東京。。。Tokyo…
I don’t have words for how much I love Tokyo. It is young, it is old, it’s crowded, happy, and sophisticated, it has style, it has funk, and it certainly has a flare for the international. Looking back on the day, it’s hard to believe that in less than 12 hours I woke up (at exactly 7 am, alarm clock will prove it), boarded trains and subways, walked multiple kilometers, shopped, ate, talked, laughed, and slept before pulling into the Sato’s garage at exactly 7 pm. I guess I’m in a list-mood judging by those past two sentences so although I hadn’t planned on doing this, I’m going to make a list of the day. Some parts will be impressive and others downright simple, but here goes…
1) I woke up this morning confused but laughing. I’d had the weirdest dream in which I found Kelly Rowlands (one of the lesser known Destiny’s Child singers) dancing alone in the rain in the middle of a field and proceeded to take her on a date to Wednesday night church dinner, then back to my gigantic Japanese style mansion...I wasn't sure what that meant for the day...
2) After breakfast, my host mom and I drove to the train station 20 minutes away where we hopped on a direct train to Shinjuku, Tokyo. I was impressed to learn it only costs about $14 US for an express train (a step down from the bullet train).
3) I was happy to see Mount Fiji rising over the mountains to the west of Tokyo. On nice days it’s clearly visible from the city (if you’re not surrounded by skyscrapers that is)
4) My first experience on a local Tokyo train did not disappoint me in the least. It was literally so crowded I think I was touching 5 other people at once (at that is not an exaggeration). There were literally people by the train doors who needed to shove riders in like little pieces of Styrofoam peanuts in an overstuffed UPS package!! It was fantastic
5) Our first stop was the Harajuku area. Before seeing the infamous youth-fashion street of Harajuku, however, we headed to the Meiji Jingu Shrine Park. Today is actually a national holiday here in Japan, so despite it being a Sunday (also their down-day) the park was buzzing.
The main attraction was actually little children. That’s right, not little children were attracted to the park, people were attracted to the little children in the park. Don’t take that the wrong way please! What I mean is that today is Shichi-Go-San day, or Seven-Five-Three.
It is a Japanese holiday celebrating boys who are turning 5, and girls turning 7 or 3. Their parents tend to dress them up in traditional outfits and take family pictures in the park. As a reward they all get a brightly colored balloon (seems like a fair trade off). The beautiful weather meant for a lot of activity. To top it off, there were three separate weddings going on in the mere half hour we spent at the shrine. I loved how busy, traditional, and yet international it all was. I was by no means the only foreigner, in fact within 5 minutes I think I heard English (American AND British), German, Spanish, something like Italian, some Eastern European tongue, and of course, JAPANESE! Moments like that are what truly energize me and I’m left only wanting more
6) We then met up with Mrs. Sato’s nephew Yuya who studied in Denmark as an exchange student during high school, and then worked for (I think…) IBM in Miami, Florida for several years. His English was great, so when I wasn’t understanding the Japanese conversation he was always able to fill me in. In fact it was his wedding that my host parents went to only last month, so he and his new bride Yuka (I know Yuya and Yuka, right?!) met up with us for lunch and shopping. We walked the notoriously young/bizarre/fashionable Harajuku street for a while before turning onto a bit classy road filled with everything from D&G, Coach, Louis Vuitton, and Burberry, to fancy local boutiques and expensive jewelry stores. I was impressed to see Yuya was wearing a very expensive Bulgari watch and Yuka had a big Coach purse. Apparently they’re doing pretty well for themselves! They took us to this fun Italian restaurant at the top of Omote-sando hills mall called Zazza. The buffet was great and dessert was even better.
7) Unfortunately we parted ways after eating, yet they showed us off in the right direction. We traversed a confusing routine of subways and (obscenely long) underground walkways, to end up at Otemachi and Tokyo station. As soon as we came above ground my host mom went sprinting off and I was sure she was going to get hit by a car or something because she hardly even looked before crossing the street. I had no idea what was going on but followed behind as fast as I could. She was rushing off to the Sky Bus Tokyo booth, a double-decker tour bus company for downtown Tokyo. She seemed to think we were missing the bus but we actually had another 10 minutes, haha. Anyway we got lucky with two seats on the top level from which I was able to see the Imperial Palace walls, the government sector, Ginza shopping district, and several other areas of the city. I get the impression I could spend days here- so hopefully I will!
8) There were three American guys walking behind us for several blocks and I first laughed at their conversation (one wanted to buy a samurai sword so he could learn to be like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill and cut bullets) before realizing how incredibly loud they were talking. They were half way across the street before their voiced died out. I just don't get it, why are Americans so loud??
9) Am I extremely shallow for saying that one of my highlights of the day was eating a bagel??!! Haha, it was a delicious toasted New York style bagel with a distinctly Japanese twist. The flavor was Green Tea White Chocolate! There were literally white chocolate chips melted into the bread. The perfect mid-afternoon snack.
10) After the bagel and the bus ride, we walked back around the Imperial Palace and then into the Ginza area of town. Ginza is another expensive area of town (Tokyo real estate is through the roof), which is full of big name chains, department buildings, and famous local shops. We spent a least an hour exploring the 11-story Mitsukoshi department store. I did end the day with a couple souvenirs but I think I was in such a state of excitement that I forgot to buy things. Oh well, I’ll be back I’m sure.
10 1/2) When we were at the Imperial Palace I walked down the pathway that Obama had taken only hours before!!
11) On the ride home I finally got to ride the infamous Shinkansen or Bullet Train that Japan is famous for. The trip into Tokyo was on a more local, direct train, but the ride home had a stop off in Utsunomiya. The train absolutely zipped through countryside and city alike (all the tracks are raised high above the towns and are surrounded by sound dampening walls). I actually fell asleep for most of the ride, but I know it went fast because I feel like I’d barely closed my eyes before we arrived. Now that puts a whole new meaning to getting there in a blink!
12) I’m now ready for a hot bath and warm cup of tea. I’m exhausted, my feet are sore, and my mind is racing. I would definitely call the day a success. I just pray I’ll have many more Tokyo-filled days in the future. Enjoy the picture and dream of me (instead of Kelly Rowland…). Good-night -_- zzzz
Whoot whoot ... happy day for Sam1 ... good boy ... we still miss your guts out x0 weavers
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