Get the Gun Boy! It is Thanksgiving Time.

In the haze of holiday shopping and retail insanity American`s little November tradition is nothing more than a blip on the radar in Tokyo. Thanksgiving used to mean something a long time ago. People used to sit around the family dinner table, eat turkey, and talk about what they are thankful for. My family tried this when I was a lot younger but it always ended up in dad throwing a beer bottle at me, my mother throwing her plate at my dad, and my sister laughing her ass off while calling us all stupid. Those were the good old days indeed. Now, I am a full fledged adult living out my life in Tokyo. While no one will have a beer bottle thrown at them this year, I hope, I have been reflecting on past Thanksgivings and looking to the near future as to how I am going to celebrate this time honored tradition in Tokyo.

I have experienced some odd Thanksgivings in the past. For some reason Thanksgiving leads me down a road of ruin almost every year. A few of those past odd Thanksgivings will always stick out in my mind.

The most fun Thanksgiving I have had so far was the first one after my parents split. It was just dad and I trying to figure out what to do on a cold West Virginia day. We did manage to cook a turkey. Although, we cooked it a little too long and it was a little dry. We had a lot of good laughs talking about what we were not thankful for while eating the bird. After stuffing out faces we drank a few shots of Jack and walked into town. We ended up at some bar gambling on a few football games and getting drunk.

The other Thanksgiving that really sticks out on my mind was the year I found myself in a small apartment in St. Louis with two gals from India. They had no idea how to cook a turkey. The older one of the pair was hell bent on having a turkey for Thanksgiving. They look to me as if I was the expert. These two gals both had the ability to breath fire at a moments notice. I did not want to get burned from giving wrong directions as to how to cook a turkey. I called my grandmother and she walked them though the entire process. What was interesting about eating a turkey with these two gals was that they insisted on having curry soup and way too much wine along with the bird. It was a weird night if Hindu music, nakedness, wine drinking, and fuzzy memories.


So, this year I will have Thanksgiving in Tokyo for the first time. What the hell I am supposed to do? The Japanese have no tradition, as far as I am aware, of Thanksgiving. It seems that the holiday itself is only mentioned in English mags and news letters. After reading the Metropolis I have found that there are several places offering a Thanksgiving meal to us gaijin who desire some turkey with all the trimmings. After getting the thumbs up from the gal I have decided on a place called Beacon in the Omotesando area of Shibuya-ku. The gal will reserve us a spot tomorrow I assume. I hope we get a spot because for 8,500 yen I can enjoy a damn good Thanksgiving dinner in a nice restaurant.


This year`s Thanksgiving is looking to be 100% clear of any trouble or oddness. I say this now but I am sure that the god of chaos is watching me and plotting a proper punishment. I have faith that Thanksgiving is going to be fun and relaxing. I end with a question for everyone living in Japan. What are you planning to do for Thanksgiving?

Eating Burgers and Hanging with Tommy the Painter

I don`t always write about my adventures with Tommy. I have written about hanging with Tommy a few times in the past but most of my adventures with him I usually keep to myself. I decided that maybe I should write about running around with Tommy more often. He is after all the first friend I made in Tokyo. Actually, he was one of the first people to even talk to me. In Tokyo I have found that it is rare for people to talk to someone they do not know. Tommy is different. He is friendly and always enjoys meeting new people. Although, this Thursday I had a dual motivation for heading into central Tokyo.

So, this Thursday I venture out into central Tokyo looking to get into something. I decided to try out this new shop in Omotesando which only sells the McDonald`s Quarter Pounder with cheese. I found out about it from Neil at neilduckett.com. I must give him credit and a big thanks for both finding and sharing this place with the rest of the world. It was a real trip for sure. It is set up to look more like a night club than a fast food place. Painted in all black the place is not as welcoming as a regular McDonald`s. The menu is very simple and straight forward. You get too options to choose from; Double Quarter Pounder with cheese set for 600 yen or Quarter Pounder with cheese set for 500 yen. Well, I just went with the Quarter Pounder with cheese set because McDonald`s really is bad to be eating in the first place. I have to say it was damn good! I have not had a Quarter Pounder since I left the states almost eight months ago. It was as good as I remember. So, if you want to try an odd place for lunch give this one a try for sure.

After getting myself all bloated off of a big nasty burger I needed to walk around a little. It is so easy to go on a little walkabout in Tokyo. There seems to be an endless amount of sides streets and back alleys to explore. I headed into the back section of Harajuku. I do not often go that deep into Harajuku but from time to time I like to see what is going on around there. It is usually not all that crowed in the back section of Harajuku. Most people stick to Takashita street, the bridge at Yoyogi park, or the main side streets across from Takashita. The far end of Harajuku offers some really nice coffee shops along with some mid-scale fashion shops to explore.

The only thing out of the way I saw on my little walkabout was this odd little man pacing up and down the street with a compass and a writing pad. He kept walking and staring at his compass. Ever so often he would stop to write something on his writing pad. I have no idea what the hell he was doing but he seemed to be enjoying himself. He was going at it hardcore. I was wondering when a sparse car would come by and crash right into him? I also wondered if he even cared if a car hit him? Maybe he was trying to map out something. In my twisted thought process I stood around watching him making up little explanations for his strange actions. The craziest one I came up with was that he was trying to decode a special message giving to him by aliens so he could join them in space. After about 10 minutes or so the entertainment factor of watching the compass guy wore off and I made my way to the bridge at Yoyogi to see if Tommy was hanging around.

Sure enough as soon as I stepped foot on the bridge there was Tommy with a smile and a big hug. Now Tommy is a keen type of guy so he started talking at the speed of light about what has been going on since the last time me met. He usually does this until I start talking at the speed of light eventually leading to both running out of things to report on. He always has some interesting news to report about Yoyogi and Harajuku. The weekend festivals and the cops are two of his favorite topics. He is the expert when it comes to knowing the movements and behavior of the fuzz in Yoyogi park and Harajuku. I enjoy listening to him talk about what the cops have been up to as of late.

After helping him store this paintings in a locker in the subway we walked over to Shibuya for a little while. Tommy was hungry so we stopped at one of the many great curry shops he knows about. I think he might know about every good curry shop in Tokyo. Every place he has taken me to or suggested offered damn good curry at a great price. If you want to eat good curry in Tokyo just ask Tommy. Anyway, we went into this place and he ordered a chicken soup curry. I did not order anything but he was nice enough to order an extra side of rice and share some of his curry with me. It was really tasty curry!

After eating he wanted to show me a `better place` to buy that odd little, and 100% legal, herb we enjoy called spice. The usual head shop to buy the stuff is really expensive so Tommy found another head shop with much lower prices. He got a big packet of the stuff for only 3,000 yen; the other place charges over 7,000 yen for the same amount. After buying it we went back to Yoyogi park to hang out. Along the way he bought some beers. There is nothing like hanging out in Yoyogi park after dark drinking.

We went to an area in Yoyogi park over looking the pond. It was a nice view even though it was pitch dark. So, we sat there drinking some beer, smoking spice, and listening to some music from Vietnam provided by a little tape player. We talked a lot about life in Tokyo. We are both in agreement that a person cannot be normal and live in Tokyo. People who try to live normal in Tokyo end up going half crazy. I think this is very true in many ways. I believe that most people in Tokyo do stuff that they do not tell most people about. Just go to Shinjuku for proof.

It was a good evening but I could not hang out with Tommy all night. I had to go home and attend to my gal. She has been feeling a little under the weather as of late and needs me to make her feel better. Good thing I actually enjoy being at home attending to her or it would drive me nuts!

As always I look forward to hanging out with Tommy again soon. I never know exactly what we are gonna get into.