Tokyo - Days 2 & 3

The second day of my vacation in Tokyo involved a lot of wandering around and a lot of relaxing! 

Since the Skytree was so close to my hotel, I headed there first. Little did I know that it would be packed with people!! I didn't realize that it had just opened a few months before, so it was swarming with people. That being said, I didn't go up to the top, but I did enjoy walking around the area and looking up at the giant beast! 

Then, I headed towards to the river, where I got a nice picture of lanterns hanging along the river. 

From the other side of the river, I was able to get a nice view of the Skytree and the Asahi buildings. Asahi is a Japanese beer that had headquarters in Tokyo. From my understanding, the gold building is supposed to look like a mug of beer. 

Next, I hopped on a boat and headed up the river to the other side of Tokyo. It was about a 40 minute ride and the views were really spectacular!

My final stop on the second day was an onsen, otherwise known as a bathhouse. The bathhouse I went to, Oodeo Onsen Monogatari, was amazing!! It is definitely set up for tourists and people to spend hours there. I actually ended up spending 4 hours there! For a big part of the bathhouse, you are wearing a kimino looking gown and it's coed. In the coed areas, there are foot baths, eating areas, and shopping stalls. The gender separated areas include the bath areas and relaxation rooms. It was incredible! I definitely recommend it!

Day two started with a trip to Shibuya, which was made popular in the movie "Lost in Translation". My first stop was the Sony Building. There, I played with all sorts of gadgets. I mostly stuck with the cameras, but it was fun seeing all the different things!

Outside the subway station, I said hello to Hachiko. If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it. It's such an amazing story of loyalty.

And I walked through Shibuya Crossing, which is said to be the Times Square of Tokyo. There were loads of people!

Later, I headed to the market and caught a picture of some ladies in kimonos...so pretty!

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at a cat cafe. The owner spoke English really well and was really friendly. In the cafe, she had 17 cats that were waiting to be adopted. I really admired her commitment to the cats. Apparently, Japan has a big problem with strays, but she was helping as best she could. It was a nice stop!

These guys were everywhere around the tourist ares. The pull the carts with 1-2 people around the city. I was mesmorized! I can't imagine doing that....especially in the awful heat!

This street art caught my eye!

And finally, a nice sunset from my hotel window...a lovely day to end the day!

Tokyo - Day 1

For my first week of summer vacation (out of two weeks), I headed to Tokyo for 5 days. Since coming to Korea, I've always wanted to go to Tokyo, and I thought it was finally the time. This was my last vacation period before I return home in October, so I figured I better go before it was too late!

Let me tell you about my first day through pictures!

 When booking my flight, I chose to go with Air Busan. This is a budget carrier in Korea that only flies to a few selected locations, and lucky, Tokyo is one of them. The total price for my flight was about $250 USD. Of course, at check-in, I asked for an exit aisle seat. I was given one and happily entered the aircraft. To my surprise, no one was sitting next to me (you know, in America, the exit rows are like gold!). On my two hour flight, we were given a nice lunch. I was really pleased with the service and flight, and I definitely recommend anyone to fly with them!

From there airport, there are tons of ways to go, but I decided to use the cheapest option (surprise!) which was the 'slow' train from Narita airport to Ueno station. Since my hotel was near Ueno station, it was quite convienent for me! The price for a one-way ticket was 1000 Yen, which is around $14 USD. The train stopped at a lot of stations on the way, but the ride was fine and I was kept cool by the fans on the ceiling!

My hotel (Palace Japan) was near the Minami-Senju train/subway stop, so it was really easy to get around. There was also a nice view of the Tokyo Sky Tree from the hotel, which you can see in the picture. I didn't get any pictures of the actual hotel, but it was really nice and new! I enjoyed my stay there!

After checking in, I went for a walk around the hotel's area. It was dusk and there was a really nice view of the Tokyo Sky Tree. The Sky Tree is huge...and it really sticks out in the city. It's definitely very noticable.

The following pictures are from Senso-ji Temple, which was about a 30-minute walk from my hotel. It is a really nice temple with a really beautiful pagoda, which I love!

On the way back to the hotel, I took a picture of the Sky Tree from the same spot as before. My camera isn't too good for night pictures, but you can get the jist!

The rest of the night I spent looking over the mountain of material that I got from the Tourist Information center at the airport. My tip for anyone that is traveling...ALWAYS stop by the tourist information center. The book I had was about 2 years old, but the information center always has up-to-date information. The lady there was able to tell me so many things that I could NOT have learned in my book, so it was well worth the 10 minutes it took when I landed! Remember that next time you travel! :)

More to come!

Japan - Randoms

This blog concludes my Japan series...and it's full of all of the random things/events from the trip that didn't quite fit into the other categories! So here goes!!

Jill & Mikey's kids are absolutely adorable!! I took them a few Korean gifts and here they are with their new umbrellas!

On my first morning in Otsu, we saw this on our way to the train station. These creatures, called a Tanuki, are outside of lots of businesses and they are said to bring luck to the business. I actually ended up buying a small one to take home just because I thought it was so cute!

One evening during my trip, Jill took me to a local tea shop for some amazing tea! I've never been much of a tea drinker, but that place might have converted me!

Jill looking ultra proper with her tea!!

When Kami & I were in China a couple of years ago, we ate at place that we thought was Chinese food, but it ended up that it was actually a Japanese fast food place! Then Jill told me about this place that she loved to go, and I instantly knew it was the same place!! So one night, Jill, Mecailin, and I enjoyed the deliciousness of Yoshinoya!! Yum!! (Kami, be jealous!!)

After Mikey's game on Sunday, we met up with some of the Lake Stars and their girlfriends at Kippers for some good laughs! Here are Jill & Mecailin with two of the girlfriends, Mayu and Wakana!

I love this picture, minus Wara's crazy face in the corner!!

Hilarious!! One of Jill's super-cute boots was already splitting away from it's sole...and on this night, it went all the way!! Jill was trapped inside the table so she thought she'd crawl under to get out...but her boot was not having it! Here's the final result...so funny! (Sorry, Jill!)

Two of Mikey's teammates, Yu & JoHo. Yu was cracking me up when he was trying to read some phrases from Jill's Japanese phrasebook. And JoHo is quite stud for Japanese basketball fans...and he was on the West all-star team with Mikey, too!

Another one of Mikey's teammates, Gary, was having so much fun with Camdon...and sugaring him up for the night!

This sign made me laugh at McDonalds!

Have I mentioned how adorable Jill and Mikey's kids are!?! Mecailin and Camdon are so precious, and I was so glad I finally got to meet them!! Jill & Mikey are such fabulous parents and it is clear to see how much love there is in their family! So these next few pictures are all about them...I just want to share their cuteness with you!!

Thus ends my vacation to Japan...boo!! Usually after vacations, I'm excited to go home, but this time, I was having so much fun that I wasn't quite ready to leave!! It was an amazing trip and I truly enjoyed every minute of it!!

Back to reality, I suppose!