The first full day I saw Steve and Macie, we started in Akihabara so they could look at the weirdness. I think I went to Akihabara more this month than I had for the past year and a half here in Japan.

Macie and Steve playing the Taiko game at Sega.

Capybara (or however you spell it), the weird giant guinea pig monster.

Macie probably caught some diseases from getting so close to a UFO Catcher machine.

ROB the Robot! This wouldn't have been nearly as cool if it weren't for Smash Bros Wii.

Just a few days in and Macie has the cheesy Japanese peace sign down way too well. This is Mario at Super Potato.

I don't know what this poster or character is from, but I think he's my new idol.

Playing "The Outfoxies," an amazing arcade game that probably inspired Smash Brothers. In case you can't tell, Steve is playing as a gorilla in a tuxedo and Macie is playing as a sexy lady with a giant snake around her neck. Classic.

I dare you to look at this and not start humming a Megaman song.

Hot noodles.

Steve didn't seem to have any problems with his fried rice.

Tokyo Station. Also you can see the stupid little kiosk stands, pretty much a mini convenience store on the platform. Japanese salarymen go here to buy last minute snacks, coffee, and porn mags.

The newly moved Pokemon Center Tokyo.

Freaky tree man in some Ginza department store window display. I was afraid for my life.

Main stretch of Ginza. Tons of neon.

"Kenzan," a sushi shop in Ginza. There were no prices on the menu, and we had the best service ever. Also the sushi was probably the best I've ever had. The price definitely reflected this though, when they brought our total over on a small slip of paper mafia-style.

Ueno Park on a weekday afternoon/early evening. Still tons of people out partying under the sakura.

Steve in Ueno. I'll bet his bag was full of Japanese t-shirts.

Hobo in Ueno Park with some tori gates in the background.

This guy's entire life revolves around making tiny little cakes shaped like Doraemon and Hello Kitty. They are delicious, however, so I guess he leads a pretty fulfilling life.

Sakura touching the lake.

Sakura and a level 4 Lion-O.

At some point I decided to dress as Japanese as possible for job interviews, and this is the result. Talk about super Asian camouflage x20.

Sexy dance? Sakaecho is the Kabukicho of Chiba, and me and Blanchard have to walk through it every night to get to our apartments. This lady kept asking Brian for a sexy dance so we had to come over and say hello. Gross.