even though i was in japan for 9 days (so much!! i completely forgot that i even went to taiwan), i really didnt feel i got a sense of it. our time is so packed we only had one morning to just travel around, during which kevin and christian and i braved Harajuku.
famed for harajuku girls and other people dressed like this, completely unironically (the newest trend is this "babydoll" thing. so creepy!)
ANYway - other things about japan. the subways are much more advanced. you pay based on how far you go, meaning it's a lot more expensive. and complicated. the map looks like this. yeah, you try and get around. we sang a lot of shows...and you soon learn that after coming to japan for 21 years we have amassed some "superfans." these people don't seem to realize that not only does an entire world of a capella exist outside of the kroks, and that a capella in general is supa lame. i will highlight our one superfan MAYUMI. she came to EVERY show in tokyo...and knew us all by name. last night was our last show, and afterwards she started to cry. this dialogue happened:Mayumi: [weeping] i ahm so stooopid
Christian: but you're our number one fan!
Mayumi: numba wan stooopid fan.
can't argue with her there. don't know what she expected to happen, but it is pretty amazing that these people come back to see us year after year. to the point where they know every song and sing along. we're lucky to be so well supported in asia.
we also went out to dinner with our japanese sponsor, madame matsuda. for SOME reason, she has hosted and paid for the kroks for the past few decades. lady was loaded. and crazy. she had the biggest diamond on her finger i have ever seen in my life. i actually used it to cut my meat instead of a knife. that is not true, but i very well could have. i wish i could describe to you how crazy she is, but i will have to save it for in person. hilarious.
ANYWAY. now i'm in hong kong, staying at the Hotel Shangrila. and it is paradise. we sang a set in the lobby and then went up to the buffet. and what a buffet it was. i hadnt eaten since the flight and was starving but there was more food than i could have imagined. literally, i cannot describe. salad bar, oyster bar, sushi bar, pasta bar, meat meat meat, indian, japanese, chinese...EVERYTHING. and then dessert. there were 19 different desserts/tarts/cakes/puddings out to sample. PLUS ice cream. AND crepes. AND A CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN.
AND THEN WHEN I WENT TO GET ICE CREAM I REALIZED THE MIXED THE TOPPINGS IN ON A LARGE SLAB...IE - A COLD STONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i almost wept for joy.
sorry to waste your time with my foods, but it was a highlight of my day. and we're going from this shangrila to another one in shanghai tomorrow. sadly this leaves little time to see the city, but we still manage to enjoy ourselves.
hope you're well. keep the updates coming!!!
~Barry
3 comments:
you are in asia and all you can talk about is COLDSTONE. what is WRONG WITH YOU??
j/k i love you and i miss coldstone too. and the kong. okay, not really the kong but really the ice cream. it's all weird here.
no, i totally understand. in fact, i think i've been to that buffet. is the hotel like right on the water near the intercontinental?? oh ma jee, that was the most amazing buffet i've ever been to. that was the trip i gained like 7 pounds on.
also, that whole baby thing is not the newest trend. people in tokyo have been dressing like that FOREVER. there is an entire culture of girls who trade sexual favors to men in exchange for little bo peep-type clothing. it's called lolicon (short for lolita complex).
This "babydoll" thing you mentioned is called Gothic Lolita and it's been around since the early 90's so it's definitely not a "new" trend at all...in fact it's dying out in Japan and gaining more popularity in the western world.
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