Pistons, o fair Pistons, how do I love thee? In big heaps. I watched most of the second half in a Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku today. It was an absolute delight to watch a team actually play like a team and, in so doing, absolutely pummel the vaunted lineup of The World's Largest Baby, Kobe, The Glove, Captain Elbow, Walton Junior, and some other guys. The Pistons played so well and beat L.A. so convincingly (needing a mere five games to win a series no one though they'd even manage to make watchable, much less competitive) that by the end I found myself rooting for them not out of spite for the Lakers, but because they played like champs every single game.

OK, enough basketball for now.

Spent the last six days in Tokyo. Lost my wallet in a taxi the first night. Whoooooops. Bless friends and their no-interest loans. Furthermore, bless wonderful Japanese people. The proprietor of an internet cafe near my ryokan quickly became my best friend by making well over ten billion calls for me in an attempt to track down my cursed wallet and the over $600 + credit card + bank card + Yodobashi and Bic Camera point cards + alien registration card + my precious Sapporo library card contained therein. The damn thing hasn't turned up and, alas, probably will not at this point, but I still owe the guy an arm and leg of his choosing. Japanese people are fantastic in general, but this guy went well beyond the call. If you're ever in Tokyo and in need of sweet internet action or just someone to make phonecalls for you, check out Photon.

Tokyo is pretty incredible once you learn to navigate the labyrinthine little universe that it is. And, in light of the fact that it's the rainy hot deathly humid season in Tokyo, we were lucky lucky lucky - beautiful weather every day. So beautiful that I skipped most of the meeting to be outside.

Oh yeah, the meeting. We were in Tokyo for a meeting of all re-contracting JETs (that is, first-years who are staying for a second year). What did I learn? Something I already knew: there are a lot of very very angry JETs. On the first day we had what amounted to a Q&A session featuring three Japanese panelists whose positions related in one way or another to English education in Japan. The amount of bitterness directed at these three unlucky individuals was nothing short of sickening. Yes, clearly there are problems with English education in Japan, far too many to bother enumerating here. But the system is changing, slowly. Apparently far too slowly for the Angry JET Mob who apparently came to Japan expecting to be young Robin and Robyne Williamses, inspiring their young charges to proudly bellow Wordsworth from the top of their desks by day and smoke joints in the local hollowed-out tree by night. What the fuck, people? Were you not expecting challenges? Hardship? Even occasional misery? Instead of interrogating three Japanese guys as though they are the personification of everything you hate about Japan, ask yourself why in the fuck you're staying on for another year. Yeesh. Sorry, that likely made no sense to any non-JET, but the amount of bellyaching and whining that goes on in this program is unfuckingbelievable sometimes.

Time to wash away the bad vibes with happy pictures!

(L to R: Naomi, Ben, Tim, Laura) There is nothing quite like drinking in public, which is completely legal in Japan. Suddenly every park with a convenience store nearby becomes a big grassy bar! In this case, our pub of choice was Yoyogi Park.

After some drinking, we were accosted by college (I think) students doing some sort of survey on what makes a member of the opposite sex marriagable. If you look closely, you'll see that Guy Number One is the obvious choice, girls.

While wandering around one day I found a Buddhist temple complete with graveyard. I'm not sure what the wooden slats are for - possibly burning? In any event, it was pretty cool. Also, I'm pretty sure this is the best picture I've ever taken.

No trip to Tokyo would be complete without a visit to one of Akihabara's many nutty gaming shops. If I hadn't lost $600 two days before finding these Cactuar cellphone charms, I probably would've blown the 1575 yen necessary to have one.

Shibuya Crossing at night.

(L to R: Laura, Ben, Myles, Tim) On the sauce again in Shibuya.

Saw this terrifying sight through the basement window of a beauty school.

The hat. The first time I saw this hat (when I first arrived in Japan) I decided that I have to wear it before I die. Didn't get up the gumption to chat the guy up and make my dream come true, but a picture is a start, I guess.

The graveyard shot is gorgeous, but I think the beauty school scene is BY FAR the best travel photo I have ever seen. FREAKY! It's like the secret headquarters of the Japanese version of Stepford. I can't stop looking at it! I am saving it to my desktop.

Ah, Akihabara....I got to introduce my friend to the concept of dating sims there. She stayed outside of the stores after that. :)

Did you make it to Asakusa?