JAPAN 9: End of Eva...n's Trip to Japan
So we got back to Tokyo around 8 or so, and went straight to our hotel. It was a horrible day of travel and we ended up having to stand on a crowded train for a good 2 hours. We did nothing special, except eat a small dinner and go to sleep.
So the next day we got up, and had a nice bath (our room had a Jacuzzi! woo!) and went out to do some serious shopping. I got all of my christmas shopping done that day. First we went to this big temple in Asakusa, which we had visited earlier in our trip, and spent a good 4 hours shopping. There is basically an outdoor mall there that extends for blocks in all directions. Then we went over to harajuku and checked out some shops there, met David, and visited this HUGE! but relatively boring temple near Roppongi park. From there we went to Shibuya and tried to find a good okanomiyaki place, but none was to be had... so we ended up eating at this really awesome all-you-can-eat place.
Afterwords we tried to go to the Park Hyatt to have drinks in that bar from "Lost in Translation". No go though... I'm not sure visitors can get into the bar after 9 (it was 10) and if they can the way eluded us. Then it was back to our hotel on the other side of Tokyo!
The next day we got up and went to the Ueno Zoo. It was a really cool place... we saw Ling-Ling, but we were surprised because she was in this really depressing exhibit.
The Asian elephants were cool... one was throwing a tantrum and had to be calmed down by the employees there. The guy just walked up to the elephant, smacked him between the eyes with this pole, grabbed his ear and led him away from the other elephants and made him lie down. It was really cute, actually. Like scolding a little kid.
We also saw some giant and freaky birds, and giant salamanders!
From there we went back to the hotel for some last minute shopping in Asakusa, and then dragged all our stuff over to David's. We ate Sukiyaki cooked by David with raw egg, and we went out for Karaoke once Mari got home. We spent 3 hours singing, it was really awesome. Now I love Karaoke too.
So On the way back, Deborah started feeling sick. We went to bed immediately, but 2 hours later, Deborah vomited. She thought it was the sukiyaki. I felt a little sick too, so I tried to puke, but could not, and trying actually made me feel worse afterwords. We got very little sleep that night, and had to leave at noon the next day.
It was hard... forcing down just enough food before we started feeling like throwing up... 3 hours of trains then 2 hours of customs then 8 hours of flying. With the jetstream we hit 730 MPH! Then another 2 hours of customs and getting driven home.
bleah... so yeah. I was going to buy a bunch of Japanese snacks, but the trains took longer to get to the airport than we had planned, plus I didn't feeling like seeing any food at the time... oh well. Most of the stuff is available at Uwajimaya anyway.
Now I'm back! Hooray! got in at 9:15 this morning.
So the next day we got up, and had a nice bath (our room had a Jacuzzi! woo!) and went out to do some serious shopping. I got all of my christmas shopping done that day. First we went to this big temple in Asakusa, which we had visited earlier in our trip, and spent a good 4 hours shopping. There is basically an outdoor mall there that extends for blocks in all directions. Then we went over to harajuku and checked out some shops there, met David, and visited this HUGE! but relatively boring temple near Roppongi park. From there we went to Shibuya and tried to find a good okanomiyaki place, but none was to be had... so we ended up eating at this really awesome all-you-can-eat place.
Afterwords we tried to go to the Park Hyatt to have drinks in that bar from "Lost in Translation". No go though... I'm not sure visitors can get into the bar after 9 (it was 10) and if they can the way eluded us. Then it was back to our hotel on the other side of Tokyo!
The next day we got up and went to the Ueno Zoo. It was a really cool place... we saw Ling-Ling, but we were surprised because she was in this really depressing exhibit.
The Asian elephants were cool... one was throwing a tantrum and had to be calmed down by the employees there. The guy just walked up to the elephant, smacked him between the eyes with this pole, grabbed his ear and led him away from the other elephants and made him lie down. It was really cute, actually. Like scolding a little kid.
We also saw some giant and freaky birds, and giant salamanders!
From there we went back to the hotel for some last minute shopping in Asakusa, and then dragged all our stuff over to David's. We ate Sukiyaki cooked by David with raw egg, and we went out for Karaoke once Mari got home. We spent 3 hours singing, it was really awesome. Now I love Karaoke too.
So On the way back, Deborah started feeling sick. We went to bed immediately, but 2 hours later, Deborah vomited. She thought it was the sukiyaki. I felt a little sick too, so I tried to puke, but could not, and trying actually made me feel worse afterwords. We got very little sleep that night, and had to leave at noon the next day.
It was hard... forcing down just enough food before we started feeling like throwing up... 3 hours of trains then 2 hours of customs then 8 hours of flying. With the jetstream we hit 730 MPH! Then another 2 hours of customs and getting driven home.
bleah... so yeah. I was going to buy a bunch of Japanese snacks, but the trains took longer to get to the airport than we had planned, plus I didn't feeling like seeing any food at the time... oh well. Most of the stuff is available at Uwajimaya anyway.
Now I'm back! Hooray! got in at 9:15 this morning.