Stop in Shinjuku

This past weekend we spent Saturday night in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo.  Unfortunately we got a late start and didn't have quite as big an adventure as I had hoped.  First we had to go to Citibank to take care of some banking matters that had become rather complicated.... but more on that in a later post.  We had been invited to dinner on Saturday night with some fellow American expats that live near Shinjuku---we had a good time hanging out with them and comparing city life to country life.  And it's always nice to be able to speak American English at full speed!

that night we enjoyed the panoramic views from our room

Shinjuku is known as where Tokyoites go to party....it's a very lively area and has almost become the center of the city in recent years.  There is a lot of nightlife, including a red-light district and areas for those who lead, um...alternative lifestyles.  Right now the city still isn't very lit up at night....Chad remembers Shinjuku in 2005 as being a lot brighter.  You can go here and get a good idea (these photos are way better than mine) of what it can look like.  There are also some good photos of Shinjuku station which is famous being the busiest train station in the world.  Over two million people go through it in a day and I think I bounced off about half of them over the weekend.  There is no way I can stop and take decent photos in there without losing Chad, or my camera, or one of my feet.

There are also lots of street performers around Shinjuku....we saw all manner of instruments being played and some truly, truly terrible street karaoke.

I think this was some kind of lute

you also see random puzzle buildings....

and monsters....

and endless little pedestrian streets
full of tiny shops

One of the big selling points of our hotel was that it has a Krispy Kreme right next to it.  That's right, Krispy Kreme is in Japan.  This isn't the first one I've found, there is one at the Kita-Senju train station which is where we always stop on our way in and out of the city.  The donut selection is pretty much the same as in the US, maybe a little less variety.  Most importantly, it tastes right. ;)

Skin's can't be far behind, right?  right?

There also just happened to be a Mexican restaurant on the ground floor of our hotel which was a pleasant surprise (and a good lunch).  As you all know that's almost like wandering across a yeti.  I'll be posting a little more about our trip later in the week... meanwhile there are a few more photos on Shutterfly.

century southern tower hotel....yum!