Japan Day 3

               Well, we got off the train at 7am. When we first got off the train station we had to figure out how to get out of the train station. It was only difficult because we didn’t know where we were going at 7am. So, we decided the best thing to do was to just leave and start walking.

                The first thing that we did was find a place with internet. I was having dinner with a friend later and needed to check my email. So we found a hotel and sat in the lobby and used the internet. I was really lucky that my mom was online and I was able to Skype with my parents! It was such a nice surprise simply because I didn’t think I would get to talk to them until I got back into the states and could use my phone again.

                After that we just walked around for a little while. The beginning to our day was kind of a bust. We went to this water fountain park but all the fountains were off. Then we went to a statue gallery road that really had like 3 statues and that was it. Hannah and I were getting really discouraged so we decided to go and get some breakfast. We found this really cool little bakery that some of the best croissants I have ever tasted.  After breakfast we were rejuvenated and ready to try again.    

                We set out for the Imperial Garden. This garden surrounds the Imperial Palace where the Emperor and his family live. While no one can see the palace for obvious safety reasons we could go in to the garden. The garden is something similar to that of Central Park in New York. It is this beautiful park full of trees, flowers, and open green space for people to come and spend the day. Honestly we could have spent from dusk to dawn in this park exploring. There are miles of trails and park walkways to explore. One of the most beautiful things about this park are the Cherry Blossoms. They were incredible! I still cannot believe how lucky we were to be there right at the end of the Cherry Blossom season. In fact there was a whole island called Cherry Blossom Island; literally filled with nothing but cherry blossoms. This park was just beautiful!

                After spending the afternoon here, Hannah and I took a subway to Asakusa. This is like a suburb of Tokyo and is more of the “college town” atmosphere, and this was where our hostel was. So, once we arrived we went and checked into our hostel and then set out to explore Asakusa. One of the main focal points was a temple. This temple has a hidden Buddha. So when people go there to worship they cannot actually see the Buddha which is something unique. There is also a five story Pagoda near it. Most Pagodas are only two or three stories, so again a very unique place of worship. After doing some shopping and exploring we decided to go a little further away and see a new building that had just been built. This building was called the Tokyo Tree Tower. This is the world’s tallest free standing broadcasting tower. It is so new that people are not yet allowed to go up and see the 360 degree view. This tower will open to the public in May of this year. It was cool to stand right there near it and say that we had been there. It is not very often we get to say that we have stood next to the world’s anything…..

                One of my favorite parts about today was this cool little café we found. It was a hole in wall café called Sunny Café. We were the only foreigners there and we just sat in the corner and drank coke floats soaking in the daily life of the café. I could defintley tell when a regular walked in. As soon as they sat down the owner of the café or his wife would bring out their regular beverage and would take their order. The patron would never look at a menu and appeared to sit in a place that they sat in every day. It was a great experience. It really made me think about my own hometown and the local restaurants I support. I thought about the same couple that sits in the same spot at Kathy’s every Sunday, or the same woman who sits in coffee shop every Saturday morning, or even the families who come into Eikenberry’s and order the same thing every time. I couldn’t help but smile and miss those faces. I really began to realize just how long I have been gone. I know that I am at school all the time, but I still come home for some holidays and long weekends. I just realized how long it had been since I had seen a place like this. Even though it was so different from anything like Greenville (mostly because I didn’t recognize anyone and the language barrier) it felt a little like home.  

                After exploring for the afternoon and early evening we headed back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. First, the hostel we stayed at was so cool! It was a capsule hotel. So this is where each person gets a locker to keep your things in and lock it. Then you sleep in these things that look like torpedo shells from the war. They are literally these off yellow torpedo shaped boxes with an egg carton mattress, very basic reading light, and an alarm clock. That’s it!  It is so cool! Why pay for luxury when this is all you really need! You share a room with about 10 people give or take a few depending on the hostel and you have a common bathroom like a college dorm. It was just really fun! Unfortunately there were not really any other people in our room so it was quiet and I didn’t really get to meet new people.   

                However, tonight I would get to have one of my favorite nights in Japan. I met my mom‘s friend from college Joe. Joe lives in downtown Tokyo. He has lived there for 2 years now, and when he heard I was coming he insisted on meeting me and taking me out to dinner. So I went into the heart of Tokyo and met Joe for dinner. He showed me where he lives because it is known as one of the most beautiful Cherry Blossom areas and I would agree. The street he lives on is absolutely breath taking. In the midst of all of this modernization is a street covered in Cherry Blossom Trees. Once he showed me the area he took me to his favorite restaurant. He ordered for us and honestly all I can tell you is that I ate some form of miso noodle with bean sprouts and pork, and some really delicious thing with garlic. Haha…whatever it was was by far my favorite meal on this entire voyage! I really enjoyed getting to know him and just engage in great conversation. I was very sad when we parted ways, but I know that I will meet him again especially if my mother has anything to say about it!

                Once I got back to the hostel it was getting late and I was exhausted so Hannah and I called it a night. We knew that we had some traveling to do one last time to meet the ship in Yokohama.