Japan Trip: Going solo, the final stretch
For the final days of our trip, everyone (almost everyone) did their own thing. We did do some stuff together, either in the morning or at night but for the most part, we went our separate ways. JP and Yuxi went shopping, Josh went to Disney, and I went to as many districts as possible. hehehe.
I went to Odaiba (cool shopping centre with a Toyota dealership where they let you drive the electric cars indoor), Ginza (Sony store, Apple store), Shinjuku (Sword museum), Ikeburo was my favourite. There was a food amusement park there. it was indoors and inside the mall. It was incredible. There were little shops, there were shows, there were displays, there and an entire section dedicated to icecream and sweets. It was pretty amazing. I had a blast there. But didn't get to spend much time there because I was supposed to meet up with the guys at a specific time. *shrug*
I did bump into Dave Held in Asakusa (which is where our hostel is). I was in the market area and heard his voice. I knew I'd bump into him at some point in time but I didn't expect it to be there. I thought it'd be in the hostel. anyways.... We went out for drinks that night.
On the last and final day, the 4 of us went out for one last Japanese dinner. We went to a tempura place near our hostel. I got way too much food, expecting the others to help me eat it, which did happen. The food just sounded so good, I wanted to try them. We finally ordered sake and Yuxi took it in shots. hehehe. that was fun to see. That was a fun night.
When we got back to the hostel, JP and Josh surprised me with a gift. They were under the impression that I actually did work looking up stuff for the trip. The truth is, I did do the lookup, but we didn't really use much of it. =) The joke's on them. hehehe. j/k. They gave me a geisha doll. she has a green kimono and holds an umbrella. =) Thanks Josh and JP!
And with that, we prepared to go home. on our last day there, JP, Yuxi, and I went to one last temple/shrine. Then we came back, picked up our stuff, and went to the airport. Taking the transportation back to the airport reminded me of when we landed and had to take the transportation to the hostel. It felt so different from that first time because we actually knew what we were doing now. We got to the airport pretty early and we wanted lunch. There were lots of restaurants but according to Yuxi, we had to check in before we're able to get to the restaurants because they were behind the security. He was wrong. We starved for hours because of this. =P j/k. some of us didn't really want to carry our big bags into the restaurant anyways. So it worked out for the best. The meal that we did get was really good. And for me, it was the most perfect thing in the world. The food tasted great AND I got rid of the majority of my change! hehehe. It was just so perfect. =)
We went through customs, got on the plane, didn't sleep very well on the plane because I had a cold. The landing was pretty rough for me because my ears didn't pop like they were supposed to and it really really hurt. I fixed that problem somewhat quickly and was much relieved. We got our bags (Josh had a small problem with his, i.e. it was "missing", but was really in a different section), and went out of the airport. JP and Yuxi's parents were there to pick us up. Josh went on to his connecting flight. And that was the end of our trip.
I went to Odaiba (cool shopping centre with a Toyota dealership where they let you drive the electric cars indoor), Ginza (Sony store, Apple store), Shinjuku (Sword museum), Ikeburo was my favourite. There was a food amusement park there. it was indoors and inside the mall. It was incredible. There were little shops, there were shows, there were displays, there and an entire section dedicated to icecream and sweets. It was pretty amazing. I had a blast there. But didn't get to spend much time there because I was supposed to meet up with the guys at a specific time. *shrug*
I did bump into Dave Held in Asakusa (which is where our hostel is). I was in the market area and heard his voice. I knew I'd bump into him at some point in time but I didn't expect it to be there. I thought it'd be in the hostel. anyways.... We went out for drinks that night.
On the last and final day, the 4 of us went out for one last Japanese dinner. We went to a tempura place near our hostel. I got way too much food, expecting the others to help me eat it, which did happen. The food just sounded so good, I wanted to try them. We finally ordered sake and Yuxi took it in shots. hehehe. that was fun to see. That was a fun night.
When we got back to the hostel, JP and Josh surprised me with a gift. They were under the impression that I actually did work looking up stuff for the trip. The truth is, I did do the lookup, but we didn't really use much of it. =) The joke's on them. hehehe. j/k. They gave me a geisha doll. she has a green kimono and holds an umbrella. =) Thanks Josh and JP!
And with that, we prepared to go home. on our last day there, JP, Yuxi, and I went to one last temple/shrine. Then we came back, picked up our stuff, and went to the airport. Taking the transportation back to the airport reminded me of when we landed and had to take the transportation to the hostel. It felt so different from that first time because we actually knew what we were doing now. We got to the airport pretty early and we wanted lunch. There were lots of restaurants but according to Yuxi, we had to check in before we're able to get to the restaurants because they were behind the security. He was wrong. We starved for hours because of this. =P j/k. some of us didn't really want to carry our big bags into the restaurant anyways. So it worked out for the best. The meal that we did get was really good. And for me, it was the most perfect thing in the world. The food tasted great AND I got rid of the majority of my change! hehehe. It was just so perfect. =)
We went through customs, got on the plane, didn't sleep very well on the plane because I had a cold. The landing was pretty rough for me because my ears didn't pop like they were supposed to and it really really hurt. I fixed that problem somewhat quickly and was much relieved. We got our bags (Josh had a small problem with his, i.e. it was "missing", but was really in a different section), and went out of the airport. JP and Yuxi's parents were there to pick us up. Josh went on to his connecting flight. And that was the end of our trip.