A Weekend in Tokyo

Minasan Konnichiwa!

Skaleta des! I'm pretty sure that translates to "I'm tired", but if not it was close enough! So this past weekend was my first vacation while in Japan. I fashioned it out to be more of a business trip (HAH!) but let's face it, it was four days of pure playtime in the city! The goal of the weekend was to get me more familiar with the city so when I start bringing groups here for tours, I semi-know what I'm doing. In reality, I let Patrick do the talking and decision making and just enjoyed the ride.

We were greeted in Tokyo with a ridiculously high level of humidity and rain, but that didn't stop us from visiting the 2nd (or 3rd?) happiest place on earth: Disneyland! Actually, we decided to be practical about it and visit Disney Sea instead, since Tokyo Disney is in fact similar to the park we all know and love in Anaheim. The park is nautical themed (who'd've thunk it??) and I guess Japan decided we needed the real experience. The rain gods held off until we got into the park and then just let loose once they decided we were committed to spending the day there. Luckily, most of the waiting was indoors and even if it wasn't, I don't think I would've cared. I was in a Disney park for crying out loud!

Something else I always enjoyed about Disney parks is the park FOOD. We were in search for a churro and instead we found this frozen pastry thing flavored like honey and lemon. It was decided that the treat was being offered because of the hot weather but let's be honest, when is it ever too hot to eat a churro?!

Dinner was just what I needed. Lobster. Scallops. Deliciousness on a plate. We dined on the SS Columbia...er, at a restaurant in a replica of the SS Columbia. And for all of you Disneyland fans out there...this place was way better than the Blue Bayou at New Orleans Square.

After the park closed, I wanted to be sure that I made the most out of my weekend. I tried to be a trooper and agreed to go out to this restaurant/bar (I can't remember its name) at this place (maybe it was Ginza?), but I failed miserably. One thing I could NOT get used to in that city was the constant smoking in doors! Come on people, why hasn't Japan received that memo on second hand smoke? Needless to say, I crashed in the middle of drinks and appetizers so we called it a night.

The next day's plans included a day at Kamakura, which was described to me as the Santa Cruz as Japan (and rightfully so, I found out later). We got off the train with plans to visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, which could be stops for group tours in the future. The minute we stepped out of the train station, however, we were targeted by a group of college students from Tokyo that was a part of an English club and they offered to give us a tour of the area for free (to practice their English skills). They were, of course, amazing! Although Patrick had been there a few times before, the group gave us a different perspective and it was awesome to get their opinions on the Shinto and Buddhist religions and how the new generation of Japanese interact with those faiths. At the end of the day, they were given the name Kamakura Crew and business cards were exchanged in the hopes that we would all stay in touch (thanks Patrick for having one of my cards handy!!).

One top of being given an awesome tour of the area, we were blessed with beautiful weather (thanks Buddha!). Blue skies, warm sun and less humidity than what I had been experiencing since I got to Japan. I visited the other side of the Pacific Ocean for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised :) The water was warm, the weather was perfect but the sand was...sticky? I didn't want to leave at the end of the day, but I think Kamakura can only handle geijins for a short amount of time ;)

I took a trip down memory lane later that night when we met up with an old friend from junior high school. Chandresh is living in Tokyo for a few months for a job assignment (waaay cool) and it was his first night in the city. He literally landed at 5pm and was out and about at 8pm eating, drinking and busting out karaoke with the best of them. I was definitely impressed! He'll do well in Tokyo...

We spent the rest of the weekend wandering the city and in the process, I become more familiar with the subway system, where sites are located and ate some awesome food in the process (go to Chopsticks in Shibuya...a-MAZE-ing). Overall, this Tokyo trip was absolutely amazing and I look forward to bringing groups back, although we'll be eating five meals a day because I have way too many places to hit up when I get there...one of them being the best bento place in Tokyo station.

Adjusting to life back in Takko has been interesting...especially since I'm officially out here on my own (sayonara to Pato chan for reals). People are still fretting about my eating habits (people observe and talk a LOT here) and I developed a cough so now they have something new to be concerned about. Conveniently enough, I was given my insurance card today "in case I needed to go to the doctor". Right...

Today was the one week mark until I go home for the Gilroy trip! I can't believe that it's nearly been a month since I arrived in Japan...the time has certainly flown by. So set your countdown clocks; my plane lands at 9:30am on Wednesday!