My people in Shanghai are doing it real big. Temperatures are up in the blazing high 30’s which calls for only one thing. POOL PARTY! If we’re already sweating, might as well sweat alongside models and cool down with refreshing champagne. The party hosted at the Purple Mountain Hotel is filling up quick, so make your reservations!

Sweat Pool Party
Hotline Reservation: 136.0192.2282
Email Reservation: sweat.shpoolparty@gmail.com

The following day started off late as I was all partied out from the previous night. I woke up to a setting sun and not wanting to waste a single minute of what remained of the day, I got ready and headed out for sushi in Shibuya.

This happened to be a standing sushi joint which meant to me get in and get out.

But the folks here were very friendly, and we took our sweet time. The sushi was very delicious by the way.

Hopped on the Ginza line after the meal to go… well to Ginza. My cousin was in search for a tea set similar to the one he used in Harajuku.

Headed out the A13 exit which lead us right outside the Apple Store. I actually wanted to check if my friend was working. He was not.

From there I played tourist guide and pointed out places I’ve seen and been to.

Good to see the Casio watch still sitting high.

Adidas promotional ads.

We decided to save the shopping for another day since it was a bit late.

Heading back to the train.

Outside Shibuya station.

Couldn’t end day 3 without a bowl of ramen.

Day 4 didn’t start off so well. My buddy was supposed to pick me up for lunch, but he got in a fender bender so couldn’t meet up until dinner. He took us to a traditional Japanese restaurant close to our hotel.

Sashimi came first.

Edamame is always good to snack on.

Egg

The dinner was great and it was good to catch up with my friend. Immediately following the dinner, I had to meet another friend at Shibuya station who was going to take us clubbing. We first dropped into a bar located in Aoyama where we met up with three of the 2009 Miss Japan Universe contestants. Apparently my friend is dating Chinatsu Hata, who I thought should have won by the way. With a few drinks my system, nice chat, and coincidentally running into Yone, we left and headed to Club Ageha in Shinkiba.

We went to Ageha by free shuttle bus from Shibuya. Once I got seated I noticed more people packing on when it appeared all the seats were taken. I figured girls got to pick a guy to sit on, so I made my lap presentable. Then I noticed people flipping open pull out seats which extended down the isle.

The ride took approximately 30 minutes, and everyone was eager to get in. Ageha is also known as Studio Coast and has over an one thousand people capacity. They play different kinds of electronic music and is single-handedly the biggest club I have ever step foot in. Security is strict so cameras and bags were not allowed inside. Lockers are available outside for you to place your belongings. For pictures of this place go under “Party Report” on their website.

This turned out to be an even longer night than day 2 since the trains didn’t start running until 5-6am.

I was beat, not to mention wet from sweat and rain. It felt good knowing a shower and bed awaited me at the hotel.

This 20-year-old Hong Kong advertising model could have been one of the faces at the Yone x Reach Exhibition Preparty but last minute changes prevented that from happening.

Looks like 2008 marked Kama Lo’s (羅凱珊) entrance into the industry. She started off by merely sending a photo of herself to a modeling agency.

While modeling, Kama is still taking classes to earn a bachelors in business administration.

To me she’s one of the better attractive Hong Kong models I know of, but you be judge.

More images on Flickr.

Started off with Shibuya 109 since I’ve never been in and it was close by. I knew all the young Japanese fashion enthusiasts shop here, so I figured I might see something I like. And I did. A whole building filled with attractive Japanese girls. To my “disappointment” there wasn’t a single male clothing shop in there. Either that or my eyes were busy elsewhere.

After that only wet my appetite, we decided to look for food around the area. Came across this crazy graffiti design along the way. Click the image for a larger version taken with the Canon EOS 50D.

McDonald’s again? Nah…

Decided to try this ramen place that everyone was going into. Made our selections on the ticketing machine outside and came in and got seated.

My cousins meal.

My meal. Gotta have the egg.

Slowly made our way to Shibuya station after feeling 10lbs heavier. Japan still has the most complicated railway system I know since there’s many railway companies and lines. Good thing we were only heading to Harajuku just a short stop away.

Had Suntory beer for the first time while I was here. Relaxing time indeed.

Outside Harajuku station. Surprised I still remember my way around from my last time in Harajuku.

No cosplay in the area today, but this would be normally where they gather. Meiji Shrine entrance is also straight ahead.

Looks like the new season dropped today?

It started raining a bit, so we found a place to grab tea to drink. Never seen an umbrella key locking stand before. I’d think the key is more expensive than the umbrella in most cases.

Small tea joint great for friends to mingle.

I ordered the lemon milk tea.

Cousin got Japanese green tea.

Went back to the hotel to rest, get changed, and came back out ready to check out the night life.

But before we did that, had another bowl of ramen.

I did a thorough online search for good clubs in Japan and people mainly recommended spots in Shibuya. The one club that got good reviews was Club Atom. As you can tell I arrived a bit early, which is good because entrance fees are cheaper before midnight (2000 yen per person this night). Atom is composed of 3 levels of different music genres. This main entry level is all techno.

Top level shown here is hip-hop. The very bottom level is what I call “hardcore techno”. Maybe some people call it electro or trance? I can’t tell the difference but it’s more of a harder beat than techno. Either way I came for the hip-hop.

As I waited for people to make their way up to the hip-hop level, the trance level was getting crunked. I went downstairs to see what the fuss was about. Apparently DJ DNA is a crowd favorite. I was able to shoot a very short video before a worker told me cameras weren’t allowed in the club. This a strict policy for all Japan clubs?

The hip-hop level eventually started filling up and everyone had a good time on the dance floor. Left Atom around 4-5am and stumbled my way back to the hotel.

Left my apartment at 5:30am in order to catch my morning flight. I was excited to be heading back to Tokyo. So excited that I had this healthy breakfast before boarding.

Up in the friendly skies.

After landing, went straight to the airport limousine counter to pick up tickets to the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel.

Had some more healthy food before getting on the bus. The ride took about 85 minutes to the hotel and it was great because I slept the whole way.

Threw my stuff down in the hotel room and decided to walk around Shibuya to see if anything looked familiar. I could never forget Shibuya crossing right outside the train station. Everyone queuing up here before…

absolute mayhem. It was rush hour so this wasn’t such a surprise.

Headed back to the hotel to get ready to meet a friend for dinner. Crossing the overpass to the hotel.

Dinner was at a local grill minutes from the hotel. We ordered small appetizer size dishes. This was a perfect compliment to the alcohol.

Grilled chicken.

After the meal, we headed to another restaurant to continue drinking.

On the way there my friend pointed out the collaboration Yone did with KFC. I think for every KFC krushers drink you buy you get a stamp. After collecting a certain number of stamps, you can earn a t-shirt with Yone’s photographed work on there.

Legato in Shibuya turned out to be the name of the place we went to. My friend hosted a few parties here before, so he’s pretty much a regular. The napkin looks a bit lonely.

That’s better. Anyone else a Gin & Tonic fan?

The restaurant is very decent size for Japan.

Located on the 15F, Legato also has a great view of Shibuya which I failed to capture here. First night in Tokyo was chill and relaxed as I expected. It was great to catch up with my friend but being a workday, we had to cut the night short.