When In Japan, Do As The Japanese Do

You know that gut feeling you get when things are going a little too... good? When everything in your life is coming together in a perfect mixture of relentless spontaneity and joy? Well that is how you could describe our day today! Calvin's sleep schedule is still a bit behind but hey, we're still only on day two. DAY FRICKING TWO!!! Sorry. I got a little excited. It's hard for me to put into words all that had happened today.

We started off by meeting up with Sky, Micah, Rachel, and Emma again today. This time in Akihabara, the otaku anime gaming district. The district that was the inspiration to the name of my sweet baby ball python. One of my favorite districts of Tokyo! Besides video games and nerd-culture, Akihabara is also known for it's plethora of maid cafes. If you don't know what a maid cafe is, it is exactly what you are thinking it is... but better... and not as naughty. All the servers are super kawaii (cute) women in extravagant maid outfits that serve you fun ice cream parfaits and whiskey highballs. When you walk into the establishment, you are welcomed with an illuminated sign saying "Welcome back, master and princess." which I thought was silly. Until we actually got inside and found out that being called Master (for guys) and Princess (for girls) was the most tame thing about the cafe.

You are charged a cover-fee by the hour here at Maidreamin. They come with a number of different packages to make the most out of the experience. Sky, Micah, Rachel, and Emma went with the all you can drink package while Calvin and I split a parfait and some melon sodas. I wish I could say I left the cafe saving my money and not buying a group photo op but when in Japan, do as the Japanese do.

After our hour at Maidreamin, we headed to a mall next door. And while it may not be Mall of America, it was almost more overwhelming and anxiety-inducing. Each of the nine floors had their own theme. One through six being the love child between Best Buy, Costco, and Walmart. All in possibly the worst ways. The seventh floor had a Uniqlo, suit shop, ABC Mart, and Jins. While Calvin searched for a new rain jacket at Uniqlo, I had the task of getting new glasses frames at Jins. With the purchase of a frame you get a free eye exam. Perfect since mine had just expired before we headed out to Asia. I get to pick them up next week.

Once we got our errands out of the way, it was time for dinner then to visit Assort Tokyo Hair Salon for Calvin's haircut. His only trustworthy hair stylist was back in Plymouth. Sometime last year she had retired and we hadn't found much success in replacing her. That is until we came to Assort. Calvin and I quickly scarfed down our dinner, which consisted of different forms of skewered meat, and ran over to the salon.

Calvin made it to Assort before me as I was preoccupied with taking videos and photos at every turn of the street. When I got there, he was already seated with his hair stylist, Wataru. Wataru is the manager and one of the top hair stylists in the salon. If you look up their TikTok or Instagram you'll see Wataru in multiple viral videos. What really surprised me though was the camera crew surrounding Calvin. What are the odds we came in on the day that a national television program was there running a story on Assort. I leave this man alone for 5 minutes and he's already drawing in a crowd! Calvin would later inform me that they asked to interview him and he politely declined yet they were very adamant so he gave in. Typical.

It wasn't my intention but I also found myself in the salon chair with another Wataru. My Wataru had just moved here to Tokyo from Osaka a few months prior but had been a senior stylist over at Assort Osaka for quite a while. Even though there was a bit of a language barrier he still complimented my Japanese which was nice. I was even able to explain enough to him that Calvin was quite the shy guy so seeing him being flocked by a news crew was a true sight to see. We giggled quite a bit over that.

What started off as a simple conditioning treatment turned into chopping off a few inches and throwing in some bouncy, blow-out curls. Thank you, Wataru! Later on, Calvin and I both agreed tonight would be the night we'd finally go out but we now find ourselves cozied in for the night. At least our hair looks good while catching up on SVU... right?