December 14, 2024
A Sunny Day in New York
It was another beautiful, sunny day in New York.
In the early afternoon, I headed to the TKTS booth near Lincoln Center (see on map) to buy a Broadway ticket.
TKTS sells discounted tickets for Broadway musicals and other shows.
The Lincoln Center location is said to have shorter lines than the main Times Square branch (see on map), but even here I had to wait about an hour.
Still, it was worth it—I managed to get a same-day ticket for MJ the Musical at roughly half price (149 USD).
Strolling Through Central Park
After that, I walked over to Central Park (see on map).
There were horses trotting along, couples taking wedding photos, and even a pond partly frozen over.
It was such a beautiful and peaceful place to wander.
A Missed Stop and a Christmas Market
I wanted to see the Flatiron Building (see on map), which appears in The Boys on Amazon Prime, so I took the subway.
But I missed my stop and got off one station later, at Union Square (see on map).
To my surprise, a Christmas market was in full swing there, along with a small farmers’ market.
It was so crowded that it was almost impossible to look at each stall carefully.
Macy’s, Santas, and Caroloke
I took the subway again and stopped by Macy’s Herald Square (see on map), where the Christmas decorations were lively and beautiful.
All around the city and in the subway, I kept seeing people dressed as Santa Claus.
Not all of them were well-behaved—some were drunk, singing loudly, shouting “Ho Ho!!” to each other, or jaywalking through red lights.
At one point, when a car honked, a Santa yelled “F**k you!!!!!” at the top of his lungs and laughed with his friends. It was a little scary.
Then I came across a bus labeled “McRib Caroloke Tour”, where people were singing Christmas songs in a polite, cheerful way.
The silly wordplay—combining “carol” and “karaoke”—made me smile.
Before the Show
Before the performance, I grabbed a quick bite at A Slice of New York! (see on map).
One slice of pizza and a 500 ml bottle of Coke cost 13.04 USD.
The cashier smiled and said, “Japanese?? Itadakimasu!!” as she handed me the pizza.
She meant “please enjoy,” but I appreciated the effort—it made me happy.
Then I arrived at the Neil Simon Theatre (see on map).
At the entrance, I was asked to throw away my half-finished Coke.
It was a bit heartbreaking—I’d only taken two sips.
MJ the Musical — Pure Brilliance
MJ the Musical was absolutely stunning.
To witness such a powerful live performance up close gave me chills.
The singing and dancing were so, so, so, so, so unbelievably good—I was completely blown away.
It was beyond words.
After the show, I turned to the elderly woman sitting next to me, and we both burst out with:
“Amazing!!! Fantastic!!!”
We shared the same pure joy of having seen something truly special.
