The insanity that is Tokyo!

Yesterday the sun rose and shone right through our floor to ceiling window and seared through the green curtain to make the room hot and bright at around 7:00 am. So we dragged our asses out of bed and onto the computer to a message from Aya saying we should meet two hours earlier than we had planned the day before.

Aya is a lovely native Japanese woman who was 17 when she came to live with my parents and I in Elizabeth, Colorado. She is in her 30’s now and found my dad and I on Facebook a few years ago. When I knew I’d be coming to Tokyo, I asked her if she wanted to meet for coffee or lunch and she was down. When I found out about the Owl Café, I asked her if she wanted to go with us and she was also down.

She suggested we arrive an hour and half early, which I found to be overkill… until we got there and there was already a line forming. Aya called to me from about seven people back. I didn’t even recognize her! After sixteen years, she looks completely different. Like a real adult. We chatted in line for a bit until they came out to sign us all up. Because Aya had insisted we get there early, we got in the first slot at noon.

When you walk in, you are immediately met with HUGE owls sitting in a line. They look stuffed, until one turns its head and blinks at you. You move further into the room and sit at either a counter or on the couch, where smaller owls are all around. You are required to order one drink, included in the price of entry (about $20 a person) and they explain the rules to you in Japanese, and hand you a rule sheet to read in English.

A staff member must move all owls from their perches to you and back. The owls can only be pet on the head or down the back, and you must keep your grip on their tethers at all times while holding them. Some owls cannot be touched (for instance, one was born blind and doesn’t like to be held). If an owl starts to get “flighty”, you simply hold them up high above your head and they will settle down. They show you pictures of how the owls are raised. They are born and bred in captivity and socialized to humans from birth. And fed mice meat by hand. They seem pretty spoiled.

Meanwhile, the owls are all looking around at the people who are staring at them. They don’t seem freaked out, just curious. We were right next to the tiny owls, whose giant owl eyes shifted from us to each other constantly. They stretched and looked at the ceiling and, in general, were just adorable.

 When they set us free, everyone (including us) went for the big owls. 

Aya got a black and white speckled owl that looked intimidating as hell, but was actually just a baby. 

Coston started with one of the smaller guys and moved up to a barn owl. 

I got a big ol’ guy whose species I have no idea about. But he was heavy as hell, mellow, and liked being pet on the back. 

When I felt like he was getting tired of me (I would have never gotten tired of him), I gave him back to one of the staff and moved along to the smaller owls. They were more energetic and would not stop turning their heads, so getting good pictures with them was difficult. Still, I think we did okay.

At the end, we drank the drinks we’d completely forgotten about while they gave away little owl themed gifts. There was a limited number of each item, so if you wanted it you raised your hand when they brought it up, then played rock, paper, scissors until there were victors and vanquished. I had my eye on an owl necklace there was only one of, but I was quickly defeated… by Aya. Who gave it to me when she won it. I won owl chopsticks, which I gave to Coston, and he got an owl badge that he gave to Aya. In the end, we all walked with prizes and awesome pictures.

Afterward we ate lunch at a place with a flat grill in the table where you cooked your own food. After that Coston and I had to run across town to catch the Robot Restaurant show. We were trying to figure out afterward how we might describe this show to someone who hadn’t seen it, but… words fail here. Robots and girls in bikinis with various, vague storylines in half Japanese and half English; it was basically two hours of major overstimulation and weirdness.

Soulful sax robot was my personal favorite.

When the show was over and our eyes adjusted back to the normal visual spectrum for human beings, we went to Shibuya Crossing, which is widely considered one of the busiest crossings in the world. There is a Starbucks on one corner where you can watch from above as people cross. The people watching is top notch.

We turned in early because we were exhausted. The next morning was the same situation. Out of bed at 8, we packed and took the subway to Yoyogi Park where we visited Meiji Shrine. It’s so insanely peaceful there, sitting in the middle of a massive park with deafening cicadas where people come to pray and center themselves. I told Coston that if I lived in Tokyo, I would be there all the time.

Fountain for ritual cleansing of hands and mouth.

Prayers written on wood and hung in the morning ceremonies.

Check-out was at 11:00 am, so we didn’t have too much time. We went back to the room and grabbed all our stuff, ate some breakfast at a nearby café, and got on the train. A few stops later, we parted ways. Coston had to go back to Okinawa for work on Monday. It was sad to see him go. We’ve been so together for the past two weeks that it feels strange to be alone again. I am still in Tokyo staying in a traditional guest house for tonight, and then I move on which is why I am doing this massive update now.

To close out my trip, tomorrow I will get up at 6 am to take a bus to the base of Mt. Fuji, which I will be climbing on my own for the next two days. I won’t have any internet access (or phone access, for that matter) until I get back to Toronto on Tuesday night. I will do my best to do a final update at the airport there. If all goes according to plan, I will be back home and exhausted Wednesday morning.

I can’t wait to see you again friends. It’s been a real non-stop whirlwind and I’ve done so much over the past few weeks. I have many gifts for you and many stories to tell, and I look forward to sharing them over your drink of choice.

See you soon!