Japan Days 4 & 5

                This morning Hannah and I woke up, got ready, and left for downtown Tokyo just after rush hour. It is interesting to say just after rush hour because it is always busy in the subway station. I mean, their slow periods are some cities in the states very busy periods. It is just so strange. Anyway…we took the subway back to downtown Tokyo and then caught the JR line to Yokohama. The trains are so quiet. When I think of subways I think of the subways in New York where it is always loud and people are always talking on their phones or to one another. Here though, you could hear a pin drop it is so quiet. No one talks to one another or on their phones. Everyone just keeps to themselves.

                Once we got to Yokohama we found our way to the ship where we were overjoyed to take showers and eat a free meal. Once we did those few hygiene things we set back out to see Yokohama. On the way out we ran into our friend Emily. So the three of us went on an exploration, and we found the coolest thing! We happened upon an Eco-friendly fair. This fair was all about ways to keep our earth healthy and clean. So, we could have bought tulips and orchids (which we couldn’t because we live on a ship), learn about ways to be more sustainable (we couldn’t read the brochures), and makes some crafts about sustainability (BINGO).

                The three of us made head bands with giant tulips and owls and other nature things on them. We also made weird necklace things that we gave to random kids who wanted them, and then we also made these weird water conservation milk carton things. It was this really cool thing that took 2 milk cartons and these poster board time table things. So when you put it all together it tells the story of how Japan turns rain water into usable drinking water. It was awesome! I think the best part was trying to understand the directions from a person who did not speak any English. It was a really great learning experience. We also got to take the things “home” with us! What an awesome souvenir.

                After we walked around the fair we made our way over to the line for our baseball tickets…yes I said baseball! We wanted to get pretty good seats so we sat in line for about 45 minutes. It was weird because for a long time we were the only girls, only foreigners, and only people who spoke English. The strangest part was when the police type people were making announcements we would sit there and say what, huh, wait…..we were so confused. We just sat there and decided if people just got up and left that we would leave also. Haha Well we got our tickets after a struggle of communication. So we decided to head back to the ship with one more stop.

                We stopped at a dollar store. I know that sounds weird, but it was an entire floor in a mall. It was huge by any dollar store in the states. It literally had everything you could think of! I bought some Japanese origami paper. I’m so excited to use it when I get back!  Okay, now we went back to the ship just to drop off our stuff and change into the team t-shirts we bought for the game.

                Once at the game we had a whole new struggle. Emily uses a wheel chair. The only reason why I am mentioning it is because it provided a hilarious start to the game! Our seats were not high up but the people who worked at the game were so confused and didn’t know what to do with it. So, we just took charge and pointed to a place where they could put it. Then we started to walk down to our seats. We kept walking and walking and walking. Finally we reach our seats and realize we are in the 4^th row!!!!! We could not believe it! We were going to enjoy this game and really experience a Japanese baseball game!

                Well, there are a few things that are really different about baseball games in Japan than in the states. First, each team has a pep band which is very small but loud. Second, the home team has cheerleaders like teams do in football. Third, they have these weird half time shows. So, after the 5^th inning there was a bubble show where the field has bubble machines all over the stadium and then they play the song Take Me Out to the Ball Game. The sad thing was that no one sings the song, so the three of us were the only ones who sang. It was a very strange feeling to be in a stadium where no one sings the song. The rest of the game was pretty similar. We watched the Baystars ( the home team) play the Giants. Needless to say, despite our greatest tries we lost terribly. When we left at the bottom of the 8^th we were losing 6-0 which was the final score as well. We left early because it rained the whole time! I could not believe it. It had been so nice all day and then when we decide to sit outside for a game it decides to pour. UGH Oh well it was still a blast!

                The next day I had my last FDP. I went to Tokyo where it rained all day again. I went back to Imperial Gardens and Asakusa. My FDP also went to the Tokyo Tower which gives you a 360 view of downtown Tokyo but because of the rain was not really worth seeing because there was nothing to see. There were only two things that were really cool. The first was this very odd art exhibit. It was not very good and I was confused through most of it but I’m glad that I went and saw it. The other cool thing was yet another temple. This temple was in the center of Tokyo. While the temple itself was interesting the part that was so unique was I got to see a wedding procession. This was so cool! The bride was beautiful in a traditional white Kimono. She looked so elegant. Then me and my friend Marty went walking in the park that was attached. This was a very beautiful park that was a quiet space away from the city. Even though it was raining it was still beautiful.

                After my FDP I went through immigration and got back on the ship. Now I am heading towards the states. I will be back in the states in just under two weeks (well from the day I left Japan). I really enjoyed Japan but I am ready to come home. I am ready to have a semi-normal life again, at least for a little bit.