Since I have been in Japan I have gone out a few times and all those times have been really special and just what I wanted in Japan. I went on a driving tour of Tokyo and Daiba, ate Shabu Shabu and ate at an all-you-can-eat fry-your-own-food restaurant. I've seen countless ferris wheels (very popular here), gone to Shibuya and checked out the busiest intersection in Japan (think Tokyo Drift :). I've also visited a huge park with an eclectic gathering of friends and other park goers just showing off their juggling or musical or dancing talents. I've done karaoke in a huge room that held at least 20 peeps, and I've climbed Mt. Takao and visited Chinatown! All in 2 weeks! Needless to say there is a lot to do here!
The driving tour of Tokyo and Odaiba (in Tokyo) was splendid! We saw some amazing skylines that twinkled in the night sky and drove over the Rainbow bridge. We even got really close to Tokyo Tower - a huge red and white structure that can be seen from very far away. Odaiba (like most places I've been to in Japan) is very wealthy and pretty looking. We ate in the "peasant" mall as we named it b/c it had Forever 21 and H&M - those are NOT the nice stores here in Tokyo...but I still thought the mall was great! We strolled around for a bit and ended up at an arcade where they have these incredible photo booths. You get to take 5 pics and they all airbrush you and make your eyes bigger and LIGHTEN your skin! In Japan, people are scared to get their skin the slightest bit darker and will to great lengths to avoid it. They wear long socks and long "opera glove" sleeves and even things akin to oven mitts to avoid the sun. And they also walk around with umbrellas for portable shade. JUST GIVE IN!!! My co-worker was highly offended with the skin lightening effect (even though he's white :) but we all also thought it was pretty funny. We opted for the normal setting. After the pics were taken we can edit them and add emoticons, words, and props. Let me tell you how BEAUTIFUL we all were. I'm not photogenic so this must be magic! It was great!
We also went to the fry-your-own-food restaurant. WOW!!! The food was pretty good and there was a nice amount of options. Lots of meat and cheese filled yummies. There was also a salad bar, hot food bar, dessert bar, AND a chocolate fountain! Scrumptious! I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The next day we went to Shibuya and spent the day in the park for the teacher that was leaving. There was a huge turnout and I made some new friends! Success! I also used a Japanese traditional toilet for the first time - the squatting one! It was pretty funny b/c I avoided it as long as I could and even got pointers from my fellow picnickers on how to squat just right. One girl offered to go with me :) Too funny! Eventually I did it and it was quite successful. To be honest it's cleaner than wiping down, lining, and hovering over a gross western toilet. At least with the squat you don't touch anything. The only thing is there's no TP (we all brought tissues) and NO SOAP!!! Nobody else seemed to mind but I very much did. I made sure I touched nothing and anti-baced after!!! A lot! But overall - twas a success!
Then on to Karaoke! We had a huge amount of people and were shown into the biggest karaoke room I've ever seen. There were black lights and dolphins spray painted on the walls. It was a good night! The first 2 weeks in Yokohama area were awesome. And everyone I've met so far are all willing to check out new places and show me around! Yay!
Next - the hike up Mt. Takao...and the beer garden after :)
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