Tokyo: The End

The last few days in Tokyo were busy, but not as busy as they could have been. A lot of things were closed that I wanted to do, the Imperial Palace Garden and an aerial view of Tokyo. However, this did allow me to walk around a few neighborhoods and take a day trip out of Tokyo. On the 29th I went to Tsujiki Fish Market with Nadja, a Swiss girl I met in the hostel. This is the largest fish market in Japan and they do billions of dollars of business everyday. It was pretty insane and very energetic. However, besides seeing a whole lot of fish, giant tuna, octopus, snapper, there isn't too much to report on. Later I had planned to go to the Tokyo Government Building for a free view of Tokyo, but they were closed until the New Year. Instead, I tried to go to Harajuku, but got on the wrong train at Shinjuku Station, which is the busiest train station in the world. So, I finally ended up walking around Shinjuku and taking in all the lights and craziness that is Tokyo.

My last day in Tokyo I went to Kamakura for the day. Kamakura is about an hour from Tokyo by train, but it is full of temples and shrines. However, it is most famous for its giant Buddha statue. I explored a few of the shrines and temples and REALLY wanted to go to the Buddha statue, but I had all sorts of difficulty getting there. It was getting late and I didn't go. However, I am planning on going back to Japan before I leave Korea because I want to see more than just Tokyo and I can try to fit it in then. Anyway, Kamakura is also on the coast and so I spent about two hours walking along the beach and sitting in the sand. It was a really nice day, about 60 degrees and the sun was shining. It was very relaxing and a great way to end my trip to Tokyo.

Here are two links to photos on Facebook. I'm too lazy to upload them to Picasa.

Tokyo: Part Ichi
Tokyo: Park Ni

Tokyo: Day with Cottey Girls

Today I had to switch hostels, but still stayed in the same general area as before. However, I am now closer to a subway line that is more direct. Anyway, after waking up and getting ready I headed to Khaosan Tokyo Original Guesthouse. This place has a lot of charm and is quite nice. I`m now in a room with 7 other girls so it feels a bit Cottey-esque. Everyone seems super nice and it is so much fun to meet people from all over the world. I`m staying with a girl from Switzerland, Spain and Austrialia (that I know of, haven`t met the others.)

Anyway, today was spent is Shibuya with my Cottey friends, Sayo and Sayo. They both moved back to Japan after going to school in the states and it was super nice to see them. We had lunch together at an okonomiyaki restaurant. You get a bowl of stuff, cabbage, meat, egg and all sorts of other stuff and then you cook it on a griddle on the table. It was so good! We had a kimchi and pork one and a seafood one that included squid and shrimp. We had two others, but I can`t remember what that were. After lunch we went to the karaoke room and belted out some tunes. This karakoe room was quite similar to a noraebang in Korea, but they had WAY more songs to choose from. After that we went to a photo booth and got pictures taken and we decorated them all crazy and we each got some to take home. Then we got a soda at McDonald`s and chatted. It was time to part ways after that, but I had SO much fun with the girls. It made us all miss Cottey people a lot. However, they are both planning on visiting me in Seoul as neither of them have ever been to Korea and it is really quite cheap for them to come visit.

Later on in the evening I explored the Asakusa area once more and found a cute/cheap tempura restaurant where I had eggplant, pumpkin, string bean, lotus and mushroom tempura with rice. It was quite delicious. I`m finding it easy to spend money in Tokyo, but I am pretty sure I won`t end up blowing my budget. In fact, I`m sure I`ll have some money left over for New Year`s Eve in Seoul.

Tokyo: Arrival

I`m in Tokyo right now and so far it has been quite nice. I caught a flight from Seoul at 10:20 on Friday morning and got to Tokyo about 12:30. The flight was pretty turbulent for the last 20 minutes or so and coupled with a tad too much wine on Christmas/late night/early morning, I thought I was going to be sick. Luckliy, I was fine.

After finding my way through customs and money exchange I was on a train bound for Asakusabashi station. Last night and tonight I am staying at the Khaosan Tokyo Ninja hostel and it is REALLY nice. I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to Tokyo. I`m actually staying in a room with three guys, kind of random/crazy, but perfectly fine. Anyway, yesterday I went to Sensoji Temple and walked around the grounds and the market in front of the temple. At the temple, I did what the Japanese were doing and tossed some coins in and made a wish/prayer. It seemed fitting not only because I was in Tokyo, but because the new year is quickly approaching and it is always a time for reflection and hope. After the temple I got some delicious udon, which warmed me right up. I don`t think I`ve ever actually felt the power of a warm bowl of noodles until yesterday. Since it was an early morning, I called it an early night and hung around in the hostel`s living room with random people and watched Japanese pop stars belt it out in front of a live audience.

Today I got up a little later than anticiapted, but I still managed to fit everything schedule into my day. I started at Kappabashi and the kitchenware market where plastic food is king and knives are commonplace. I bought a lovely pair of chopsticks and wandered aroubd looking at all sorts of kitchen gadgets, restaurant wares and pottery. Later, I decided to go to a clothing/shoe market and woubd up buying a new pair of shoes because my new Converse were killing my feet. I got a bice pair of Adidas tennis shoes and felt much better. Afterward, I headed to Ginza to check out the Sony Building where all the new products are on display. I never realized Sony had so many electronics! The digital cameras caught my eye as I am looking to buy a new one, but I held off. Ginza is insane. Lots of people, huge ritzy stores. Gucci, Chanel, Tiffany, Coach, Harry Winston, Apple and so many more. I checked out Coach and the Nissan showroom. I went to a 9-story stationery store and spent a good chunk of time there and bought a few things, but nothing too spectacular. Eventually I settled on an early dinner at a place Lonely Planet recommended called Zest Cantina. It is a Tex-Mex restaurant with Japanese cowboys, but the chicken in my quesadilla was undercooked. They had really good pico de gallo though. Tomorrow I`m meeting up with my friends Sayo and Sayo. We went to Cottey together and I haven`t seen them in about 5 years. It is completely insane how fast time goes by.

It`s weird being in Japan. I got here in less than two hours from a place I have lived for almost 6 months. It is completely mind blowing to me that I can be in another country in such a short amount of time. The other crazy thing is that all around me I see Asian, but they aren`t the ones I`ve been living with, they speak a different language, they have a different alphabet. I actually think I know more Japanese than Korean, but I have wanted to speak Korean in every situation. It`s one of life`s amazing experiences.