if (found($group)) {gotoMeetUp();}

Charles found a Meetup in Tokyo that will be doing a hanami viewing party on our last day in Japan so we both signed up for it. Should be fun.

grep -i "excitement_level"

As the clock ticks down, it is starting to register in my brain that I will soon be back in Japan. Just over two weeks to go. Every day the trip looms a little bigger in my mind. It gets a little tiny bit harder to think of anything else. I also keep going over the list of things I need to do before I go.

• Finish cleaning my apartment so that Devin doesn't run away screaming


• Buy cat food and litter so the kitties will have something to eat and poop in while I am away


• Pack, making sure not to miss anything (maybe I should make a list of everything that must come with me).


• Buy any extra things that I need


• Cuddle my kitties extra so they know I love them lots


• Transfer money from my savings account to the chequeing account so I can access it from ATMs


• Get out some cash and have it converted to Yen so I have some cash on arrival


• Laundry so I have clean clothes to take with me


• Get Devin over so I can explain the "take care of the kitties" routine


• And probably lots of other things I am forgetting
  

So really I guess this post turned into a simple check list for myself. Sorry for taking up your time.

if (in_slums($hotel)) {explore();}

When people think of Tokyo they think of areas like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, etc. The glittering, neon-lit areas of affluence. They don't think about the slums. Me being me, I decided to research the downtrodden areas of Tokyo so I could do some exploring. As much as I like the glitz and fast pace of the more famous areas, I am equally drawn to the areas where people are not as well off.

Turns out that the hotel we selected is pretty much smack dab in the middle of one of these areas. The part of town is called Sanya. It has historically been the worst part of town.

In olden times (1600s or so) it was believed that all the evil spirits entered the city via that area. The poor and downtrodden who were considered below contempt were forced to live there. All the slaughter houses and tanneries were located in that area because that was work that proper Buddhists weren't allowed to do so they forced the people with no other options to do their dirty work.

One of the cities most prolific public execution grounds was in the area. The condemned were executed via one or more of the following: Boiling, Burning, Crucifixion, Decapitation, Sawing and Waist-cutting. Fun! The bodies (approximately 200,000 of them) were buried in a graveyard right near Minami-Senju station. Apparently this graveyard is little known and not taken care of. It's considered a bit of a blight on Tokyo's past.

This looks like it might be the most interesting part of my trip.

$Cat->be_cute();

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with Japan. I'm becoming a stereotypical blogger and posting stupid YouTube links. Please help me.