Konbawa (Still on the trip 01.22.24)

These past few days have been kind of relaxing, fun and a little wild. The other day I had an impromptu private tour with someone because I was the only one who signed up, I would’ve expected it to be outright cancelled but nope. It was even raining that day but she seemed to have been in great spirits and we had fun conversations. Then I went to Surugaya & Animate which had so much merchandise to see. I went to a huge park in Shinjuku which had wonderful sites and then a local cafe where they were very kind even though I don’t speak Japanese.

As for today, I ventured to Akihabara after having a great egg, Turkey and cheese sandwich. Akihabara was wild, some parts are so dirty in the lewd way, it’s an explosion of otaku culture. I went to a maid cafe where I happened to win a raffle to take a group photo with the maids… they made me sit down because I was too tall to take the picture with them. On the way out, two foreigners from America as well started chatting with me and we exchanged contacts. I didn’t expect the day to turn out to be a pretty good one but it has been. Now I’m somewhere that feels very local and homely.

Back to the maid cafe, I think I don’t like paying for affection, the energy to it is a little ominous. The maids were kind and energetic but there’s no way to get rid of the underside fetish and desire for this kind of thing which is exactly what it wants to attract. Of course they have to read the rules to you as well saying no touching or sneaking photos of them because you know how people are, which makes it feel a little bad too. All around it’s an odd but unique experience. I don’t regret it nor do I feel strongly for it. Now I’m back in my hotel with some new books and stuff. Sorry the drawing is traditional today!