Last minute supplies 
This was my one full day in Tokyo before heading out to the ferry tomorrow night. I’ve been staying at a friend’s house, eating pasta and sitting in chairs; two things I won’t be able to do for quite a while once I reach the island. We did some shopping around Tokyo, including a visit to the giant-mega-super stores Yodobashi and Bic Camera. These guys are 8 floors of electronics and gadgetry – a must see on any trip to Tokyo. It is shocking to me that the same culture responsible for Zen meditation is also responsible for these electronics stores. As you browse through the aisles, you are bombarded with music and video and store clerks shouting incomprehensible things to you through tiny plastic megaphones. It is a cacophony of sound and a full photonic assault on the retina. I am relieved that I made it through these stores without having some sort of seizure or lapsing into a coma. But man, they sure do have a lot of cool stuff for sale! I saw a tablet PC the size of a coffee table. It cost about the same as the gross national product of Luxembourg, but wow – Japan sure does come up with some neat electronic gadgetry. I managed to pick up the last of our supplies for the field season. Tomorrow I’ll head to the port and catch the overnight ferry to Mikura. After that, it will be dolphins dolphins dolphins!
-Justin