Under Construction

I wanted to give people a heads up that for the next month or two, I'm going to be editing my blog a bit. I plan on going through all my previous posts and actually proofreading them haha! ^^;; Also, I plan on adding pictures to my previous posts. You may have noticed that my more recent posts have pictures. I think it's more fun that way! So please be patient. Hopefully you will find my blog more enjoyable once I fix it. Thanks for reading! :) -Stephanie

Tokyo Trip with Travis

For those of you who read my blog, you know that Travis and I had our big trip to Tokyo a few weeks ago. We decided to choose Tokyo as our destination for my spring break because you can’t very well come to Japan for two months without seeing Tokyo. So basically we had to go there by default. Although I have been to Tokyo many times, I was ok with going because it’s fun, there’s always something new to do, and I of course wanted to show Travis Tokyo. Plus, it was my first time going back to Tokyo without an alternative motive like just passing through, picking up a friend, or for work. It actually worked out great because when we got to Tokyo, we had no idea that the cherry blossoms were in bloom there! It was our first time seeing them! At first I didn't even realize that that was what they were because usually the cherry tree front, as they call it, starts from the south and makes its way north.They hadn't bloomed in Osaka yet so I never imagined they'd be in bloom in Tokyo. We looked it up online and found out that for some reason, the cherry blossom trees bloom a bit early in Tokyo. We were so happy! It also worked out that when we left Tokyo to go back to Osaka, we were arriving as they were blooming in Osaka. What luck?!

This trip was quite nostalgic for me really because we stayed in the same business hotel I stayed in the first time I came to Japan. It was great to stand in the same place and recall the excitement and wonder I had during my first time here. Everything was so new and amazing then! It’s not that Japan isn’t amazing anymore…it’s just not new to me. It’s kind of like a famous saying used in the tea ceremony (here’s my rough translation): “You can’t experience the same thing the same way more than once.” In other words, each time you encounter something, your feelings will be different so every moment is precious and can’t be replicated.

Anyway, we stayed for a total of five full days. On the first day of my spring vacation (Saturday), we got up early and hopped on the shinkansen to Tokyo. We were going to take the night bus both ways to save money, but I thought Travis should experience the shinkansen at least once (even though he ended up taking it to and from Hiroshima anyway) and to be honest, I prefer taking the shinkansen even if it costs more. We arrived maybe around noon or so. After dropping off our bags at the hotel, I took him to my favorite place in Tokyo: Shinjuku. We started off by going to a cat café that I had been to before called Calico. It was just as fun as I remembered! This time we bought treats to attract the cats because otherwise they don’t really want to be touched. After that, we spent some time just walking around the city and taking it all in. We went shopping and whatnot. One thing I was pretty excited about was dinner. I learned about this place near Kanto station called Devil Craft that specializes in deep dish, Chicago-style pizza. Seeing as I have grown up around the Chicago area and have been downtown to eat real Chicago pizza many times, it’s been frustrating not having it in Japan. We got to the restaurant and put our names in (the place was very small). They said they’d call me on my phone in about an hour when our seats were ready. So, we went down the street to this wine bar place. We were starving so we got a little bread basket and a couple drinks. I had a lot of fun there drinking and talking with Travis. We laughed for a while about how the menu said “pain” instead of “pan” on it. “Pan” is the Japanese word for bread written in the Roman alphabet. We ordered “pain” and had a good laugh. After over an hour had past, we got a little anxious and decided to go back to the restaurant and see what was going on. When we got there, we noticed people who got there later than us were already sitting and eating! We were ticked! We should have just stood there and waited to begin with. So, we stood in the restaurant for like 20 more minutes until we finally got a seat. Although I was pretty annoyed that they just forgot about us, the service was good, the waiter was friendly, and the food was worth the wait! We got some chips and spinach dip for an appetizer. It was good, but there wasn't enough dip for the chips in my opinion. The pizza was delicious! I really liked the crust! As someone who comes from the Chicago area, I can say that they did a pretty good job. My only thing was that the sauce was a little tangier, which is something I have found in all the pizza sauces I've bought at stores in Japan. We left the restaurant full and satisfied. A fun fact: The restaurant is owned by Americans and not only do they specialize in deep dish pizza, they also make a large variety of their own craft beers. We went back to the hotel pleased about our first day in Tokyo.

My favorite cat at the cafe.

"Bread" Romanized hilariously wrong. I know
I'd like some pain for 250 yen!

Deep dish pizzas at Devil Craft.

Day two in Tokyo was perhaps my favorite day. We did so much! Now, I’ve always been told and read that if you are in Tokyo on a Sunday, you should go to Harajuku in the late morning/early afternoon to see the “Harajuku girls.” There is a whole culture and fashion that has been dubbed “Harajuku.” Basically just think of the most ridiculous outfits possible, and there you have it. There are people dressed up like pretty little baby dolls, ultra gothic, cartoon characters, etc. Occasionally in any big city in Japan, you’ll run into one or a group of these people, but Harajuku is supposed to be the place to go to see them gather in one place i.e the Rainbow Bridge that connects the Harajuku district to Meiji Jingu (shrine).  The first time I went, I didn’t know about the bridge, so I just walked around the streets in Harajuku and saw nothing. This time, I was equally disappointed. I got there at like 11am. I went to the bridge and…NOTHING! Where were these groups of “Harajuku girls” that all the guide books tell you about? I thought maybe I was too early so I went back after an hour or two after walking around to be disappointed once again. I just don’t get it. If anyone out there knows what I’m doing wrong, please teach me. I’ll admit that as I was walking around the streets in Harajuku, I ran in to more “Harajuku girls” than usual. So I was happy about that, but it just wasn’t the huge display I was expecting. Rant over.

So, like I said, we were in Harajuku in the morning and early afternoon. We walked around and looked at all the interesting shops. Travis bought me a cute owl backpack from Forever 21! We had lunch at an organic buffet called Hiroba. I had been there once before, and I really enjoyed it. It’s all just really fresh and healthy tasting. I was surprised to find a Garret’s Popcorn and a Wendy’s in Harajuku. I didn’t get food from either of those places, but I was still surprised. I later saw another Wendy’s in Tokyo. I guess that they have simply made their way over to Japan now. Speaking of food, I forgot to mention that I finally made Travis get a crepe for dessert after lunch. Crepes are all the rage in Japan, and you can’t come without eating one. After Harajuku, we went all the way across the city to the Asakusa area. We went to the new Sky Tree, a really tall and cool tower that just opened. When I came to Japan around 2 years ago, it was under construction. The Sky Tree City was really cool. It was just a big entertainment center with shops, really interesting restaurants, a planetarium, and more. We walked around there for a while and then tried to go to the top of the Sky Tree (which was the goal all along), but we found out that getting in is a really complicated process since it is so new and popular. You had to wait in line for a ticket that allows you to come back after a while to get in line for another ticket that tells when you can enter. What?! Anyway, it didn’t seem really possible so we just starred at the Sky Tree from the base which was still pretty cool and headed over to Sensoji Temple (a really famous temple/shrine in Tokyo).  We both got bad fortunes (mikuji) at the temple so we tied them to the little bars so our bad fortune would be blown away. Another Fun Fact: I later told one of my coworkers that I had gotten a bad fortune, and she told me that some people see it as a good thing because you have nowhere to go besides up. That made me smile…even though I don’t believe in fortunes haha! I believe we stopped into a kaiten sushi place (sushi on a conveyor belt) for a light dinner. After that, it was getting dark so we went to somewhere with lots of night lights by Travis’ request.  We went to Akihabara: the anime/gaming /electronic district. We had so much fun walking around there at night! We went into an anime store, Don Quixote, and an arcade. We had a blast at the arcade! We played competitive Tetris. There was even Dr. Pepper in the vending machine (score!). Travis got second place in the daily ranking for Tetris! They had some really good games there like classic Mario Bros. We finished off the night by going to an izakaya near the hotel in the Ochanomizu area. I've never had so much fun at an izakaya before! It was Travis’ first izakaya and nomihoudai (all you can drink) experience. He didn't believe that you could actually drink all you want for such a small price. Welcome to Japan! He said that there was no way you could do this in America because Americans can drink so much haha! He’s probably right. However, I think the reason nomihoudai are successful is because you order lots of snacks while you’re drinking.There was one of those touch screen things at our table so anytime we wanted to have more food or drinks, we just pushed the button, and it came to us! We’ll just say that we got our money’s worth, and they had to kick us out at closing time haha!

Hiroba lunch buffet.

The Sky Tree.

Senso-ji.

Tying my bad fortune to the bar.

Akihabara.

First time at an izakaya.

Day three was just as eventful as the first two days. After grabbing lunch, we went to the Ghibli Museum, one of the happiest places in the world! I was so happy Travis could see the museum since animation is his favorite thing. After the Ghibli Museum, we headed to the Roppongi area. First we went to Tokyo Tower. We go to see the view as it was getting dark. There was a really cool complex below that we couldn't figure out what it was. It looked like a little Japanese fairy-tale land from above. I’m still wondering now… Anyway, we walked to downtown Roppongi from there. It was my first time going there! We planned to eat at a Mexican place, but when we got there, we found that it was very ritzy and didn't look like any Mexican food we've ever seen. So we decided to go to A TGI Friday’s we saw on the way. Trav couldn't have cared less about going there, but I was super excited to have real American food again! Before I get into dinner, I’d like to add that Roppongi was a bit different than I expected. I liked that it was very diverse in its food options and stores, but it was more upscale than I expected, and everything was really expensive! I learned that Roppongi was actual an artsy district which began to make sense. One thing that was cool was that I got to see some illuminated cherry trees next to a fancy mall. They were so beautiful! One thing that wasn't cool was that we walked by a pet store that was selling little monkeys in small cages. It was really depressing because you could tell that the monkeys were intelligent and were going crazy and suffering in their cages. The worst part is that you know they will probably never be bought because first of all, who buys a monkey? Secondly, they were ridiculously expensive.  Sad… So back to dinner. Travis was irritated when he saw how expensive everything was on the menu. I had to remind him that we were in Japan and that American food is expensive. I went crazy and just ordered us a bunch of appetizers for our dinner because I wanted to taste a lot of different things. We got chicken fingers, chips and guacamole, caesar salad, and breaded mushrooms. I also got a couple strawberry margaritas! Our waiter was really awkward and funny. That made the dinner more fun. In Japan, if you order guacamole at TGI Friday’s, the waiter makes if for you at your table. That way, you can kind of personalize it by having him put what you want in it. Of course, we liked all the ingredients. After he made it, he explained that you eat the guacamole by dipping the chips in it hahaha! Thanks for the tip. Dinner was delicious. After, we wanted to go to this tequila bar that was mentioned in my travel guide called Agave. It sounded cool. We walked in, and it was really neat and big inside. One problem: we were the only ones there for like the first 20 or 30 minutes. Another problem: Holy Jesus was it expensive! It was a really high class place that had around 400 types of tequila. I think the cheapest thing on the menu was either 1200 or 1500 yen (like $15). You could even do tequila tasting courses. I thought about it, and then decided against it because I didn't want to do it alone. At first we just got frozen margaritas. Mine was regular and Travis’ was banana. They actually cut up a real banana and blended it into his drink. They were good! I decided I could afford one more drink. I bought this drink called perfect patron margarita. It was around $20! It was the most expensive drink I've ever bought. It was really strong and well made, but I wouldn't call it delicious exactly. I think you must really appreciate the taste of tequila more than I do to thoroughly enjoy the drink. Anyway, it was an experience. By the time we made it back to the hotel, my throat was hurting a bit and I felt really heavy and tired. I figured the strong tequila had burned my throat and made me tired.

Ghibli Museum.

Tokyo Tower.

What is this fairy-tale land?

TGI Friday's. YUM!

Poor monkey in a cage...

Illuminated cherry blossoms.

Agave.

Perfect Patron Margarita.

I woke up the next day feeling like I got hit by a bus, and it wasn't a hangover. Our plan for the day was to go to Shibuya. I wasn't exactly feeling up to it, but I didn't want to ruin our trip so I tried to suck it up. We got to Shibuya and walked around a little bit, we decided that it’d be a good idea to just go see a movie because firstly, it’s fun to see movies and it’s something Travis and I always do together. Secondly, Travis had never been to a Japanese theater, and for those who have, you know that they are very nice and classy and you really get your money’s worth. It’s like going to an actual show or performance. Thirdly, since I was feeling terrible (and Travis wasn't feeling his best either), we figured we could relax a little. We saw “Oz (The 3D one with James Franco).” It was a fun movie. I knew I was getting really sick when I started getting really feverish with the chills. I was in the theater with two winter coats on and gloves, and I was still shivering. It wasn't even cold in the theater, but I felt cold even though my skin was on fire. After the movie, we walked around a little more. We saw the Hachiko statue, Shibuya crossing, and went into that Shibuya 109 mall which is very popular. After that, I decided that I just couldn’t continue anymore. Travis wasn’t feeling too sick so he wanted to explore some more. It was sad, but I went back to the hotel and slept while Travis walked around a little more in Shibuya and then went to Meiji Jingu Park for a little bit. I was burning up! My mom told me that it was probably because we went too hard the first three days in Tokyo, and my body became exhausted. She’s probably right. When he came back, I woke up. He bought me a present! It was a funny hat we had saw in Harajuku before that says “FUKK” on it haha! We talked for a bit, and went to bed.

Hachiko statue. If you want to know the back-story,
Google it. Be warned, it's sad.

Shibuya Crossing.

First Japanese movie theater experience
together. Before my fever got bad.

I had tried this hat on earlier and thought it was hilarious.
 Travis ended up buying it for me. :)

During the night, my fever broke. I had sweated a lot. I woke up happy to find my fever subsiding, but still felt pretty tired and sick. My throat was hurting pretty bad. There was a park somewhat close by that Travis had wanted to see. I told him to go without me while I slept a little longer. He met me around check out time. I decided that I needed to get some medicine. I went to a doctor and got the medicine. It took a little bit, but I got much better after taking it. We went to Subway for lunch. We decided to take it a little easy again because we both were a little under the weather. We went to the Sony building in Ginza and saw lots of nice electronics. After that, we went back to Shinjuku because it turns out that it was his favorite place, too. We decided to see another movie because even though I wasn't feeling good, we still had a lot of fun going to a movie theater together. It reminded us of our college days together. We saw “Jack the Giant Slayer.” It was pretty entertaining! We went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner in Shinjuku Station, my treat. I also treated us to Coldstone Creamery for dessert. The people who made our ice cream sang us a song. They were crazy! After that, we had to go pick up our bags from the hotel and then return to Shinjuku to go to the bus station. We were taking the night bus back to Osaka. While we waited for our departure from Tokyo to get closer, we sat in a Royal Host and had drinks (hot tea and Coca-Cola I believe). We were taking a Willer Express bus. I believe it was like 5,000 yen one way. We were horrified when we got on the bus because despite how the website said there was room for overhead storage, it was greatly exaggerated. The website said you could fit a carry-on on the bus, but it was a lie! Literally, you could fit something about the size of a women’s purse overhead.  Travis had a huge backpack and shopping bag, and I had a carry-on size suitcase and my purse. The only way to fit (by the way, the seats were small, and there was hardly any room for your legs even though I’m short. Not to mention the people in front of us were reclining their seats) was to put your entire luggage on your lap. I literally could not do it, so I did what some other few misguided people were doing. I put my suitcase in the aisle, blocking it entirely. I put my purse under my feet. Travis was barely able to fit his shopping bag above in the storage area. He put his huge backpack between his legs, making it really uncomfortable for him. So began the night from hell. Good thing the medicine was kicking in enough for me to not feel super sick anymore. So, imagine this: An eight hour drive on a bus full of people who are snoring. No room in your seats. No possible way of getting comfortable. Lastly, hot. Very hot and muggy. This was the worst night ever! We eventually got to Osaka feeling miserable. We rode the trains home like zombies. We showered when we got home because we felt disgusting and went to bed at like 9 am. We tried not to sleep too long so our sleeping schedules wouldn't be so messed up.

The Sony Building in Ginza

Almost back to my apartment. Feeling like death. 

In any case, despite the night bus and getting sick, Tokyo was a blast! I hadn't gotten to experience it like that since the first time I went. It was wonderful to experience it with my boyfriend. I could tell he really liked it, and we will both have the memories forever.