First as you should be able to see the previous 5 posts are links to my albums of each of the days I was in Tokyo, so please look and comment.
Day1.
So we set out from Himeji at 9:30 and got to Tokyo around 12:40. After finding our hotel and dropping our bags at the front desk we headed out into Tokyo to do a bit of exploring. I thought LA was big, but Tokyo takes the cake. It's HUGE!!! We went to Shinjuku station and along the way saw many interesting beautiful people. There is a style of dress in Japan called cosplay, where women dress in various costumes such as maid, nurse etc., and as you can see several women were dressed up. From Shinjuku we headed over to Shibuya and saw the busiest intersection in the world. Apparently 100,000's of people cross it each day. We got some dinner out there and Steve and I played a bit of Tyko drumming.
Day2.
The girls headed off and did shopping on their own. Steve and I went our separate way and headed over to Yoyogi. There was a very beautiful shrine in that area and a huge park along with the largest of non-associated cosplay girl population (meaning they aren't working at a "maid café" or something like it). Unlike in the states, people in Japan use their parks to the fullest. We saw tons of musicians, readers, runners, school kids, people with their dogs ... etc. Also it was really cool to see that adults here don't take themselves too seriously when on break. We saw several games of badminton and volleyball going, usually in a group of 20+ adults.
After Yoyogi Steve and I went to Ekihabara and wandered around a bit. There is a huge electronics store that we visited there, it was really nice to see Apple not only in their own stores here but also in regular computer stores too. I really wanted to get a new laptop there, but I am holding myself back until the new OS X comes out. After that we wandered some more and watched the cosplay girls in the area trying to get people to come to their "maid cafés."
When we got back to Shinjuku we cleaned up really fast and headed back to Shibuya to meet my friend Azusa and Lexi. I have been talking with Azusa on MySpace so it was cool to finally meet in person. We got some dinner at a local Izakaiya and then Lexi, Azu and I went out to a local bar and got a drink. However I turned in early that night since the next day was Disney Sea!
Day 3.
DISNEY SEA!!! We headed to the main Tokyo station around 7am to make sure we got to Disney Sea in time for it opening. We weren't sure how late it would be open so we wanted to be sure to get our money's worth. It turns out that it is open to 10pm though!!! So we ended up getting set for a 13 hours there ^^. When we got to the area outside Disney Sea I got a surprise, one of my teachers from Shikama Higashi was at Disney Sea too! He was just up for the day with his wife, but it was really random that we just happened to pass through the train station at exactly same time.
Disney Sea is more geared toward an older crowd as opposed to Tokyo Disney, which is like Disney Land in America. The photos I took speak for themselves, but I'll talk a little about the rides and stuff to explore. The Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones Adventure are at Disney Sea and that is the extent of the rides I know are in Disney parks in America. The first ride we went to was the tower and it was kind of disappointing as far as scary goes it was only about a 6 out of 10. However Steve and Lauren didn't want to go so they got us Fast Passes to go again later in the day and so we gave it a second chance later on. Our second ride was much more satisfying. After the tower we wandered over to the futuristic area and rode a few of the rides there. Of course the whole time Steve and I were constantly confronted with beautiful/cute Japanese women and you can see that reflected in the photos on my album :P. After a brief lunch we did a circuit around the park on a boat and got a glimpse of where we wanted to go later in the day. The real highlight of the day was our next stop on our tour of the park though. There is a castle and pirate ship in the center of the park. However unlike the fanciful castles at the “Magic Kingdom” in all Disney theme parks, the castle in Disney Sea is more realistic and fort-like. We spent about an hour and a half just exploring that area. After that Tina, Marie and I went on another ride, this one was called “Journey to the Center of the Earth” the closest ride I can equate it to is the log ride at Disney Land only we were in a car. You got through several areas at a slow pace and then near the end your car goes out of control and climaxes with a brief drop out of a volcano. When we finished there we wandered the park some more and watched a bit of a show in the center of the park.
The next part of the park we visited was the only “kiddy” area of the park. Mermaid Lagoon was cool to walk through, but the rides were a bit time inside. Outside Flounder’s rollercoaster was pretty fun though.
We rounded out the day by going to Agribah and watching the 3D genie show. Afterward we rode the carousel and explored the area a bit. The last ride we went on was Sinbad’s Adventure. It was cute, but think “It’s a Small World” and you get the idea of the type of ride. Obviously the words were in Japanese, however I think even if it was in English it would have been much less annoying than “It’s a Small World” though. Finally we went back to the main area and watched a live action show called “BraviSEAmo.” I was pleasantly surprised by it. The only thing that showed it was a Disney show was Mickey introducing it. I wasn’t able to get any photos of it, but here is a link to the show’s web page http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tds/english/event/braviseamo/index.html. The music and visuals were very compelling. You can get a taste of it on the web page. After that it was time for souvenir shopping time and then a gondola ride before heading back to the hotel.
Day 4.
Thursday was a day of relaxation and a bit more of exploring. We went back to Ekihabara and saw more cosplay girls. However this time we also went to a maid café. Steve and I ended up going to a different one from the girls. In hindsight we felt the café they went to sounded like more fun than the one we went to. Hindsight is 20/20 though.
In the evening we met up with Lexi and had some dinner at a really nice restaurant in Shinjuku. After that we went to the Tokyo Municipal Government Building and met up with Azusa again. The TMGB is famous because it looks out over Tokyo at night from one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo.
After the government building Tina, Marie and Lauren headed to Shibuya with Lexi. I was feeling a bit tired so I went back to the hotel with Steve. Azusa had to work the next day so she headed home on the same train as the girls took. When Steve and I got back to the hotel he suggested we wander around the neighborhood for a bit since we happened to be in the middle of the “red light” district. We ended up getting propositioned by guys and girls for everything from hostess bars (the girls sit with you and pour your drinks, do karaoke and chat) to sex. We had fun, asking silly questions, with the really pushy Japanese men that followed us and expounded why we should go with them. In the end we got back to the hotel around 2am and collapsed.
Day 5.
Last day. Even though we had a late night the night before we had to get up kind of early. I ended up getting out of bed around 8:30. We had to check out by 10am and so I felt it was best to give myself a bit of time to clear my room. We left our bags at the hotel to travel lite throughout the day. We headed over to a district that has the world’s second largest shopping complex (the first being the Mall of America up in Canada). There were obviously lots of stores and I bought a nice coat and cardigan at the Gap (I know gasp … but they are nice), but the big point of interest for me was I discovered my first Mexican restaurant in Japan. However I would say Mexican is a very loose term here. Although we have El Torito in America what they have in Tokyo is not what we have. I ordered a burrito and I got something like a fajita (no beans or cheese inside, just vegetables).
After the “mall” Tina, Marie, Lauren and I headed to Ginza where Tokyo’s Apple Store is housed along with all the high-end stores. The building was very impressive. The store inside is just like Apple Stores in America, but the other floors housed some other mysterious things. We were not allowed off the first floor and when I tried to take a picture of the inside of the store I was told politely but forcefully to turn my camera off. When I asked why the store clerk (bouncer more like it with his build) told me it was for security reasons.
After Ginza we headed back to the hotel, picked up our bags and then headed back to Tokyo station to catch the Shinkansen back to Himeji. Overall the week was a huge success and I enjoyed myself immensely.
Hope you enjoyed this brief synopsis of my week in Tokyo. I’ll try and post another blog within the next week to let you know how school and life in general is treating me.
