Last Japan Blog Post

So today we are just packing up and heading to the airport. We had an absolute blast here in Tokyo. We ran around to so many places, usually about 3 districts a day. That adds up to a lot of walking and very little sleep.... I imagine we will both just sleep the entire way on the plane... It was all worth it though.. So fun to see where little Molly-chan grew up, to see her local eateries, her middle and high schools, meet old neighbors, hang out with old friends and meet many new friends. I appreciate Molly being my personal tour guide.... her japanese got us through many situations...(someday I'll tell the store of getting stuck in Shimokitazawa with no money and only japanese ATMs that wouldn't take our card... ha!)

Anyways I started this trip with a picture of Shibuya Crossing (easily my favorite spot!). I thought I would finish with a photo I took last night during one of the busiest times for the crossing....

Japan Observation number 5:

It's amazing that with over 12 million people crowded into an amazing city, it remains super clean. And I think I know why.... there is almost a sense of duty or responsibility upon each person living here. For example... I noticed people use these when smoking....

It's cultural to not eat and drink while walking. Starbucks have large areas to sit down as nearly no one picks up a giant venti to-go! People take the responsibility to throw things away, as opposed to throwing it on the ground in the subway. Just a cool observation.

Anyways, we are on to our last full day of Japan. We head back to the airport tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure we'll have a few more pictures before we go. Hope you've enjoyed them! I know we sure have.

Average Subway Station

We stopped a minute to take a glimpse of the Shinjuku Station. This is about 10 in the morning, so not necessarily rush hour. For rush hour, multiply by at least 5 times. Pretty cool because no one gets upset, everyone stays in order, no one pushes. It's a fantastically organized system. Enjoy!

Cool Photo from yesterday

So yesterday it rained a little bit. Not a huge downpour but just some drizzle throughout the afternoon. Anyways, we snapped another shot of Shibuya Crossing at night from our hotel. Only this time everyone has umbrellas in hand.... ended up being a cool contrast to the shot we took the first night....Enjoy!

Japan Observation number 4:

This is a short one as we are headed out the door. So in the US, Franzia Wine is clearly a cheap wine... you know this because it is packaged as 4 bottles in a plastic bag with a spout that is conveniently supported by a cardboard box.

Now in Japan, the grocery stores stock Franzia in classy normal glass bottles. So funny to me. I'm sure it's still the same cheap wine. Ha!

Japan Observation number 3:

So, the japanese make some interesting changes to otherwise normal american food. Interesting pizza toppings, seasonings on fries, etc. But the one I have a hard time accepting is the fried/scrambled egg on random things, most notably the hamburger....



Thank goodness their yakitori/curry/sushi is to die for!

Japanese Blast!

So we are two full days in and absolutely stoked. There is significantly more walking than you would ever do in San Diego. Sheesh. And amazingly most people are wearing dress shoes.... not sure how all the girls (business type and young alike) do it in their glitzy high heels. Speaking of dress, it's cool to see totally different fashions. There are different types of dress. Everything from the older business men in their regular suits to younger men in their pimp straight legged suits and hair like crazy rock stars. There are the punk rock Japanese teenagers who have the teased out punk hair often crazy fun colors, tight ripped jeans with glamorous sun glasses. The girls are everything from business suit types to the younger girls who wear fancy shoes, knee high tights and short skirts or interesting bloomy shorts. Totally different fashion.... things that just wouldn't fly in the US but work great here in Tokyo. Here's an example of a Japanese teenager in the fashion oriented Shibuya:



The quick rundown of what we've done. Monday we had a fun day heading to Molly's hometown which is a few stations on the subway from here, Yoyogi-uehara. She had a blast showing me her house (even met up with her sweet neighbors from 15 years ago!), her bus stop, friends house, her playground, where she used to hang out, etc. So fun! We then took a short subway ride to Harajuku. For those of you who listen to Gwen Stefani, this is the place where the Harajuku Girls that she tours with are from. It is simply a crazy fashion scene. Tons of super cool shops, great clothing, etc. We hit up Mol's favorite toy store from childhood and had a blast playing with the toys.

Tuesday we took the bullet train to Kyoto, which is an older styled Japanese city. It had a much slower paced vibe than that of tokyo. It was great to take the bullet train. It's so so fast! Was great to see the countryside of Japan on our way to Kyoto. We saw a shrine there, had some fantastic lunch and were back in Tokyo for night time. Later that evening we had a beautiful date night in Shinjuku at the Park Hyatt hotel. This hotel sits on the top of the Shinjuku Park Tower. We first had wine and cheese at the New York Bar (the Jazz Bar where Lost in Translation was filmed), which had killer views of Tokyo from the 52nd floor. We then had a second glass of wine at the Peak Lounge which is a more Japanese flavored bar/lounge. It had bamboo, japanese lanterns, and low seated chairs all on the 41st floor with beautiful views of Tokyo.

It has been a fantastic trip so far! It is great to see Molly truly in her element. Her Japanese has saved us many times! So lucky to have a personal tour guide!

Japan Observation number 2:

Just because an escalator is not moving, does not mean it is not working. It took us a few times of walking the stairs instead to figure out that the escalators turn off when not in use and start up automatically when you approach. Ha!


Plenty more pics coming up, too busy to upload/blog now. Spent the day in Kyoto (rode the bullet train), and now off to the top of the Hyatt (remember Lost in Translation?) to have drinks.

Japan Observation number 1:

They have beer in most vending machines on nearly every street corner! So cool!

We made it!

So a 45 min flight to LA, 2 hour layover, 12 hours flight, 2 hour bus ride to Shibuya and ..... we're here!

Shibuya is simply the coolest. It is basically the hip young place to be with tons of bars, clubs, restaurants, shopping, etc. After we settled in our room, we couldn't wait to get out there.... So we headed for Shibuya crossings...

After walking around, all the while Molly reminsicing over places she had been as a teenager, we finally settled on a restaurant Kyomaru for some drinks and yakitori. So tasty! The shitake mushrooms were fantastic.

At that point we simply collasped from exhaustion. :) On to another fun adventurous day. We likely will be hitting up Yoyogi-uehara, to see Mol's old neighborhood, house, etc. Should be a fantastic day!

10 days of photos!

The time has come.... We are leaving for Japan!!!!! YAY!!!! Stay tuned for daily blogs and photos! I would post more... but I have to pack!

Have a great weekend!