My New Hood

Now that I have shared the harrowing (ok, maybe not harrowing, but it sounds good) tale of my trip to Tokyo, I think I should acquaint everyone with the place in which I live.

Time for a geography lesson...

The main part of Tokyo (excluding what you'd think of as "suburbs") is made up of 23 "wards." I live in one of the outlying wards called Koto-ku. It lies on the southeastern portion of Tokyo and buts up against the ocean. If you'd really like to see where that is, check this link out:

http://www.digi-promotion.com/tokyo-info/info-maps-tokyo-ku.html

This has all of the wards laid out. As you can see, I'm over on the right-hand side.

Ok, enough of the boring stuff, on to the pictures...

My neighborhood, Monzen-nakacho, is a little off the beaten path. It's known as an area of town that is very Japanese. For instance, if I lived a little more downtown (near the embassies) I would run into a lot more gaijin than I do around my place.

Speaking of the apartment, yes, it was as small as I expected it to be. Just to prove that I'm not living under a bridge, or in a dumpster behind a tofu-factory, here are some shots.


Be it ever so humble...


Right down the road from my apartment is a ramen shop that specializes in pork. I just love their sign. There's something delighfully funny about pigs sitting around digging into a big bowl of cooked, well, pigs.


Mmmm, mmmm, good eatin!


I thought the fact that there was a vetrinary hospital right around the corner was somehow appropriate.


Where I expect to go for treatment.


Here is where I buy my produce. The little dude who runs the place is surly as all hell. I love it!


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This guy, I saw tooling down the main drag. Yes, scooters are a bit more popular here than they were back home.


Bad to the bone.


My area of town is also known as Fukagawa. It has quite a few temples scattered about. Here's one at which I actually attended a Saturday service.


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Needless to say, it was a bit more interesting than your typical church service. We had drums, conch horns and even open fire. Apparently, this particular sect of Budddist monk are the "warrior" types that got ripped-off for the "Kung-fu" TV show. Hey, I wouldn't mess with these guys.

Lots of fun.

This guy walked around Japan way back when and is credited with the first accurate maps of the island. I forget what his name is, but I'll wander past on the way home one night and get it.


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Well, that should give you an idea of the new hood...