Things have been going quite well lately. Mid terms are over and I got all grades back except for one. I got a 100 on World Music, 98 on Japanese Culture and a 95 on Japanese. Not too bad if I do say so myself. Now I have a few weeks to chill before getting into the hard work again. I am all scheduled for classes for next semester so that is a relief. Next weekend I am going to be working at a High School English camp. We get paid $200 and all of our accommodations are paid for, including food and hotel. Not only that but all of my friends are going as well.
This past weekend was a surprisingly good time considering I didn't have any real plans in advance. Friday I went with Amanda, Kyle, Dave and Sean to Shinjuku. I hadn't hung out with them since the beginning of the semester so it was a good time. We went to a German bar and then we found another "The Lockup" restaurant. We were very very rushed for time before the last train at The Lockup and all of them were drunk so it made for quite an adventure. Luckily we made it back for the last trains. Saturday I went to Shibuya with Lucas to buy records for some friends. We also found a really good conveyor belt sushi place. That night a bunch of us from the dorm had some wine and relaxed and had a great time.
Sunday was one of the best days I've had since I've been in Japan. Lucas, Jon and I went to Disney Sea! We tried going to Disney Land, but it was sold out...even at 10:00 am. I was pretty bummed out but we made our way across the complex to Disney Sea which is kind of like Epcot in the sense that there are different countries as different ports around a big lake. It was magical, of course, as soon as we got there. From the second I got to the park I became a 10 year old again. It was fairly crowded, but I know how to work the system between the fast passes and single rider lines. We got to ride everything...including Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I got my picture taken with Minnie, Daisy, Goofy, and the Genie. I was singing and dancing the whole time. When we first got to the park, we all held hands and skipped down the road. The weather was beautiful. It was just the greatest day ever. I love Lucas and Jon so much. They are the best people ever.
I'm trying to go to Disney Land sometime this week, hopefully Thursday, so I can see all of the Halloween decorations. Speaking of Halloween, I am so excited for it. I finally made my costume today. I'm going as a Grecian Goddess in a toga with flowers around my head. There are a bunch of parties and parades and I can't wait.
That's all for now. Woo.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Deer dance
I apologize for the delay, however, I have been in the middle of midterms with no time to do much of anything. I will continue with where I left off on the best trip ever.
Saturday Lucas and I ventured to Nara, a city outside of Kyoto. There is a huge park that is literally full of deer. It was basically one of the coolest things ever. The deer have free range and are able to do whatever they please. I purchased some deer cracker things so I was able to feed them. Not only was I able to feed deer, but I also was able to pet them and hug them and lay with them. It was so incredible. They are such beautiful creatures....well, except for the one deer that bit me on my stomach as I was feeding it. We also went to visit one of the world's largest enclosed Buddhas, housed in the world's largest wooden building. Talk about breathtaking. It was spectacular. After wandering around the Buddha and the park, we grabbed some lunch at a cute piano themed cafe and headed back to Kyoto.
Unfortunately our Nara expedition took longer than expected so once we returned to Kyoto, the rest of the temples we were planning on visiting were closed. Instead we ate dinner at an awesome restaurant called "The Lock Up." It was another themed restaurant, this time, themed as a prison. We had to walk through a haunted hallway to get there, then our table was inside of a jail cell. The staff all wore costumes like prison stripes, police officers, and other things of that nature. The drinks were great - Lucas got a drink that he had to mix by using a syringe. I got a drink that I had to mix by using different test tubes. So creative and great.
After dinner we wandered around Gion on a mission to find Geisha. It took us a while and we ventured down many shady alleyways, but alas, we found 2 geisha. I told myself that I wouldn't believe that they actually existed until I saw one with my own eyes. Luckily I did. We spent the rest of the night fairly low key - sitting by the river and talking for hours. It was quite nice.
Sunday we checked out of the hostel and boarded the train for Osaka. Once we arrived we put our bags in a storage locker at the station and started to wander. We weren't really sure where we were in relation to everything else and, although we had quite a few hours, didn't want to stray too far. So we ended up aimlessly walking around Osaka and finding some of the shadier areas. We sat in a bookstore for a while. We went to a shopping mall called Hep 5 that had giant whales hanging from the ceiling. I still don't know what they were for. Finally around 7:30 we met up with Chisa.
Chisa led us to her uncle's car, where I then got in to a car for the first time since the taxi ride from the airport on my very first day. He drove us around to various "hot spots" in Osaka. We just made very brief stops to take a few pictures. By this point it was getting late so we went back to his apartment just outside of the main part of Osaka. It was absolutely gorgeous. He lived on the 15th floor and had an amazing view of the city. We quickly went down the to Onseen that was in the complex. It was so relaxing after walking around for miles and miles and miles and days and days. After the Onseen, Chisa, her uncle, his girlfriend, Lucas and I, all went to dinner at the really nice shopping complex across the street. I tried some bizarre foods, as usual. Chisa's uncle was absolutely hysterical. He didn't speak any English, which made communicating quite fun. I tried, of course, to practice my Japanese, but I realized I still don't know very much. Following dinner, Lucas, Chisa and I stayed up talking for quite a while.
Monday was another very long day. Chisa took us to breakfast, which was extremely nice. We then boarded a train to Himeji, about an hour outside of Osaka. It took us a while to find the bus we were supposed to get on once we arrived, but finally we found it. It drove us passed Himeji Castle, which was beautiful, but we didn't go there. We went to the Himeji Museum of Art to see a Surrealism exhibit that Lucas found out about. I am not a huge fan of surrealist art, but this exhibit was actually really good. They had Dali, Man Ray, and a lot of other artists whose names are slipping my mind at the moment. It was a lot of fun.
Following the museum, we headed back to Osaka and went to Dotonburry Street which is the most famous street in Osaka. We had briefly visited it the night before, but this time we were able to spend a little more time there. Our first, and most important stop, was to the photo booth places. This one was extremely awesome because we were able to dress up in costumes. Unfortunately they wouldn't let Lucas dress up since he is a guy, but Chisa wore a flight attendant costume and I wore a doctor's outfit. The pictures are amazing. After the pictures I tried takoyaki, meaning octopus balls. I knew I wouldn't like it, and I was right, however, I was still determined to try it. We went back to the apartment, said by to her uncle, and headed back to the area around Osaka station. We went back to Hep 5 because they have a gigantic ferris wheel that over looks the entire city. It was a spectacular way to end our trip. It was then the long 8 hour drive back to Tokyo. The bus was ridiculously uncomfortable, but by this point, Lucas and I were so exhausted that we passed out and slept for the majority of the time.
All in all, this was one of the best trips I've ever been on in my life. I planned the entire thing and everything was smooth sailing. We met some cool people, had some great adventures, saw some awesome things, and became even better friends. I took over 550 pictures that I'm sure everyone will see when I return.
Since the trip, things have calmed down a bit. As I said before, last week and this week have been midterms and papers and stress. I was able to go to all night karaoke, though, finally. I went with Lucas, Jon, Yurie, Kyle, and then a bunch of other random people. Nothing like singing karaoke until 5:00 in the morning. Nothing much else has been happening. We've celebrated some birthdays in the dorm and I went to a festival a few towns over.
I miss everyone back home though. Less than 2 months until my return. I really don't want to leave.
Saturday Lucas and I ventured to Nara, a city outside of Kyoto. There is a huge park that is literally full of deer. It was basically one of the coolest things ever. The deer have free range and are able to do whatever they please. I purchased some deer cracker things so I was able to feed them. Not only was I able to feed deer, but I also was able to pet them and hug them and lay with them. It was so incredible. They are such beautiful creatures....well, except for the one deer that bit me on my stomach as I was feeding it. We also went to visit one of the world's largest enclosed Buddhas, housed in the world's largest wooden building. Talk about breathtaking. It was spectacular. After wandering around the Buddha and the park, we grabbed some lunch at a cute piano themed cafe and headed back to Kyoto.
Unfortunately our Nara expedition took longer than expected so once we returned to Kyoto, the rest of the temples we were planning on visiting were closed. Instead we ate dinner at an awesome restaurant called "The Lock Up." It was another themed restaurant, this time, themed as a prison. We had to walk through a haunted hallway to get there, then our table was inside of a jail cell. The staff all wore costumes like prison stripes, police officers, and other things of that nature. The drinks were great - Lucas got a drink that he had to mix by using a syringe. I got a drink that I had to mix by using different test tubes. So creative and great.
After dinner we wandered around Gion on a mission to find Geisha. It took us a while and we ventured down many shady alleyways, but alas, we found 2 geisha. I told myself that I wouldn't believe that they actually existed until I saw one with my own eyes. Luckily I did. We spent the rest of the night fairly low key - sitting by the river and talking for hours. It was quite nice.
Sunday we checked out of the hostel and boarded the train for Osaka. Once we arrived we put our bags in a storage locker at the station and started to wander. We weren't really sure where we were in relation to everything else and, although we had quite a few hours, didn't want to stray too far. So we ended up aimlessly walking around Osaka and finding some of the shadier areas. We sat in a bookstore for a while. We went to a shopping mall called Hep 5 that had giant whales hanging from the ceiling. I still don't know what they were for. Finally around 7:30 we met up with Chisa.
Chisa led us to her uncle's car, where I then got in to a car for the first time since the taxi ride from the airport on my very first day. He drove us around to various "hot spots" in Osaka. We just made very brief stops to take a few pictures. By this point it was getting late so we went back to his apartment just outside of the main part of Osaka. It was absolutely gorgeous. He lived on the 15th floor and had an amazing view of the city. We quickly went down the to Onseen that was in the complex. It was so relaxing after walking around for miles and miles and miles and days and days. After the Onseen, Chisa, her uncle, his girlfriend, Lucas and I, all went to dinner at the really nice shopping complex across the street. I tried some bizarre foods, as usual. Chisa's uncle was absolutely hysterical. He didn't speak any English, which made communicating quite fun. I tried, of course, to practice my Japanese, but I realized I still don't know very much. Following dinner, Lucas, Chisa and I stayed up talking for quite a while.
Monday was another very long day. Chisa took us to breakfast, which was extremely nice. We then boarded a train to Himeji, about an hour outside of Osaka. It took us a while to find the bus we were supposed to get on once we arrived, but finally we found it. It drove us passed Himeji Castle, which was beautiful, but we didn't go there. We went to the Himeji Museum of Art to see a Surrealism exhibit that Lucas found out about. I am not a huge fan of surrealist art, but this exhibit was actually really good. They had Dali, Man Ray, and a lot of other artists whose names are slipping my mind at the moment. It was a lot of fun.
Following the museum, we headed back to Osaka and went to Dotonburry Street which is the most famous street in Osaka. We had briefly visited it the night before, but this time we were able to spend a little more time there. Our first, and most important stop, was to the photo booth places. This one was extremely awesome because we were able to dress up in costumes. Unfortunately they wouldn't let Lucas dress up since he is a guy, but Chisa wore a flight attendant costume and I wore a doctor's outfit. The pictures are amazing. After the pictures I tried takoyaki, meaning octopus balls. I knew I wouldn't like it, and I was right, however, I was still determined to try it. We went back to the apartment, said by to her uncle, and headed back to the area around Osaka station. We went back to Hep 5 because they have a gigantic ferris wheel that over looks the entire city. It was a spectacular way to end our trip. It was then the long 8 hour drive back to Tokyo. The bus was ridiculously uncomfortable, but by this point, Lucas and I were so exhausted that we passed out and slept for the majority of the time.
All in all, this was one of the best trips I've ever been on in my life. I planned the entire thing and everything was smooth sailing. We met some cool people, had some great adventures, saw some awesome things, and became even better friends. I took over 550 pictures that I'm sure everyone will see when I return.
Since the trip, things have calmed down a bit. As I said before, last week and this week have been midterms and papers and stress. I was able to go to all night karaoke, though, finally. I went with Lucas, Jon, Yurie, Kyle, and then a bunch of other random people. Nothing like singing karaoke until 5:00 in the morning. Nothing much else has been happening. We've celebrated some birthdays in the dorm and I went to a festival a few towns over.
I miss everyone back home though. Less than 2 months until my return. I really don't want to leave.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
We're on the top of the world, you and I
Well my little adventure easily because one of the best trips I've been on in my entire life. I guess I will go into slightly more detail.
Late Thursday night Lucas and I traveled to Tokyo station to catch our overnight bus to Kyoto. The bus was really nice and had curtains. However, just because it was nice did not mean that we would be able to sleep. After numerous attempts and bathroom breaks, I think we probably ended up sleeping about 2 hours give or take of the 6 hour ride. 6:00 am came and we arrived at Kyoto station. We went to McDonalds and I got a delicious mcgriddle.
With map in hand, we made our way to the bus station to get to Gion, the part of Kyoto that our hostel was in. Gion is known as the Geisha town, which I will get into further later. Everything was desolate. I guess Kyoto doesn't wake up very early. Our hostel was easily found and was located right on the river in the heart of all of the excitement. The office didn't open until 10:00, but I was given the combination to open the door, thankfully. We were able to semi hide our bags in the common lounge, change our clothes, brush our teeth and sit for like 5 minutes. We decided to explore Gion until the office opened. We wandered the empty streets with unknown stores. Everything was closed and mysterious. We walked along the river and saw the old fishermen. By the time we circled around the town, it was 10:00 so we went to "officially" drop our bags off at the hostel, however, we still couldn't check in.
After the brief stop at the hostel, we were on our way to the first temple: Sanjusangen-do Temple, meaning 1001 Buddhas. Well let me tell you...they weren't lying about that one. There really were 1001 Buddhas and it was spectacular. They were all in lines and rows surrounding one large Buddha. It was amazing. The grounds of the temple were beautiful. A group of Japanese school girls came up to us wanting to take a picture with us. We couldn't say no. After that we headed to Kiyomizudera Temple, the Water Temple. On our walk there, we passed a school bus full of elementary school aged Japanese kids. The were all plastered to the windows and waving profusely to us. I don't know if it's because we are foreign or if it's because Lucas looks like a model/rock star/famous, but we got quite a lot of attention over the weekend. It was wonderful.
Kiyomizudera was absolutely breathtaking. We had to hike up a mountain, but unlike in Hakone, this one definitely paid off. We had the most spectacular view of Kyoto. We could see for miles as we were standing up in the mountains, surrounded by mountains and city and gorgeousness. The temples themselves were fabulous. As we hiked down the mountain, there was a large place where you could drink the water (hence being called the water temple). It's holy water and you are supposed to make a wish as you drink it. On the rest of the walk down the mountain, children kept saying "hello" to us. They were trying to practice their English, so I responded in Japanese trying to practice mine. I also got some delicious Mango ice cream.
We went to an Okonomyoki place for lunch which was delicious and then headed to find the Path of Philosophy which would take us to our next destination. The Path of Philosophy was located along a small stream and lined with various cafes and random shops. Lucas ended up purchasing a Yukata, which is the less formal form of a kimono. We finally made it to Ginkakuji Temple. They had a sand garden with a big "sand castle" like dome. Again we walked through the moutains and bamboo. We saw a group of people looking up towards the sky and realized they were looking at the one single tree that started to change colors for fall. After Ginkakuji we headed to Kinkakuji Temple, however, by the time we got there it was closed, which meant the other temples we were planning on seeing would be closed, too. But it was alright...by this point, we had had no sleep and walked for what seemed like days. We decided to head back to the hostel.
We were finally able to check in and found our room was shared with 6 other people and had bunk beds. It was quite exciting to actually be staying in a hostel. We then went to dinner at a cute Asian place along the river. It was completely empty and delicious. It was so relaxing to be able to sit down for a while. It didn't last long though as we continued to explore Gion. We went to one of the photobooths which led to quite exciting pictures. We found playgrounds, hidden doors and alleys, and fun shops. After a while we decided to split up and have some personal time. I continued my walk through the streets of Gion when I found, or I should say they found me, a group of drunk Japanese guys that started talking to me. I was a little apprehensive at first, but hey...why not make some friends. They ended up being so much fun. We went down to the river, which is a huge hangout spot for kids. My new friends and I, including the two guys who then became my "boyfriends" for the night, sat by the river for a few hours and Lucas came and met up with us. They were all so drunk and hysterical, but really really nice. My one "boyfriend" gave me the Japanese name of Mikachan, meaning beautiful. Finally Lucas and I had to call it a night considering we had been up for 40+ hours straight.
I have many more days to account for, but my stomach is growling so I should make some dinner. I will write more later.
Late Thursday night Lucas and I traveled to Tokyo station to catch our overnight bus to Kyoto. The bus was really nice and had curtains. However, just because it was nice did not mean that we would be able to sleep. After numerous attempts and bathroom breaks, I think we probably ended up sleeping about 2 hours give or take of the 6 hour ride. 6:00 am came and we arrived at Kyoto station. We went to McDonalds and I got a delicious mcgriddle.
With map in hand, we made our way to the bus station to get to Gion, the part of Kyoto that our hostel was in. Gion is known as the Geisha town, which I will get into further later. Everything was desolate. I guess Kyoto doesn't wake up very early. Our hostel was easily found and was located right on the river in the heart of all of the excitement. The office didn't open until 10:00, but I was given the combination to open the door, thankfully. We were able to semi hide our bags in the common lounge, change our clothes, brush our teeth and sit for like 5 minutes. We decided to explore Gion until the office opened. We wandered the empty streets with unknown stores. Everything was closed and mysterious. We walked along the river and saw the old fishermen. By the time we circled around the town, it was 10:00 so we went to "officially" drop our bags off at the hostel, however, we still couldn't check in.
After the brief stop at the hostel, we were on our way to the first temple: Sanjusangen-do Temple, meaning 1001 Buddhas. Well let me tell you...they weren't lying about that one. There really were 1001 Buddhas and it was spectacular. They were all in lines and rows surrounding one large Buddha. It was amazing. The grounds of the temple were beautiful. A group of Japanese school girls came up to us wanting to take a picture with us. We couldn't say no. After that we headed to Kiyomizudera Temple, the Water Temple. On our walk there, we passed a school bus full of elementary school aged Japanese kids. The were all plastered to the windows and waving profusely to us. I don't know if it's because we are foreign or if it's because Lucas looks like a model/rock star/famous, but we got quite a lot of attention over the weekend. It was wonderful.
Kiyomizudera was absolutely breathtaking. We had to hike up a mountain, but unlike in Hakone, this one definitely paid off. We had the most spectacular view of Kyoto. We could see for miles as we were standing up in the mountains, surrounded by mountains and city and gorgeousness. The temples themselves were fabulous. As we hiked down the mountain, there was a large place where you could drink the water (hence being called the water temple). It's holy water and you are supposed to make a wish as you drink it. On the rest of the walk down the mountain, children kept saying "hello" to us. They were trying to practice their English, so I responded in Japanese trying to practice mine. I also got some delicious Mango ice cream.
We went to an Okonomyoki place for lunch which was delicious and then headed to find the Path of Philosophy which would take us to our next destination. The Path of Philosophy was located along a small stream and lined with various cafes and random shops. Lucas ended up purchasing a Yukata, which is the less formal form of a kimono. We finally made it to Ginkakuji Temple. They had a sand garden with a big "sand castle" like dome. Again we walked through the moutains and bamboo. We saw a group of people looking up towards the sky and realized they were looking at the one single tree that started to change colors for fall. After Ginkakuji we headed to Kinkakuji Temple, however, by the time we got there it was closed, which meant the other temples we were planning on seeing would be closed, too. But it was alright...by this point, we had had no sleep and walked for what seemed like days. We decided to head back to the hostel.
We were finally able to check in and found our room was shared with 6 other people and had bunk beds. It was quite exciting to actually be staying in a hostel. We then went to dinner at a cute Asian place along the river. It was completely empty and delicious. It was so relaxing to be able to sit down for a while. It didn't last long though as we continued to explore Gion. We went to one of the photobooths which led to quite exciting pictures. We found playgrounds, hidden doors and alleys, and fun shops. After a while we decided to split up and have some personal time. I continued my walk through the streets of Gion when I found, or I should say they found me, a group of drunk Japanese guys that started talking to me. I was a little apprehensive at first, but hey...why not make some friends. They ended up being so much fun. We went down to the river, which is a huge hangout spot for kids. My new friends and I, including the two guys who then became my "boyfriends" for the night, sat by the river for a few hours and Lucas came and met up with us. They were all so drunk and hysterical, but really really nice. My one "boyfriend" gave me the Japanese name of Mikachan, meaning beautiful. Finally Lucas and I had to call it a night considering we had been up for 40+ hours straight.
I have many more days to account for, but my stomach is growling so I should make some dinner. I will write more later.
Monday, October 1, 2007
So much to do, so much to say
I am finally getting around to updating. I am sorry for the delay. I have come down with a case of the sniffles or the cold or something along those lines. Once someone in the dorm is sick, we are all sick.
Friday after school So finally took me to the aquarium in Shinagawa like he had promised. It was so great. It was really small, but definitely worth it. There were penguins, fishes, sharks, starfish, crabs, and a Sea Lion show and a Dolphin Show. It was totally great. I love aquariums so much.
The weekend of September 22 and 23 was spent in hell...well basically. There was a school trip to Hakone, a mountain town about 3-4 hours outside of Tokyo. Basically everything that could have gone wrong, did. Although, I must say I did enjoy myself because I have a sense of humor and am able to laugh in all situations. Saturday morning, we were supposed to meet at a train station to load the bus at 8:15. There were 25 students on the trip, and surprisingly, everyone was pretty much on time. However, our bus was not. Supposedly there was an accident on the highway, or something along those lines. Over 2.5 hours later, the bus finally arrived. We were off to a late start, but we thought we would still have time to do everything on the itinerary. Yea...well the bus driver ended up getting lost, in traffic. So we drove around for a while (still in traffic), not knowing where we were going. There was also no bathroom on the bus. Whenever we would take a "5 minute pee stop" they ended up turning into 20 minute stops. Again, just like the last trip, anytime we were told a time to be back, basically add 3o minutes on to that. I do not appreciate lateness.
After we realized that we would not make it to Hakone in time to do what was scheduled that day, we decided to do Sunday's plans on Saturday, and vice versa. After sitting on the bus for what was around 6 hours, we finally made it to Hakone to a Buddhist temple. It was actually pretty cool...despite having to climb over 350 steps to get to the top. It was definitely hard work, but the beautiful mountains and scenery helped some. One would assume (or at least I did) that the top of the climb would be spectacular...well...that wasn't quite the word. Once we made it to the top, all that was up there was a little temple that we couldn't even go into . It was more of a shack. Oh well, it felt good to make it up there. Then we went to this castle...but of course, because we got there so late, the castle was closed. We still had a short amount of time to wander around. There was some festival going on on the grounds of the castle.
We finally made it to the hotel at 7:00 (which was when we were supposed to be at dinner). We checked in and I was in a room with Chloe, Danielle, Amanda and Mia. The room was awesome. It was the typical Japanese style Ryokan, which the short table and the mats on the floor. The view from our "balcony" was beautiful of mountains and trees. We didn't spend much time in the room. We quickly put on our cloth kimono type attire that the hotel provided in the rooms. We went to dinner in the big banquet room. We all had a tiny table and sat on the floor. The tables were set up in a U shape. It was traditional Japanese food...meaning, although I tried a lot of the food, I didn't eat most of the food given to me. I did the best that I could, I swear. Following dinner, everyone started drinking and singing Karaoke. This is when the night got really really fun. By this point, everyone was drunk and singing great songs. A bunch of random, drunk Japanese people came into our room and started singing and dancing with us. It was incredibly. I almost peed myself it was so funny. There was this one old man who would not get off the stage. His wife came up and was trying to drag him off, but he wouldn't leave. Finally they would get him off, but then as soon as the wife turned her back, he would drunkenly stumble back onto the stage. It was great. I got a lot of pictures and video.
After everyone had their share of singing, we made our way to the Onsen, the public bath/hot spring. I was really scared to do this, but luckily all 15 or so of the girls did and and everyone was drunk. I also realized that I wouldn't get this chance very often so I didn't want to regret not doing it. Everyone got naked and then had to take a small shower before getting into the water. The water was so hot and so pure. It was pretty amazing. I am so glad that I let my inhibitions down and did it. After the Onsen, we all drank more and then passed out. Our beds were just mats on the floor. It was actually quite comfortable.
Sunday there was a breakfast buffet. We checked out and made our way back to the castle. It was open this time, but the price of admission, which we thought was included, actually wasn't. We paid to get in, but it wasn't worth it. There were just some random old things from the Edo period of time. However, all of the signs were in Japanese so I couldn't read what they were even if I wanted to. Outside of the castle, they had an Elephant and a cage of monkeys. They were totally adorable, but their conditions were not very good. It made me really sad.
After the castle, we made our way to the Hakone Open Air Museum. It was an amazing art museum scattered throughout the grounds of this park. However, things of course could not be perfect. It started to rain just as we got there. I didn't let the rain bother me though. There were so many beautiful sculptures and there was also a Picasso exhibit. As we were leaving the museum, there was a children's area where they could do crafts...and of course I jumped on the opportunity, painting a picture and making a wire sculpture of myself. After the museum we went to this cable car thing that would take us up a mountain where we could then see Mount Fuji. Well of course, there was rain and fog and lots of clouds. We had to pay our own to take the car up to the top. We couldn't see out of the windows... And once we made it to the top, our "Mount Fuji" viewing didn't exactly happen. We couldn't see more than 3 feet in front of us. It was really disappointing. We then walked up this volcano that was very sulfuric, so it smelled horrendously bad. I'm glad I did it though. After the volcano, we got these Black Eggs. They are hardboiled eggs that had been put in the sulfur to turn them black. Rumor has it, that eating a black egg will add 7 years on to your life. The mountain was the last stop on the trip from hell, however, hell was not done with us yet. The bus drive home found us sitting in virtually non moving traffic for hours and hours. We were supposed to get back to Tokyo at 6:00...we didn't get back until 11:00pm. It was definitely a rough trip, but needless to say, one I won't be forgetting anytime soon.
Since then, I have gone to Ginza and Ikebukero again. I went to a delicious Malaysian restaurant and back to the Indian restaurant. I have watched lots of movies. I have done other random things, but I can't really remember anything too exciting. This past weekend was pretty low key. Friday Nadra and Sara organized a little dorm party thing. We all invited a guest, So being mine, and had pizza and food in the hallway. There were about 25 people total or so that came. It was nice, but stressful to organize and keep track of everything going on. After the "party," 8 of us went to an Isekya for some drinks. Sara's friends Tomoo and Justin slept over - Justin having to sleep in my room for lack of room in hers. It was a lot of fun. They are nice guys. Saturday and Sunday were mostly spent relaxing and trying to prevent this sickness. However, Sunday evening, Sara and I went to Harajuku for dinner and some slight shopping. I got a new school bag and some necklaces. We ran into Keith and Rian and went into the photobooths again. I love those things. Then I met up with Lucas and did some more shopping, followed by a wonderful walk through Yoyogi park in the rain. It was so peaceful and serene.
Today I skipped my classes because I wasn't feeling well at all. The extra sleep was definitely needed and worth it. Especially because starting Thursday night, my trip to Kyoto, Nara and Osaka begins!!! I planned out the entire trip and everything will be spectacular and inexpensive. Lucas and I are taking an overnight bus on Thursday and arriving in Kyoto early Friday morning (we are both skipping class on Friday, but it's totally ok). We are spending 2 nights in a Kyoto hostel, exploring Kyoto and Nara on Friday and Saturday. Sunday we make our way to Osaka, where we will be staying with my friend Keith's friend, Chisa's uncle. I met Chisa a little bit ago and she is awesome. She got us the hookup with her uncle and we are able to stay in his house for Sunday night. Between Chisa and her uncle, we will be shown around Osaka until Monday night when it's time to take another overnight train home to Tokyo. Since we don't have class Tuesday I will be able to get home early, sleep and do whatever homework. I am extremely excited, especially after the horrific last trips that I have gone on. No waiting for people this time. We make our own plan and time table. It's going to be awesome.
Anyways, that is all for now, I guess. Next update will be after the trip to Kyoto so get excited.
Friday after school So finally took me to the aquarium in Shinagawa like he had promised. It was so great. It was really small, but definitely worth it. There were penguins, fishes, sharks, starfish, crabs, and a Sea Lion show and a Dolphin Show. It was totally great. I love aquariums so much.
The weekend of September 22 and 23 was spent in hell...well basically. There was a school trip to Hakone, a mountain town about 3-4 hours outside of Tokyo. Basically everything that could have gone wrong, did. Although, I must say I did enjoy myself because I have a sense of humor and am able to laugh in all situations. Saturday morning, we were supposed to meet at a train station to load the bus at 8:15. There were 25 students on the trip, and surprisingly, everyone was pretty much on time. However, our bus was not. Supposedly there was an accident on the highway, or something along those lines. Over 2.5 hours later, the bus finally arrived. We were off to a late start, but we thought we would still have time to do everything on the itinerary. Yea...well the bus driver ended up getting lost, in traffic. So we drove around for a while (still in traffic), not knowing where we were going. There was also no bathroom on the bus. Whenever we would take a "5 minute pee stop" they ended up turning into 20 minute stops. Again, just like the last trip, anytime we were told a time to be back, basically add 3o minutes on to that. I do not appreciate lateness.
After we realized that we would not make it to Hakone in time to do what was scheduled that day, we decided to do Sunday's plans on Saturday, and vice versa. After sitting on the bus for what was around 6 hours, we finally made it to Hakone to a Buddhist temple. It was actually pretty cool...despite having to climb over 350 steps to get to the top. It was definitely hard work, but the beautiful mountains and scenery helped some. One would assume (or at least I did) that the top of the climb would be spectacular...well...that wasn't quite the word. Once we made it to the top, all that was up there was a little temple that we couldn't even go into . It was more of a shack. Oh well, it felt good to make it up there. Then we went to this castle...but of course, because we got there so late, the castle was closed. We still had a short amount of time to wander around. There was some festival going on on the grounds of the castle.
We finally made it to the hotel at 7:00 (which was when we were supposed to be at dinner). We checked in and I was in a room with Chloe, Danielle, Amanda and Mia. The room was awesome. It was the typical Japanese style Ryokan, which the short table and the mats on the floor. The view from our "balcony" was beautiful of mountains and trees. We didn't spend much time in the room. We quickly put on our cloth kimono type attire that the hotel provided in the rooms. We went to dinner in the big banquet room. We all had a tiny table and sat on the floor. The tables were set up in a U shape. It was traditional Japanese food...meaning, although I tried a lot of the food, I didn't eat most of the food given to me. I did the best that I could, I swear. Following dinner, everyone started drinking and singing Karaoke. This is when the night got really really fun. By this point, everyone was drunk and singing great songs. A bunch of random, drunk Japanese people came into our room and started singing and dancing with us. It was incredibly. I almost peed myself it was so funny. There was this one old man who would not get off the stage. His wife came up and was trying to drag him off, but he wouldn't leave. Finally they would get him off, but then as soon as the wife turned her back, he would drunkenly stumble back onto the stage. It was great. I got a lot of pictures and video.
After everyone had their share of singing, we made our way to the Onsen, the public bath/hot spring. I was really scared to do this, but luckily all 15 or so of the girls did and and everyone was drunk. I also realized that I wouldn't get this chance very often so I didn't want to regret not doing it. Everyone got naked and then had to take a small shower before getting into the water. The water was so hot and so pure. It was pretty amazing. I am so glad that I let my inhibitions down and did it. After the Onsen, we all drank more and then passed out. Our beds were just mats on the floor. It was actually quite comfortable.
Sunday there was a breakfast buffet. We checked out and made our way back to the castle. It was open this time, but the price of admission, which we thought was included, actually wasn't. We paid to get in, but it wasn't worth it. There were just some random old things from the Edo period of time. However, all of the signs were in Japanese so I couldn't read what they were even if I wanted to. Outside of the castle, they had an Elephant and a cage of monkeys. They were totally adorable, but their conditions were not very good. It made me really sad.
After the castle, we made our way to the Hakone Open Air Museum. It was an amazing art museum scattered throughout the grounds of this park. However, things of course could not be perfect. It started to rain just as we got there. I didn't let the rain bother me though. There were so many beautiful sculptures and there was also a Picasso exhibit. As we were leaving the museum, there was a children's area where they could do crafts...and of course I jumped on the opportunity, painting a picture and making a wire sculpture of myself. After the museum we went to this cable car thing that would take us up a mountain where we could then see Mount Fuji. Well of course, there was rain and fog and lots of clouds. We had to pay our own to take the car up to the top. We couldn't see out of the windows... And once we made it to the top, our "Mount Fuji" viewing didn't exactly happen. We couldn't see more than 3 feet in front of us. It was really disappointing. We then walked up this volcano that was very sulfuric, so it smelled horrendously bad. I'm glad I did it though. After the volcano, we got these Black Eggs. They are hardboiled eggs that had been put in the sulfur to turn them black. Rumor has it, that eating a black egg will add 7 years on to your life. The mountain was the last stop on the trip from hell, however, hell was not done with us yet. The bus drive home found us sitting in virtually non moving traffic for hours and hours. We were supposed to get back to Tokyo at 6:00...we didn't get back until 11:00pm. It was definitely a rough trip, but needless to say, one I won't be forgetting anytime soon.
Since then, I have gone to Ginza and Ikebukero again. I went to a delicious Malaysian restaurant and back to the Indian restaurant. I have watched lots of movies. I have done other random things, but I can't really remember anything too exciting. This past weekend was pretty low key. Friday Nadra and Sara organized a little dorm party thing. We all invited a guest, So being mine, and had pizza and food in the hallway. There were about 25 people total or so that came. It was nice, but stressful to organize and keep track of everything going on. After the "party," 8 of us went to an Isekya for some drinks. Sara's friends Tomoo and Justin slept over - Justin having to sleep in my room for lack of room in hers. It was a lot of fun. They are nice guys. Saturday and Sunday were mostly spent relaxing and trying to prevent this sickness. However, Sunday evening, Sara and I went to Harajuku for dinner and some slight shopping. I got a new school bag and some necklaces. We ran into Keith and Rian and went into the photobooths again. I love those things. Then I met up with Lucas and did some more shopping, followed by a wonderful walk through Yoyogi park in the rain. It was so peaceful and serene.
Today I skipped my classes because I wasn't feeling well at all. The extra sleep was definitely needed and worth it. Especially because starting Thursday night, my trip to Kyoto, Nara and Osaka begins!!! I planned out the entire trip and everything will be spectacular and inexpensive. Lucas and I are taking an overnight bus on Thursday and arriving in Kyoto early Friday morning (we are both skipping class on Friday, but it's totally ok). We are spending 2 nights in a Kyoto hostel, exploring Kyoto and Nara on Friday and Saturday. Sunday we make our way to Osaka, where we will be staying with my friend Keith's friend, Chisa's uncle. I met Chisa a little bit ago and she is awesome. She got us the hookup with her uncle and we are able to stay in his house for Sunday night. Between Chisa and her uncle, we will be shown around Osaka until Monday night when it's time to take another overnight train home to Tokyo. Since we don't have class Tuesday I will be able to get home early, sleep and do whatever homework. I am extremely excited, especially after the horrific last trips that I have gone on. No waiting for people this time. We make our own plan and time table. It's going to be awesome.
Anyways, that is all for now, I guess. Next update will be after the trip to Kyoto so get excited.
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