Blogs from Tokyo, Japan, Asia - page 215

According to some manual on what gaijin, or foreigners do in Japan, gaijin go to Harajuku to see the Real Aliens, ie. the alienated youth who cos-play every weekend... so thats what we did today...we went alien hunting. After brekkie we braved the morning express and the press of many bodies on the way Tokyo, heading first to Shinjuku. Shinjuku station is the biggest station in Japan, and the busiest in the world with an estimated 3 million people passing through its gates each day. On weekdays during peak hour it's insane O_o From Shinjuku we hoofed it to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building where you can get an awesome 360 degree view of the massive urban sprawl, for free. We then wandered over to Yoyogi- Koen, visiting firstly the Meiji shrine. The shrine was ... read more

November 28 - 29 My last two days in Japan were spent mostly in meetings. Needing to wrap up our experiences in each of our host cities, we put the finishing touches on an incredible learning adventure that brought together two different cultures. I’ll reflect more on that in the next blog, but now I want to go back to being the traveling tourist. Since our meetings ended so early on Tuesday, a few of us made our way to Tokyo Disneyland. With just a few hours that came with the evening pass, we tried to see it all. But even before we got inside, we noticed a note telling us Space Mountain was closed. Although disappointed, we made the best of everything else Tokyo Disneyland had to offer. Having to listen to most rides in ... read more

Hi Everyone, I am sorry I haven’t written an update in a while. Last Wednesday, Marc and I went up to the Executive Lounge here in the hotel so we could have a glass of Champaign to celebrate our finding a new apartment. The bar stools up there are really high and some how I twisted my back the wrong way. Consequently, I have spent the last few days either laying as still in bed as possible or …… well never mind, I’ll spare you the details! Sunday I had finally had enough and Marc (internet sleuth that he is,) found a chiropractor on line. I was NOT crazy about going to someone I didn’t know, but Marc hadn’t been able to get any referrals from colleagues as it was a holiday weekend. Any way, he ... read more

Unfortunately I have only a few minutes to stay a LOT of things about Japan. I am on a computer that I can only use for ten more minutes and I cant put up pics...plus the keyboard is in japanese and I cant find all the stuff I need on here to type. Funny. Things are so good though. I have been having a fantastic time! Dallas and I took off last Thursday for a two day hiking trip that turned in to a bit of a fiasco and I wanted to just cry and cry. We left for a little place called Oku Tama and we were going to hike the tallest peak in Tokyo. At the top there is an emergency shelter that we can stay in for free and we like that because ... read more

Since we hadn't received a response to our previous application, we went out apartment hunting again on Wednesday. The realtor signed us up to see nine apartments; some revisits and some new. We ended up seeing only two. The second apartment was fantastic; it had just come on the market that day. We immediately put in a new application. This blog won't let me copy over the floorplan but our guests at Levin's Inn will be very pleased. We have two bedrooms, two and a half baths (inlcuding full bath ensuite the guest room) and over 1800 square feet all in Central Tokyo. Pictures will come once we move in ... currently scheduled for 5 December.... in and settled by Christmas!!!!! More to write later; now is the time to celebrate (champagne)! ... read more