Getsuyoubi

1-1-08 pt 2

monday... last full day in tokyo - what happened? basically stayed around the hostel neighborhood until pretty late, and decided on the shibuya area for our new year's countdown. we got out at shibuya station, and the crossing was swarming with people. people in costumes, tons of gaijin, police putting up barriers and driving big armored vans, and a group in the square in front of the station holding "free hugs" signs. one of the police officers we talked to claimed there was no countdown in the area, but they were putting up those barricades and gearing up for something.

we stood around at the crossing waiting to see what might happen, talking to a few people and gawping at the enormous crowd. then a big black bus with tv screens instead of windows rolled through with numbers scrolling across it - 23, 22, 21, then disappeared around the corner. the crowd took up the count, and at zero, charged into the street, high fiving, hugging eachother, and screaming "akemashite omedeto!" (happy new year) and "daisuki! daisuki!" (a lot easier to say than "i really like you in a usually non-romantic way!"). i bearhugged a few folks, told all the japanese ladies i loved 'em, and whenever the light turned green, everyone would run into the street and do it again.

we did that four or five times until the crowd started to thin out, then got on a train for meiji shrine, got out and discovered where all the people went. everyone was crowded into the path and being herded along in groups by more police. we met a few guys in our group, one of whom was a japanese fellow doing graduate work at georgetown and home for winter break. the group wound around the path, washed our hands before the shrine, (part of the ritual, a purification symbol), walked up in front of the main gate, and since the offering box was too far away and there were so many people, a big tarp was laid out in an area in front of the gate and the people just throw money at it from wherever they are. it's good luck to throw 5 yen pieces, so i was in the middle of thousands of people hurling coins at the shrine as hard as they could, some of them tossing 20 or so at a time. then they would clap twice (to wake up the gods) and pray.

we milled around the square for a spell, then walked with the crowd to an open area at the entrance to the park where vendors were selling udon and soba bowls in a brightly lit circle. had a big hot bowl of soba, and that was basically it. got on our trains and went to bed around 3 am.

i got up the next day after the others had already left, packed up my stuff, bought all the appropriate tickets, and was taken home by the shinkansen. it feels so strange to be here now. everything is really quiet and somehow unfamiliar or shifted in some way. i don't know what the hell i'll do for the ten days until the semester starts, there's no good way to recover from something that bowls you over the way tokyo does. i'm a little helpless here after that.