Japan, pt. 1

Had an amazing 9 day trip to Japan. Japanese culture is both unique and universal. Here are a couple pictures from Tokyo, where we spent about half the trip. Tokyo is ridiculously dense. There are few skyscrapers because of its geological location, so people live in very small quarters. (The capsule hotels parodied on Seinfeld are very real...as are a certain item found in certain vending machines...)
Bright lights, big city:
Maids: Tokyo seems to have more unique subcultures than a season of CSI. One prominent nuclei was the "maid cafe," a place where anime fans congregate to be served by girls in wacky anime/goth outfits. Our first hotel happened to be in Akihabara, the center of the district where these establishments are popular. We briefly discussed going to a "butler" cafe, but were dissuaded when informed we might stand out from the clientele subsisting entirely of teenage girls.
Here is a typical anime /model trains / etc. store
And here are some maids chilling outside a public park near Harajuku that offered a great glimpse into the Sunday leisure habits of urban Japanese. Observed in the park: jogging, dog-walking, rabbit-walking, bird-watching, middle aged Elvis-impersonating, rock-paper-scissors contests, frisbee, bicycling, being gothy.

Day trip to Nikko, UNESCO World Heritage Site two hours north of Tokyo. Verdant mountains with many temples.

Super delicious sushi at the famous Tsukiji market:
Mmm. I am still salivating looking at this picture.
And finally, a stroll through Hamarikyuteien Gardens. This site dates back to the Tokugaway Shogunate. The harmony of cityscape and naturalistic setting is quite characteristic of Japan, in my opinion.