This trip was similar to our Europe trip, except this time
it was just me and my best friend, Ceceil and we were only making three stops
total instead of 5-6 like Europe. We took two full weeks off for this trip and
because there was so much that we wanted to do, of course I had to “excel” our
trip.
Our first stop was Tokyo, Japan! Lucky
for me, Ceceil is fluent in Japanese and
she used to live and teach English in Japan. So getting around and asking
questions were easy-peasy. Also,
thankfully for Ceceil, one of her students offered her home for us to stay at
and even made breakfast for us every morning. We were so spoiled!!! Most
of our time in Japan was spent going to see her friends, students, and karate
friends. They were all the nicest people I’ve ever met. Of course, as a
non-speaking Japanese visitor, I just smiled and nodded when it was
appropriate. I should have been smarter
and at least learned a few words to say in Japanese or at least how to properly give thanks before and after someone
prepares a meal for me! *shame on me*
- For future reference, before meals it’s: I-tta-da-ki-masu (phonics : E-ta-da-ki-mas)
- After meals, it’s: Go-chi-so-sama (phonics: go-che-soo-sama)
One financial thing to know about Japan is transportation is expensive! So… make
sure you set aside money for that. To give you an idea, we were there for about
four days, three nights and our metro card cost us about $80 - $100, which we
ended up using completely.
The first place we went to in Japan was Disney Sea. Think
Disneyland but a bigger focus on Ariel. When we went to Disney Sea, they were
celebrating their 30th anniversary, so the place was filled with
middle and high school students everywhere. We only got the chance to ride
three rides, which I was fine with since their rides were nothing compared to
Minnesota’s wild thing. Their rides were more like, Mall of America’s mild
thing. ;P Overall, Disney Sea was still a really cute theme park and we still ended
up spending the entire day there.
Pictures from Disney Sea:
The next day, we got up early and headed to Enoshima. Oh! Side
note: The place we stayed at in Japan was a high-rise so we were able to see
Mt. Fuji from their place. B.E.A.U.tiful!
Enoshima had the most breathtaking views…
Here’s a shot of the ocean. Of course, the walk to get here
was…. Definitely a work out! There were a million stairs and the trail was a
good 1-2 mile hike. But, look at this view… it was worth it!!!
click to see the full photo (panoramic shot)
More Enoshima photos...
From Enoshima, we stopped by Kamukura to see the big Buddha, which is a recognized Historical National monument.
We went, we saw, we left. LOL! That’s pretty much all we did there. We were on
a time limit since we were getting our hair cut that night by her student and
her husband for FREE! Yay! So, we had to make sure to be back on time. (You don’t get free haircuts from 25 years
experienced stylist very often.) ^_^
After our salon session, I wanted ramen. Hey, you can’t be
in Japan and not have ramen! Yummy!!!!
Now, I understand why they eat their noodles so fast when
it’s still so hot and they also slurp while eating too. (We may think slurping is rude but it’s not considered rude there.)
Well, slurping while you’re eating actually cools down the food as you eat so
you can actually eat it while it’s hot. In Japan, it’s considered rude if you
don’t eat your ramen quickly. So, slurp, slurp away!
Onto our last day in Japan… we spent the whole day going to
all the places I wanted to see. The first was Ueno Park, which was a nice
stroll in the park but we missed the cherry blossoms by a few weeks. As you can
see, there’s lots of tress but not cherry blossoms. Ha ha ha.
Right next to Ueno Park is Ame-ya shopping area. A few
blocks of street shopping and vendors. I didn’t shop as much here just because
I knew I would be doing A LOT of shopping in Seoul and Taiwan.
And of course while we were here, we had to take purikura –
Japanese photo booths. These photo booths will enhance your eyes, give you cute
lips, light and glowing skin, and overall just make you look like a doll. No
lie! See….
And on top of that, you can spend time decorating your
pictures with stickers, text, glasses, hats, etc. A person could spend hours
here! We didn’t though since there is a time limit (a very long time limit) and
we had to meet up with Ceceil’s friends for sushi.
Sushi time! – We hurried across town to meet up with
Ceceil’s friend and her husband for some authentic and very fresh sushi!
Probably the best sushi ever! In case you ever want to check it out, it's located near the train stop Yoyogi-uehara on the Chyoda subway line. Sorry, I
couldn't remember half of what we ate. The chef said something in Japanese; I
looked over at Ceceil and her friends and just nodded – yes, it was good and
that’s all that matters. LOL! Oh, and the green tea they served was so good! I
wanted to take some home but I didn’t want to trouble myself with figuring out
how to get that packaged and sent back with me. So, I just drank about four
cups of it.
As always… thanks to Ceceil’s friend and husband for
treating us to amazing sushi!
I was quite the whale after eating all that sushi so we took
a stroll through Yogogi Park to the Meiji Temple instead of taking the train. I
didn’t really take pictures of Yogogi Park but it’s comparable to NYC’s central
park. Although I have not been to NYC yet,
I imagined it would look like Yogogi Park. J
A really big park where there are performers, people on dates, families hanging
out, and people in general just enjoying the weather.
The walk to the Meiji Temple was quite pleasant. It was
through this large trail, which was decorated with historical facts about the
temple. Fun fact: The Meiji Temple was built in memory of the Meiji Emperor who played a large role in restoring Japan from it's Feudal era and bringing westernization to Japan. While in Japan, we stopped by a few temples and each time I took the opportunity to pick out a fortune. However, this time I decided to write a wish and blessing. At the Meiji Temple, you can
purchase a wooden plaque for about $5 USD, write whatever you want to give thanks
for and wish for. Once you’re done, you’ll hang it on the wall with the rest of
the other plaques and at night they burn the plaques and say prayers for all
the wishes. I definitely want my wish to come true. ;P
We had a very eventful day, so by the time
we got to the Shibuya Crossing, it was pretty much a “we came, we saw, we left”
moment. Although I would have loved to shop and explore the shops, I was so
exhausted and ready to give my knee a break. (I had to wear a knee brace for the last two days because it was in so
much pain from the walking, climbing, and the uneven pavement. Or it could have
just been old age).
We made one last stop at Daiso before we met up with Ceceil’s
karate partners for dinner and drinks. I LOVE DAISO! They should open one up in
the US. Daiso is a dollar store but their variety of products surpasses our dollar
stores AND they’re not cheap quality either. I did go a little crazy shopping
at Daiso.
Well, that sums up my trip to Japan. I do want to give a big
THANKS to all of Ceceil’s friends for their hospitality! It definitely wouldn’t
have been the same without them.
