressed, or maybe he faked it knowing how much I like walking around that store. Either way, our attention was captivated by this package of assorted beer glasses. Mostly because it:s endorsed by Michael Jackson! OMGF!

Takadanobaba - 04053
Getting there from Mejiro wasn:t that hard, we just got slightly off the path of common sense. Backtracking a little was expected. We were walking unfamiliar territory without a map. Without a map, feel the BLIND VALOR!

Near the station is a large collection of stores, one of them devoted to Osamu Tezuka:s works. Such as Testuwan Atom, or perhaps Astro Boy depending where you live. If you failed to recognize any of those names, just look at that poor thing Nick is groping. That:s Astro Boy.

Shin-Ōkubo - 07225
Not much happened around there. Nick and I wandered around a few of the music stores near the station looking for banjos. There:s plenty of Korean restaurants there too.

Shinjuku - 09415
OMGF it took 4 shots to get this right. I snapped this picture around 4:54 pm. It would take another 10 minutes of walking to pass the station, it:s that big. No joke. Seriously.

Graffiti is alive and well here in Tokyo. Aside from that, it:s a pretty faded sign when you think about it.

It:s not a car, it:s a Power Wheel! Somewhere nearby, fifteen clowns were eating sushi.

Hope they weren:t eating there. "WANTED STAFF" and all that. It:s not something I would brag about, but hey, maybe it:s just one of those things about Japanese culinary culture I don:t understand. Like how they can make blowfish a 100% non-lethal fish by changing it:s diet, but some purists argue that they shouldn:t because the fish is supposed to be lethal and it "adds to the excitement" of eating blowfish.

Them makers of Grand Theft Auto know how to advertise. I feel slightly more inclined to play Vice City now. But not by much.

Yoyogi - 11044
This is my first experience walking around Yoyogi. Which is worth mentioning because there are quite of few stations I:ve never visited before WTFY 2k4. It:s been two and a half hours since the beginning of the trip and Shibuya is only two stops away.

"IF YOU? - For Young Ladies"

So what exactly does this sign want? Or say? OR MEAN?!?!? If there were a number I could call, I would:ve done called it by now, that:s for sure.

Harajuku - 13779
Harajuku. Spent a little time there not too long back. This time around, all Nick and I did was follow the small forest around the shrine to the station and beyond. On! Towards Shibuya!!

Shibuya - 15338
Who let teh dogs out??1
(Which reminds me to post on a tag board somewhere...)
But the picture is a "stock photo" as we in the industry say. It was taken by a certain Tim Rogers and for all you know, it was used with his permission. I:ve taken far too many shots of Shibuya, including THE Shibuya indie adventure I have yet to post. It:s just sitting in my cell phone waiting to be unleashed. Which it will. Mwa hahahaha!

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End damage being only 7.25 kilometers. Roughly 1/5th of the entire Yamanote loop. Pikachu counted 15338 steps in those 3 hours and 9979 before that. Getting back home helped push my grand total just shy of 30000 steps.

I will try to wrap up the adventure in four different parts if I can. Part two is sitting on my hard drive. Part three (Wednesday) will decide if it:s going to be 4 parts or five. Either way, Walking The Friendly Yamanote 2004 has begun!!

PEACE!!