Last Night in Japan... For Now

Today I officially left Tokyo and the process of traveling home began. I took a bus from near the Hotel to the airport in Narita. There I returned my rental cell phone, grabbed some lunch, and caught the free shuttle to my hotel for tonight. I only had a short time in which to grab lunch before the bus arrived (they only arrive once per hour) so I grabbed the first thing I could get: a hot dog. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was actually really good. Way to go Narita Airport, you've outdone America at the standard American food. 

 I have more baggage than I have arms, so luckily there were carts at the airport and the staff at the Tokyu Excel in Narita took all my stuff on a cart and brought it to my room for me. That was really nice.
My room is surprisingly enormous for Japan... I don't even know what to do with all this space!
One of the first things I did upon arriving at this hotel was go check out their onsen. Best. Decision. Ever. It was so incredibly relaxing after carrying heavy bags and having such a long crazy month of school.
Next, I ordered some gyoza from room service. I was hungry and they were so yummy!!!! I don't usually order room service in hotels, but it was surprisingly one of the cheapest eating options and I LOVE gyoza, so I figured might as well go for it. Having nothing I had to get done tonight had its benefits. After dinner, I had an appointment for a hot stone hawaiian massage. I've had a few massages in Japan before, but I think this was by far the best I have had. It was completely relaxing and exactly what I needed to be rejuvenated for my long flight back home tomorrow.
That's pretty much been my day. I'm just taking it easy tonight and trying not to sleep too much so I'll sleep on the plane and reset my internal clock. It's been a great trip, but I'm so ready to go home!

Peace, love, and hairspray!
-Jenn

Movies and Finals and Butlers, Oh My!

 Sorry about not updating yesterday, but I was rather busy preparing for my final exam and trying to shove  a months worth of Japanese awesomeness into 2 suitcases a rolling carry-on and a backpack. Okay, fine, I may've gone a little crazy with the shopping but it was totally worth it! I started my day by presenting my final project in Pop Culture class. That went very well! Econ was a new lesson as usual, studying and review was left up to us outside of class. As soon as class finished I had to make an emergency run to Shinjuku. Why? Well because on the previous day in Akihabara I saw a particular movie poster at Animate that sent me on a mission to Google.jp and ultimately let me know that a Code Geass movie had been released into theatres on August 4th. Considering Code Geass is one of my favorite animes of all time, I had to find a theatre and see it before leaving Japan. Luckily there is a Wald9 in Shinjuku, which is on my train line between school and the hotel, so it worked out perfectly. The movie was AWESOME and I got to relax before having to go back and study.
Back at the hotel it was a constant back and forth between studying and packing. Packing was a lot more of a challenge than I had expected, but after many rearrangements, one popped spacebag, and lots of sitting on the cases with a little jumping, I FINALLY got them to close. I'm now working exclusively out of my rolling carry-on suitcase and backpack until I get home.

Now on to today. I watched other students present their final projects in Pop Culture, and also sort of used that time to get is a little bit of last minute studying. My econ final felt like it went pretty well. I suppose I'll find out when my grades post to MyASU. Sadly that'll be at least 2 months since there was a problem with my equivalency paper and I don't have a scanner here to resubmit. There was an after finals Sophia Summer Session luncheon that all summer students were invited to. I went for a little while, but didn't stay long because several of us girls had other plans. At 1:30, we all met up next to the summer session office to take the train to Ikebukuro.

 While we were there, I met up with Jamie one last time. Of course we had to do another round of purikura! It really is the best tradition ever.

Of course that was not my only reason for being in Ikebukuro, since obviously I was here with a sizable group of girls and I am the only one who knew Jamie. Our real reason for choosing that exact location was going to 'Royal Servant Butler Cafe'. I've been to several Maid Cafe's, but a Butler Cafe was totally new to me! I tried to snap a couple of photos, but it wasn't easy!
 I had a cheesecake and tea. They were out of the tea I originally ordered, but the one I wound up getting was quite good. It was both very similar and yet very different from a maid cafe. It was fun getting to ring the bell every time I wanted something!

Ringing for more tea

I think the next time though, I would like to make a reservation to go to 'Swallow Tail'. That's the best of the best in the Butler Cafe world; it will have to be the mission for my next Japan adventure.

This evening was the CIEE Goodbye Party. It was really fun to get to see the entire group together again for the first time since we got to Tokyo. I had a great time talking and laughing with everyone. Dinner was had, games were played, and lots of hugs were given. Hopefully we'll all be able to keep in touch. Thank goodness for Facebook, right?

Tomorrow I will take the bus to Narita and spend the night in a different hotel there. If all goes according to plan, I'll be spending tomorrow relaxing. I could definitely use a massage!


Peace, love, and hairspray!
~Jenn 

Akiba: the Final Round

 In case you're wondering why I didn't blog yesterday, it's because all I did was go to class, write my paper, and work on the powerpoint for my final project. And nobody really cares to read about that. They just don't.

Anyways, since my final project for Popular Culture is on Maid Cafes, I figured it might be a good idea to go back to Akihabara and get in the spirit for tomorrows presentation. I visited another branch of MaiDreamin for a sweet treat and some fun! Today my maid was Nene-chan. She was so cute! The floor show at this branch was also more elaborate because for a portion of it three of the maids actually sang. Though looking at them I'm pretty sure they were some of the ones on the MaiDreamin original album, so that does make sense.  It was extremely busy, but they were adequately staffed so things still went smoothly. I passed on most of the extras this time around, but I couldn't resist buying a poloroid snapshot with Nene-chan. What can I say, you call me your mistress and bring me desserts for an hour and I'll happily pay 500円 to pose with you in adorablenes.

After my hour was up I met back up with Nidah and Lauren to have a little more fun before we needed to head back. We went to a Sega World arcade so I could try and fulfill a friends life goal of "beating a local at DDR in Japan". They didn't have DDR, but they did have a really fun game that I can only really describe as DDR with your hands. It sounds a little silly, but it was so much fun and it had the most adorable current pop music to choose from!!! 
It didn't take long to get the hang of it, kind of like DDR I was naturally pretty decent at it. Hopefully these machines start showing up in the states, I would definitely play that again! 

Sadly, we couldn't stay all day because there were papers to be completed and final exams to be studied for. As we headed back towards the station we spotted Rei and Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangalian just kind of hanging out at the Sega exits. We couldn't resist snapping a few photos. It's always hilarious to see anime proportions in real life, it kind of makes you realize how unrealistic they really are. Seriously, these girls are just under my height but LOOK AT THEM. I couldn't resist sort of sexually assulting Rei a little when the Sega staff weren't looking. Come on, don't act like you wouldn't have done it too!

 Peace, love, and hairspray!
~Jenn

てんぷら山の上

Today was absolutely phenomenal! Well, the morning was pretty average, but overall today was really great!   Class today went well. The pop culture topic of the day was contemporary art; tomorrow will be a review of all the topics before presentations start on Monday. I need to get on that powerpoint and paper starting tomorrow. Today I started... sort of... well... I saved a document for it, and that totally counts! Class was out 10min early so I had an extra long break before econ and I had time to facebook chat for awhile. Thank goodness for FINALLY getting the Sophia wifi to work on my laptop!
After school I skyped with my family and made a quick run to the grocery store for what may be the final Nat-chan run. It may be the 2nd to last though... we'll have to see.
Anyways, the big fun of the day was meeting up with my friends cousin, Takehiro, who lives in Tokyo.  We met at 7pm and took the subway to Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi. Roppongi may be known to many foreigners for its club scene, but it is definitely an upscale area! The second I walked out of the station I definitely knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore. We went inside of a very nice shopping center and looked around a couple of shops until it was time for our reservation. The restaurant was called  てんぷら山の上. For those of you who don't read Japanese, it's a Tempura restaurant. Now I don't know about you, but I always think of tempura as more of a fast food type item. I have been proven wrong. It can be and tonight definitely was a gourmet dining experience. Now when I say this was a nice place I don't mean like 'The Cheesecake Factory'. I don't mean like 'The Keg'. I mean like check in your purse, waiter pulls out your chair for you,  never have to pour your own Perrier, sit across from the chef and watching fireworks through the window as you first sit down type nice. I couldn't take pictures (there's a certain line that even I won't cross when it comes to taking photos in establishments) so here's a google image of where I was sitting.

Everything was beyond delicious, I never knew such flavor could be attained by tempura! Throughout the meal I was able to have a wonderful conversation using a combination of Japanese (so I could practice) and English (so Takehiro could practice). I feel like this was a unique experience I could only have had with a local, and I am so thankful that I was able to meet with Takehiro this evening. It definitely took some phone tag before we could figure out a time, but I am so happy that it worked out for us to be able to meet up. 

So that was my big excitement for the day. I seem to be sleeping less and less as the trip goes on (if you notice what time this is being posted... and when yesterdays was posted...). Luckily I have Sunday off of class so I just have to wake up early tomorrow and then I'll finally have another day where I can sleep past 6:30am!

Peace, love, and hairspray!

~Jenn

Tokyo Skytree!!!

I shouldn't been in bed a ridiculously long time ago, so I'm going to have to make this quick.
Today was (of course) class as usual. After class, I went to a CIEE lunch with a few other students. We went to a delicious Indian restaurant near the university campus and the entire thing was quite enjoyable. After lunch, I spent a little time in BookOff buying J-pop and then headed back to the hotel. The fun story of today begins around 5pm. 

This evening several of us went to Tokyo's newest tallest tower; The Tokyo Skytree! As big as it is, you would think it would be easy to find. No. It looks close pretty much no matter where you are because of its immense scale and no matter where you look for directions it's kind of confusing. Google maps lied and took us the wrong way, but eventually we did arrive!!! 

It costs about 2000yen to go up, but we took the elevator all the way up to the 350th floor! It was definitely the right time to be in Japan. The skytree only opened back in May and the crowds are only just now becoming manageable to visit. We were only in line for tickets for around half an hour, but once you get up to the top there's even a line to take the escalator down to the 345th level to see the glass floor.

Despite the pervasive theme of "waiting" and "lines", the view was absolutely beautiful. It was definitely worth the trouble of getting there and I would recommend it to anybody visiting Tokyo. I of tried to take a few photographs of the view, but my camera definitely couldn't do it proper justice!

When I got back to the hotel I still had to do laundry, finish up round 2 of postcards to get them sent out tomorrow, and get all the stuff off my bed that had been put there when I needed to get into one of my suitcases. Suffice it to say that it is almost 1am and I still have to be awake at 6:30am tomorrow to be ready for school. Oh well, I suppose I can sleep next Friday while I'm on the plane. There won't be much opportunity before then!

Peace, love, and hairspray!
~Jenn

Sisters Reunited

 Okay, yes I am fully away I didn't blog yesterday. I was EXHAUSTED because I didn't get back to the hotel until about 10:20 and I still had to submit an email to my professor for homework after that. Then I couldn't just update before class this morning (your afternoon) because the internet wouldn't work. So let me just catch you up by saying "went to class, Shinjuku is too expensive, went back to Ryogoku for Karaoke, great day". There we are, now let's move on to todays events...

♥ To start things off, I can't believe my little blog has over 1000 views! Thank you so much for reading, it makes me so happy to know people are interested in hearing about my trip. ♥

Today classes went as usual. Our pop culture theme of the day was Music! Needless to say I'm going to have to go to BookOff tomorrow and buy new CD's... I just can't hear J-pop and not like it. It's too sugary sweet! Not even ashamed to admit tomorrows haul will probably include AKB48. Don't judge me, they're adorable.

As per usual, the real excitement came after classes ended. Today is a day I have been looking forward to for a long time. Today is the day I got to meet my sister and her mom in Ueno!!! I hadn't seen Hiromi since she went back to Osaka at the end of her exchange, and I hadn't seen okaa-san since I first met Hiromi the summer before that, so it was a wonderful reunion! We met up in front of the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, Tokyo. None of us had been before, so it was a new experience for everyone. We were all so happy to see each other!!!

The National Museum is a rather large establishment, and it is full of some absolutely amazing Japanese art. From samurai armor to paper fans, this place has EVERYTHING!It was fascinating and I definitely recommend it if you're ever in Tokyo. The Ueno Park Zoo is also in the area if you have a second day.
Anyways, we explored the enormous museum for what I thought was only a short while but turned out to be about 2 hours! I couldn't believe how fast it flew by! I think my favorite room was the one with all of the Ukio-e, or maybe the netsuke, or maybe the wall screens? Oh, I don't know, I can't pick a favorite, there were just too many fantastic things I saw!

 After we finished looking though the National Museum, we walked through Ueno park. There is a very famous statue on the other side from where the museum was, and we decided that we wanted to go see it. Along the way, we stopped when we saw many tori gates lined up down a path. Okaa-san suggested we follow it to the shrine. It was a very short walk to the shrine and Okaa-san gave me and Hiromi each a 5yen coin (they are good luck) to make a request of the shrine. I could tell you what the shrine was for, but I that might give away our requests, and we can't have that! The walk through the park was beautiful since the weather has cooled down substantially after it rained two days ago. We did find the statue we were seeking and took a photo in front of it to commemorate the day.

 By this time we were starting to get hungry, so we left the park in search of food. There is a shopping center very close to both the park and the station, so it was convenient for us to walk over there and find something delicious. After exploring the available options, we decided that tonight was a night for Kaiten Zushi! Kaiten Zushi is what you might be used to hearing called "conveyor belt sushi" in the states. I love these places; they're really fun and the sushi is always fresh and delicious! We had our choice of sushi from the varied assortment available, as well as miso soup with shellfish and an unlimited supply of hot Matcha (Japanese green tea). The only problem I ever have at these places is getting full before I can try everything!! I'll have to go back so that I can try even more wonderful sushi. Some of these I have seen in the states, but the vast majority I only see on my occasional trips to the Land of the Rising Sun. Maybe there's a Kaiten Zushi place near the hotel or the University, I will have to look into that!

After dinner, we explored the shopping center. It was such a fun time! We looked through many floors of the large building and had a blast talking. I am so happy that I was able to see Hiromi and Okaa-san today. I am very thankful that they were able to make the trip all the way from Osaka to visit. Eventually we had to part ways. I was sad that we had to separate, but I know that in time we will definitely see each other again.

When I got back to the hotel, my internet wasn't working. I was worried at first since i actually had homework requiring internet access; luckily daddy send me with my own LAN cable and once I plugged that one in instead of the hotel one I had been using, everything worked just fine again. (I know you read this daddy, THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!!) I was able to get my homework done, and still have time to blog! Well... maybe have time isn't the word since it's almost midnight and I have class in the morning. Whoops, totally worth it.

Peace, love, and hairspray!
~Jenn

Midterms, Matcha, and Masa-san

Today was the day of my economics midterm. I was pretty tired when I got up (as I usually am, 6:30am is EARLY to be getting up every day) but by the time class rolled around I was pretty awake. I felt like I did really well. There was only one question I didn't know, but I made the best educated guess I could. The pop culture topic for the day was fiction. It was interesting to learn more about keitai (cellphone) novels. One definite benefit to having a midterm exam, is that you get to leave class early when you are finished and can have lunch before the lines get long!

After lunch there was a tea ceremony event at school! We didn't get to participate in the tea ceremony, but we learned all about them and then watched one with accompanying explanations. After we watched, everyone was given some Matcha (Japanese green tea) and a tea cake. 

After the tea ceremony, I took the train to Ryogoku. Right outside of the train station was the hotel I stayed at during my first ever stay in Tokyo. It brought back great memories! I spent a couple of hours wandering around Ryogoku. During that time I scoured Family Mart's for delicious Japanese candies to take home, looked through the hundred yen shop, leafed through a bookstore, and went to a delicious care my mother had recommended for coffee and creme brulee. The cafe also had free wifi, so I was able to get on facebook for awhile using my phone. I'm pretty sure that's the first restaurant I've been to in Japan that had wi-fi, so it was quite exciting and I definitely made use of it.  As it got closer to 8:00, I left the cafe and walked across the street to the Pearl Hotel to do what I actually came to Ryogoku to do: meet Masa-san. Masa was the tour guide from EF who lead my mothers student tour of Japan last month. He has a student group that arrived in Tokyo today, I was so very excited to have the chance to meet him! 

I had the opportunity to join the group for a delicious Japanese dinner at the hotel. I had a pleasant conversation getting to know Masa-san and was introduced to the student group as well. This group is all in college, I always forget EF doesn't just do high school!

I'm going to meet with the group again tomorrow evening for karaoke. That is going to be so much fun! There are also a few other fun things going on tomorrow. I better go get some sleep because it's going to be a busy day!!!

Peace, love, and hairspray!
~Jenn