Spring Break- Part 2: Tokyo

March 27th-March 30th

March 27th, Sunday- By this time, I was definitely feeling a little bit tired, but was super excited for my trip to Tokyo.  I drove back with Heather and her daughter from the hotel we stayed at, stopped by her house  to gather my belongings, and after a super relaxing and scrumptious lunch with her family, was off to Tokyo!

     I had relatively little trouble finding the hostel I stayed at, Sakura Hostel in Jimbocho, just north of the Imperial Palace.  (Although the location on Maps wasn't completely accurate, so I did a little bit of walking around the block until I found the place). Then, I was able to meet up with our family friend, Tomo.  I consider myself INCREDIBLY blessed to have such a great guide my first time in Tokyo! He showed me around Ueno Park, a beautiful and popular spot for cherry blossoms, but with the weather being extremely cold, there weren't too many out yet.  

     Then, we got on a train and went about an hour north of the city to have dinner with some of his family- his aunt, uncle, two cousins, and mother.  I tried Japanese BBQ, called Yakinku.  They pretty much just bring you plates and plates of food, which you get to cook on a little grill on your table.  I tried some interesting stuff, like horse, raw meat, and pork leg.  Most of it was very tasty, but there were a few things that weren't really my favorite.  

>This is a picture of the Sakura Festival at Ueno Park.  The University also had booths set up, and students were selling their artwork.  I made sure to buy a ring as a souvenir. 

March 28th, Monday-I decided to sleep in a little bit, but not much, and since it was my first night in a hostel, I didn't sleep too well anyways.  Tomo met up with me at Shinjuku, and we met up with two other teachers that I work with in Sendai that were still in Tokyo.  We went to Shinkjuku National Gyoen, which was absolutely beautiful. It was much different than Ueno Park, which is pretty much tons of concrete with blue tarps where people sit and have picnics and drink beer all day for Hanami, or "flower watching', during Cherry Blossom Season. 

We grabbed lunch at a 24 hour place where you order and pay at the equivalent of a vending machine, and then your food is set in front of you. The great thing about Japan is you will get GOOD food, whether you go to a place where it costs five or fifty dollars for your meal. Tomo and I said goodbye to Matt and Julia, and continued on our adventures!

   

The day was PACKED! We went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building that afternoon, which has a pretty good view of the city for a price that agreed with me- FREE! After that, we went to Asakusa, which is where Tomo grew up.  He took me to Senso-Ji Temple, which is Tokyo's oldest temple and has been around since 645 A.D.  It is a Buddhist temple, built according to legend for the goddess of Kannon, the goddess of mercy.

Before you reach the temple, there is a shopping street called Nakamise, where souvenirs and local snacks are sold.  It was incredibly busy due to the fact that Japanese holidays are all at the same time, so not only were there tons of foreigners, but also Japanese people visiting from all over Japan.

The afterwards, there are tons of food vendors and rows and streets of shopping that seem to continue in every direction.  This is where I tried yet another Japanese dish, called Takoyaki, which 1. I burnt my mouth on. Although Tomo told me it was hot, I did not realize the extent. 2. I still don't like octopus, which is the main ingredient. Some things will never change.  

That night, we went down by the bay, to Odaiba.  I wanted to see the Rainbow Bridge, which was still beautiful although only white on this particular night. The weather was absolutely PERFECT all day, although it was supposed to rain, it never did. Between Monday and Tuesday, I walked almost a full marathon, so I definitely was getting my exercise in.  

March 29th, Tuesday- I finally had a good night of sleep, because I was so completely exhausted.  This day was perhaps my favorite because I absolutely LOVED the fish market- Tsukiji. It was filled with vendors selling all of their goods fresh from the ocean. I had some skewered grilled eel which was absolutely amazing. The other one wasn't my favorite....so I gave it to Tomo to eat (I think it was intestines). We had a delicious lunch of sushi, which Tomo said was "middle-of-the-road sushi", so not the best, but not the worst. 

We went down to where all the fishermen were set up, but by this time most of them were cleaning up and hosing down all the counters and booths they were at. The majority of fish had been cut up and packaged, but there were still some sea creatures alive and well and in styrofoam containers- eel, octopus, and fish that would be sold to restaurants. 

It was even warmer today, so we decided to go to the shopping district in Shinjuku, and stopped by Shibuya Crossing, which is the world's busiest pedestrian intersection.  You can walk any direction you want across the street, which was pretty cool. It definitely is a "scramble", but at the same time everything in Japan is so orderly, so it isn't too crazy. We didn't really do any shopping, more just enjoyed observing people and eating a delicious crepe, which Tokyo and Japan in general are known for. After a stop at Nescafe for some Jasmine Tea, it was time to say goodbye to Tomo and head back to the hostel for the night. 

March 30th, Wednesday- My final day in Tokyo I was on my own.  I took a leisurely walk around the Imperial Palace, which has something like 12 interconnecting moats. I didn't venture into the areas of the palace where tourists were allowed because by this point in time I was completely content to not be in a swarm of people.  I had to check out of my hostel by eleven, but just left all my bags in the main lobby around twelve and came back and retrieved them around one o'clock. 

I had to get to the airport around four where Katelyn was dropping off her boyfriend and I was bumming a ride back to Sendia, so I had time for one more adventure- a cat cafe!

It was exactly what I needed since I have been missing my furry friend Mitch!