it was a sunny holiday monday today. the holiday, seijin-no-hi is celebrated the second monday in january. it's the "coming-of-age" day. females turning 20 years old today wear traditional kimono, most of the males wear black suits. they get together in packs, many were shopping as i also was, and many were getting ready to party, because they are now old enough to drink and smoke. i enjoyed looking at the pretty kimonos in the streets and on the trains. much like the beautifu saris in india. such amazing colors and patterns, so confusingly put together. i can't figure out how they fold and tie them. and they have to take little tiny steps cause they are very tight around the ankles. and wear sandles with socks. all of the girls were sporting fashionable fur stoles with them to ward off the cold. it's such an interesting clash of styles. and so many people out and about, most everyone having the day off. my mysore class, which is usually full around 7:30, started to pack in at 8ish, everyone sleeping in on a rare occasion.
i got lucky today and got to meed katzu again, my favorite person in tokyo. he is such an easy hang, good to talk to, a good listener, extremely patient-waiting outside of the boutiques while i scouted for goods. we walked to a very cool area close to shibuya called daikanyama. katsu knows the kind of shopping i like, lots of small stores, many used and vintage shops, not the big department stores much of tokyo is infested with. so this hood was very interesting for me. half of the shops were out of my price range, but so many of the buildings are interesting to just look at, it really did not matter. there's a "blythe" store there, selling dozens of blythe dolls and accessories, many blythe kimonos, etc. and i was very tempted to buy, but after investing in a sugar bunny plushie, it seemed a bit embarassing.
and off to lunch at an amazing thai/vietnamese restaurant called "monsoon" for a set lunch of vietnamese spring rolls, shrimp toast, shumai, and pho. they were blasting bollywood music, which i found odd since there weren't any indian dishes on the menu.
then off to 3 different "rock" shops, similar to the one we went to in tokyo tower, selling memorabilia, like osbourne family bobbleheads, slipknot backpacks, sex pistols coasters and fridge magnets, and large sized singing freddie mercury dolls. these places have many rock t-shirts, and i am pretty picky, but i found a good iggy and the stooges t-shirt. and wonder if it's in poor taste to teach yoga in it. i mean, iggy looks like he does yoga. he does a pretty good urdva danurasana while singing "i wanna be your dog".
speaking of dogs, i counted no less than a dozen doggie boutiques. just click here for details. even a restaurant that has a special "set" menu for your dog, including snacks and desert.
yes, it's good to be a dog in tokyo.
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