If there were to be a contest of who had the largest cojones (even though girls don't actually have cojones), I think that Denise would be the winner. Even though she'd never been outside North America, much less traveled to a foreign country on her own, Denise booked her trip to Japan and didn't seem to care that I wouldn't be able to meet her in Tokyo. I bit my nails and stressed when I didn't hear from her on the first day. Or the second day. Or the third day. But then an e-mail arrived! Somehow, she'd made her way to Kyoto, found her hostel, booked a tour of the city, and made new foreign friends, but she was feeling a bit tired, so was it okay if she came to see me a day early? I was so relieved! I'd had visions of her having a nervous breakdown in Tokyo Station and sleeping in the cold glow of a beer vending machine.
On the first weekend of Denise's trip with me, my friend Laurence was feeling a bit lonely down south and decided to drive up. We went hiking and then had a night on the town (it's not a very big town, but we seemed to have a very big night). The next day, we bid farewell to a sluggish Loz and began our drive to Kyoto. The drive through the countryside was beautiful, but getting into the city was a nightmare. I was foolish enough to think that I'd just be able to drive into Kyoto and find Taka's temple. I was wrong. We finally arrived at 10 PM, the temple gate had long been closed, and so had to take the super-ninja route through the complex. Have you ever driven through a temple complex? Imagine driving along a balance beam – the width of the road is pretty equivalent. The next day, Denise and I contemplated a rock garden, imagined ancient warriors squatting over ruined pit toilets, and saw about 500 red gates. We then collected the car and drove back home on the wrong road, turning a 2.5 hour trip into 5 hours.
The next weekend, which thanks to Golden Week began on Thursday, we woke early to make the six-hour trip to Tokyo. First a drive, then a bus, then a train, then a shinkansen, then another train, and finally we were at our hotel. What can be said of Tokyo? It’s the biggest city in the world and therefore has everything to offer – any kind of food that you could want, shopping, people from all over the world, and lots and lots of flashing neon. I love Tokyo. It's expensive and huge and crowded, but the streets are strangely clean (don't Japanese people litter?) and most people are far friendlier than they would be in an American city. Also, it has excellent public transportation. Why is Seattle so far behind in that regard? Step it up a notch! Japan has bullet trains, express trains, local trains, express buses, local buses, ferry boats, monorails, and trolley cars. If you can't get to your destination one way, you can get there another.
In Tokyo, Denise and I shopped in Harajuku while gaping at girls dressed as Little Bo Peep – bonnet and all – wandered the Imperial Gardens as a token cultural activity, and drank beer on the street. That's another thing I love about Japan – there are no public drinking laws! By the end of the weekend, I was exhausted from a lack of sleep, too much spending, and too much beer. I was also ready to go somewhere where I wouldn't have to constantly fight my way through a crowd, so I said goodbye to Denise and began the long and lonely trip back home. This marked the end of my Festival o’ Fun. Denise made her way to the airport to catch a flight to Okinawa. I suspect that they made her check her cojones – they are too large to carry on.
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