JAPAN!

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Hello, All!

Well, I've just gotten back from Japan a couple of days ago. It was okay...

Or... It was amazing! I had an awesome time with my friend, Mike. We didn't have a real schedule or anything - just general ideas of what we wanted to do and see. I think our priority list went something like this:

1. Eat amazing sushi
2. See REAL Tokyo (not just the touristy stuff)
3. Tokyo Motor Show
4. Tokyo Disneyland
5. Participate in real karaoke

I feel pretty confident in saying we achieved all of those things with flying colors. Friday was our flight out of Seoul, so we managed to get to Incheon International in just enough time to check in. Luckily, we had no checked luggage, so we just went straight for the plane. When we landed, we found out that our hotel was not, in fact, directly in the Ueno/Asakusa area as indicated on my reservations, so we hopped a train from Ueno Station to Yatsuka Station (which took a while for us to find after passing it). Once we made it into our hotel (tiny with a bathroom that looked like it belonged in a plane or a tree house), we freshened up and headed for Don Juan's Karaoke Pub. Here, we had a few well-deserved drinks and sang our little hearts out to the most ridiculous music possible, including a Disney duet and a hardcore rap song or two. We were also joined by a friendly older Japanese man who only sang classic rock songs. Of course, I sang with him. Good times.

The next day was Halloween and we decided to head out for Tokyo Disney. We visited the Sea portion of the park since Land is essentially a carbon copy of the one in Anaheim. It was amazing! We rode rollercoasters, ate overpriced food, and wandered aimlessly. Unfortunately, my camera died on this expedition and I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked.

Sunday we went to the Tokyo Motor show and I stole Mike's camera and took so many pictures that even facebook wouldn't let me post them all. I did, however, manage to post a good many and they are there for your viewing pleasure if you have a facebook account and would like to peruse them. I had an absolute blast there with all of the cars and engines and people. I had more than one heart attack, saw my current car-want (Toyota FT-86... *drool*). I was also one of very few females there. It was certainly interesting to try to take photos. You wouldn't guess it from the ones online, but I was wrestling through most of them with a crowd of guys with GIANT cameras to even get a shot. There was a lot of waiting and impatient foot tapping involved before I realized that I could crawl through their legs and just pop up in front to get my pictures. 😊

Monday was a typical touristy day of seeing shrines, temples, sculptures, and food. I ate the most amazing sushi I've ever had (I'm fully spoiled for life now) and saw some pretty incredible stuff. Mike was spectacular company throughout the entire trip. I couldn't have asked for a better travel buddy. Unfortunately, Mike is leaving English Village in December. I am pretty sure I'm going to cry like a small child when that day comes. He is a fantastic human and I'm really going to miss him. <3

Well, folks, that pretty much covers Tokyo. I got to use some of the Japanese I had learned and the people there are so much more polite than in Korea! It was a heck of an experience and I can't wait to go back!

Love you all!,
Meg

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