It is 2:40 am and i am awake – and in Tokyo. With only three days in Japan before heading to Micronesia, I don’t want to waste even a minute, but I am also exhausted and jet-lagged.
Still hoping to sink back into slumber, i have not showered or dressed, or taken my meds, or started brain-drain tasks. I woke up at 12:30, too. I guess if i sleep again, i will wake up at 4:40 which would not be so bad because that is close to normal morning time. There are many things an awake person could do right now in a hotel room: i could grade papers, review my japan guide book, work on my beading, but i am still hoping to sleep just a little bit more.
In preparation for the day, i googled David Sedaris’ essay about shopping in Japan, The Perfect Fit https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/personal-history. For a while, I was obsessed with recreating David Sedaris’ day in Tokyo so I reread his essay, noting the names of the shops he visited. There is Kapital in Ebisu, with other branches throughout the city, where he says the clothes look like they have been through a war or murder. He also regularly visits On Sundays, Dover Street Market, and Yohji Yamamoto. Excitedly, i jotted down the names to tell my free guide when she asks me what i would like to do. But, as I read down the page, there was a deflating sentence – when he says that the pants that go up to his chin and has pockets which swallow his arms up to his elbows cost more than a MacBook Air. While I would love to experience stores that captivate David Sedaris and inspire him to buy and wear 3 hats stacked on his head at the same time, only he can authentically spend and wear $2000 cerulean blue culottes. i will have to stick to the Hello Kitty Store or its equivalent and maybe seek out some cherry blossoms.
