(Belated) Day Nine: Shibuya, Sunshine City, and Karaoke

Hello! You found the compass!

      Today's adventures began with a much-anticipated trip to Shibuya. (I mentioned Shibuya in one of the first entries; it's that place where The World Ends With You is based.) We got out of the station and found Hachiko's Statue with relative ease.

Hachiko!

  
      From Hachiko, we made the short walk to the famous Shibuya 109 building. It is a pinnacle for young women's fashion and contains eight floors of trendy, expensive clothing. We explored all 8 (it took about an hour and a half) and had some funny encounters with store clerks. Many spoke limited English and everyone wanted to know where we were from. There was one young woman in a store we went into (which was the one I ended up buying my new shirt from, actually) who asked where we were from. We said "America", and her response was something along the lines of "Ooooh, Americans! Very nice bodies, yeah?" and pointed to her chest and said "small". I tried to mime that her chest certainly was not small (it wasn't), and she laughed and picked up a bra and told me to touch it: it was extremely well padded. We had a good laugh and then had a charades exchange where I think we may have been comparing our body types and chest sizes, though I don't know if that's what she got out of it. Anyway, I liked the shirt that I bought! Never have I spent so much on a single shirt before though, and I don't plan on ever doing that again. So overpriced...That's high-end fashion for you.

Begin The World Ends With You mode.

       I may have said this before, but everyone looks good in Japan. I've become very fashion-conscious in my time here. I don't plan on going out and spending tons of money on new clothes, but looking nicer in general is one of my goals. It feels like no matter where the group ends up in Japan, we are always under-dressed.

      Upon leaving Shibuya, we decided to check out another mall and continue the shopping spree: Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. I didn't stay too long because of the crowds and being tired, but it was a very cool place and very easy to get lost in.

 

A theme park within Sunshine City. We didn't go in.

      

          Most of the group decided that we wanted to do karaoke later in the night. (Everyone except Tim went; he was at a concert!) What with it being Saint Patrick's Day, we wanted to drink a little bit as well. (Though not at the karaoke place; when we got back to the hotel.) So we bought a bit of alcohol before going out and stowed it in the hotel rooms. The drinking age in Japan is 20, so I was able to proudly buy my first bottle of alcohol! It was a little bit disappointing that they didn't card me...

I'm an adult! I did it!

       We found a karaoke place near the hotel and rented a room for an hour. It was absolutely hilarious! Bridget and I sang a lovely rendition of Give Me Everything (she was Nayer, I was Pitbull, we were both Ne-Yo). Then Eric and I, er, "serenaded" the group with Duality by Slipknot (screaming included). After that, Franco and Becky sang Clocks by Coldplay. Kristen sang Blow by Ke$ha, and then Tess and Kristen sang Belle's song from Beauty and the Beast. (The rest of us were the townsfolk.) The entire group sang We're All In This Together (yes, from High School Musical) and the night ended with me and Eric singing Feel Good Inc. by the Gorillaz (Tess did the background instruments). I may be forgetting some, but you get the idea. Here are some of the pictures! (Note: the shirt I am wearing is my new one from Shibuya 109!)

      On our way out of the building, some Japanese kids who were about our age gave us high fives and talked to us. One of them started singing to Kristen. It was a special moment.

      When we got back to the hotel, I enjoyed my first drink of Disaronno and Coke. Meanwhile, Eric had sake and a beer which he described as "tasting like skunk farts". (He bought it because the label was cool.)

Above: Pretty tasty. A cross between Cherry Coke and a super-sweet liquid candy.

Above: Skunk farts, apparently.

      And so Eric, Tim, Tess, Franco, and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning drinking our drinks and talking about a very random array of topics. (For the record, nobody was drunk at any point. It was relaxing, social drinking.) We had a lot of very funny moments, including but not limited to deciding that Tess is a Ninja Dictator Fairy Princess.

     Good times.

      Tomorrow is our last night in Japan. This saddens me. We'll just have to think of something fun to do to say goodbye to this marvelous country!

      Oyasuminasai!

Day Eight: Ueno, Asakusa, Akihabara

Hello! You found the compass!

      Early this morning, Tess and I woke up because our bed was shaking. I thought that Tess was viciously scratching an itch and Tess thought that I was viciously rolling around in my sleep (we're vicious people I guess). Once we established that neither one of us were causing it, we realized it was a small earthquake. Welcome to Tokyo!

      Tess and I actually got up fairly early to shower and grab breakfast at a little café a few blocks from our hotel. We were told to meet Dr. Huang in the hotel lobby at 8:50 to leave for the Tokyo Imperial Palace.  Seeing as it is the emperor’s current home, the security and structure at the Tokyo Imperial Palace was much more rigid than that of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. We had to walk in four lines around the premises. Also, unlike the tour of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, this one was in Japanese. They had little headsets with an audio tour for English speakers. We briefly saw who we believed to be royalty (relatives of the emperor) because they were dressed very well and abruptly turned around and walked in the other direction when they saw a large tour coming.  Many things in the palace were closed for events, so we didn’t get the full tour that we otherwise would have. The events they were closed for weren’t specified. I don’t remember any specific names of places, but here are the few pictures that I managed to take and some facts about them (if I remember):

Just some horsemen patrolling. Pretty nifty.

This keep burned down in WWII.

The main building where events are held.

      We headed to Ueno next, where we were set loose and able to grab lunch. Tess, Becky, Eric, and I found a little hole-in-the-wall type of place where I got hot curry and rice with a pork cutlet. As usual, it was very good!

Here were some other interesting sights in Ueno:

Sun Friend?

A "prison bar".

Love me! Love me! Say that you love me!

       While in Ueno, Dr. Huang showed us an interesting statue and memorial and explained the story behind them to us. (Dad, you will like this!) It turns out that the movie The Last Samurai is roughly based on the life of a man named Saigo Takamori. (Ken Watanabe’s character is supposed to be him.) During the Meiji Restoration, there were a group of warriors who supported Tokugawa (old government) ways and resisted the Meiji changes.  These soldiers (called Shogi-tai) fought against the new government’s army and were defeated in what is now called the Ueno War.  Saigo Takamori had supported the winning soldiers and defended the Meiji government. However, in 1877, after retiring from all governmental positions, he became the leader of a rebellion against the very government that he had helped establish. The rebel army lost. Saigo was wounded on the battlefield and committed seppuku to keep is samurai status. Due to carrying out that tradition and giving himself the honor of a good death, he is regarded as the last true samurai. Now he is a hero of the people. The statue that we saw was his, and the memorial is a graveyard for the Shogi-tai soldiers. 

Drawing of the Ueno War by a survivor.

Shoga-tai memorial.

Saigo and his dog.

       After our lunch break, we walked to the Tokyo National Museum. On our walk we went through streets lined with cherry blossom trees, but of course we are here too early to see them in their magnificence.  Only one tree was blooming, and the birds loved it! We also passed a statue with a plaque that said it was a depiction of Imperial Prince Akihito, the first president of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

They liked hanging upside-down.

The prince.

Though we were allowed to take pictures of many pieces in the museum, I chose not to. They didn’t come out great anyway, and I felt weird taking pictures. The museum had old books on beauty for men and women, a large collection of swords, an exhibit on the works of Kuroda Saiki (wonderful painter), old ceramics, and much more. 

Tokyo National Museum.

A sign for the MFA in Boston was there!

I thought this sign was funny.

      We took a quick train ride to our final stop as a group: Asakusa Temple.  It is one of the most well-known temples in Tokyo. Leading up to the temple is a small road lined with food vendors and other shops, and that happens to be one of the most famous shopping areas around! There were more tourists there than anywhere else we had been to.  After taking a group photo in front of the temple gate, Dr. Huang set us loose in Tokyo. We were officially on our own! The temple itself was beautiful and the shops had a lot of cool, cheap things that that tourists like us are drawn to. Tess, Becky, Kristen, and Bridgette got kimonos, and I got a simple yukata. I also got Sweet Potato soft serve ice cream, because why not? Yes, it really did taste like a sweet potato.

The main gate to the temple.

The shops on the other side of the gate.

Asakusa Temple.

A painting on the ceiling.

Another beautiful painting.

An Obama mask that a vendor was selling.

  

      With our newfound freedom we got ourselves to Akihabara, which is supposed to be the electronic and anime capital of Tokyo. We found the electric district easily enough, but I didn’t find a whole lot that I wanted. Maybe I was looking in the wrong spots. Anyway, the group split apart in Akihabara and Tess and I decided that we wanted to see what a maid café was like. All we knew was that the waitresses dressed like maids and joked around with customers. We thought we were going into something innocent. Well, we were wrong. (Oh Japan, you outdo yourself.) We took an elevator up to the third floor of a building (red flag number one) which had windows that were difficult to see into (red flag number two). When the elevator doors opened, my mood fell into complete discomfort (red flag number three? Trust my instincts? It counts.) The room was lit by soft pink and red lighting; much like how I imagine a strip club would be (number four). Also, every customer was male (number five). A maid gestured for us to sit down. We saw a sign by our table indicating that no photography was allowed (number six). A maid that spoke some English came over and said that there was a 1,000 yen seating charge (number seven), that we had to buy at least one meal (number eight), and that we were allowed to stay for an hour (number nine). It was around then that I faked an emergency phone call and we apologized to the girl and left. We ran out of the building and immediately got onto the train and left Akihabara, returning to Ikebukuro where things are safer. It was easily the most uncomfortable social situations that I had ever put myself in. I felt tense and sort of nervous and scared for many minutes after leaving that place. Tess felt the same. We will speak no further of our encounter with the maid café.

I drowned my fear in this: Cheesecake Haagen-Dazs. It is delicious and NEEDS to come to America.

       Tess and I fled to the hotel café for dinner before returning to the room where I am writing this. What a strange day this was (but fun, besides the end). Tomorrow is our first full free day to take to the streets of Tokyo on our own. My plan is to do some serious shopping in Shibuya (home to Hachiko’s Statue and the famous 109 building) and Sunshine City (Tokyo’s only “city within a city”; it’s in Ikebukuro).  We’ll see if things change. 

      For now, I am in need of sleep. America, I will be home soon and have plenty of stories! Oyasuminasai!

Day Seven: Leaving Kurashiki and Arriving in Ikebukuro

Hello! You found the compass!


      All of the events of every day are bleeding together. We're so busy that I have to ask people what we did today just to keep things straight. I have to look at the folder of the day's photos to remember what went on. So much to see, so much to do.

    Also, the picture of me in a yukata didn't really show much of the yukata so here are Tim and Franco showing them off! (I meant to post this with the traditional inn entry but forgot to!)

Look at 'em! Look at how handsome they are all dressed up!

      Anyway, today was relatively easy to remember because we didn't do a whole lot! Tess, Kristen, and I went back to the Little Mermaid cafe for breakfast. As usual, it was delicious! I actually have a picture of it this time.

Awesome.

      After checking out of our super seedy hotel-WAIT! I didn't write about the seedy hotel, did I? OH BOY! Well, it's time for stories. Last night, we stayed at the Kurashiki Station Hotel. It was very convenient because of the close proximity to the station, as the name suggests. Kristen, Tess, and I were in a triple again. It smelled like a smoking room and had an ash tray and matches, so Kristen burned two matches for both fun and to get rid of the smoke smell and replace it with match smell. We had a view of a place called Parlor All Star 21, which I thought was a strip club when I first saw it. Eric and Tim came to visit our room and Eric said that he had come to the same conclusion (strip club). However, the REAL reason that Eric came to our room was to show us something magical about our T.V. remotes and some pamphlets in the rooms. He pointed out that the T.V. remote had two different sets of up and down buttons labeled "channel". The set on the left of the remote was for regular channels, and it turns out that the set on the right was for pornography. Yes, Japan had an entire separate remote "clicky thingy" (as I professionally call it) for pornography in their hotels. (Maybe America does too, but that would be news to me.) Also, those pamphlets I mentioned were for call girls. Pictures included. We considered inviting one over for tea, but she probably wouldn't have spoken English and it would be expensive (also, we wouldn't have had enough tea for her and the two "doctors" who were "examining" her in her picture). To continue the list of oddities of the hotel, we found this odd sign at the ends of some hallways. I don't really know what it is supposed to mean. Suicide prevention? I have no idea.

      Okay, back to today's story. So we checked out of the sketchy hotel we explored a historical district of Kurashiki. The district has a small river running through it where traditional boat rides are offered. Koi and other fish swim in the river, as well as two swans. There are bags of fish food available for a small fee. Dr. Huang bought some and we got the chance to feed the fish, as well as the pigeons that the food attracted. It was funny; they ate out of our hands like chickens. We also visited two museums and then had free time to wander the roads and check out the merchants.

One of the museums we saw. Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft.

Begging for more food.

     

One of the two swans.

Not one of the museums we went to, but I liked the dog-covered roof.

Ivy Square: A small area with a hotel and some restaurants at the edge of the historical district.

Boat ride, anyone?

      One of the stores we came across was the ideal store for a crazy cat lady. (Or cat lovers. Dog lovers would be okay in there, but it's mostly cat stuff.) It was filled to the brim with everything you could want to own with a cat on it: purses, wallets, tote bags, mugs, cups, plates, paintings, signs, toys, the list goes on. There were two HUGE cats in a glass area with beds and toys. They were asleep when we got there, but they were still fat and cute. The music though...I can't imagine staying sane and working there. The music was Christmas Carols sung by cats. As in, the carols were all meowed. It hurt my soul after awhile...I think I went mildly insane from over-exposure to cat paraphernalia.


      After skipping around and having fun, we went to the train station to embark on a four hour train ride to Tokyo. I took a nap for a little bit, and when I woke up Dr. Huang was telling people to look out the window because we were passing Mount Fuji! It was an unexpected surprise, but it was something to behold. I didn't expect it to be as massive as it was, even from that distance.

The majestic Mount Fuji!

       The size kind of puts into perspective how incredibly stupid we (the United States) were to even consider painting it red to demoralize Japan in World War II. (Seriously. It happened. Google it.)

      And then, after a very relaxing ride on the Hikari Bullet Train, we arrived in Tokyo. We took the subway from there, and reached our destination: Ikebukuro.

      The first thing I noticed about Ikebukuro is that it is far more crowded than any of our previous destinations. It is much more New York City-like than Kyoto or Miyajima. We found our hotel (which is not sketchy, but the alley to get to it is) and settled into our new rooms. We were all fairly hungry and Becky, Tess, and I went to a place that we had passed on the way to the Sakura Hotel. From the first glance it looked like a cheap, traditional ramen shop. When we arrived, we discovered that it had much more than just ramen and it was still cheap! They used the ticket system, which was cool. (Rather than sitting down and ordering food you pay at a machine and press the button for the food you want, like a vending machine. It gives you a ticket which you bring to the cooks.) I ordered a curry and rice dish, which to my surprise also came with a massive bowl of udon noodles. I finished the curry and the noodles (but not the broth) and I was stuffed. It was delicious, the portions were fairly big, and it was cheap. I may have to return there sometime.

Hedge owls outside of Ikebukuro Station, West exit.

      Once we returned to the hotel, full and happy, we decided to stay in. We had been considering going to Shinjuku tonight but decided against it. We are getting up early tomorrow and going to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Guess what? Our application to get a tour of it was accepted! So we'll have gotten to see both of the imperial palaces in this trip! Woohoo! We're also going to three or four more places tomorrow, so I should have plenty of pictures and stories.

      Oyasuminasai!