Angie, my best friend from the Peace Corps, and her husband, Ash, arrived last Saturday for a two week trip to Japan. I went up to Tokyo early on Saturday to meet them there, and had a few extra hours to do some sightseeing before they arrived. I wandered through the Tokyo International Forum building which Lonely Planet said was worth a walk through because of its unusual belly of a whale architecture.
I meandered on to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace but had unfortunately left my camera in my suitcase in the locker at the train station. It was a nice place for strolling around, killing time until it was time to head to Narita airport to meet Angie and Ash.
Narita airport is actually about an hour northeast of Tokyo, but there are many express trains that go straight there. At the train station at the airport they announced they were searching luggage. They were also checking passports which had me worried since I only had my alien registration card on me. (Interestingly, when Karen and I flew to Okinawa, they didn’t even check IDs, but just to enter Narita airport and meet friends I needed an ID.)
It’s amazing how many blond girls who looked like Angie were at the airport. Actually, the thought that kept recurring to me the whole time we were in Tokyo was how many foreigners there were there! I guess I’m no longer used to seeing people who look like me!
After we met up, we got back on the train to check into Sakura Hotel in Ikekuburo. The location was great – a McDonalds, Subway, Denny’s, and KFC right outside Ikekuburo! Angie and I were very excited! Ash was looking forward to all the “delicious” Japanese foods so his enthusiasm didn’t quite match ours! We had a quick dinner at KFC (my first time eating there in Japan, if you can believe it! It was so yummy! There’s a KFC here in Himeji but I don’t know where exactly). It was an early night for us; Angie and Ash were understandably exhausted after the 12 hour plane ride!
The next day we were up all too early (unfortunately I also got on the early to bed, early to rise sleep schedule). After breakfast at Denny’s, we visited Meiji Shrine where we saw a wedding party and then walked through the gardens there.
Next on the itinerary was Harajuku to people watch, specifically all the teenagers dressed in goth outfits! We never figured out why some of them have bandages/rags tied over their noses. We assume the suitcase was because they couldn't leave the house dressed like that and changed clothes at the train station.
I meandered on to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace but had unfortunately left my camera in my suitcase in the locker at the train station. It was a nice place for strolling around, killing time until it was time to head to Narita airport to meet Angie and Ash.
Narita airport is actually about an hour northeast of Tokyo, but there are many express trains that go straight there. At the train station at the airport they announced they were searching luggage. They were also checking passports which had me worried since I only had my alien registration card on me. (Interestingly, when Karen and I flew to Okinawa, they didn’t even check IDs, but just to enter Narita airport and meet friends I needed an ID.)
It’s amazing how many blond girls who looked like Angie were at the airport. Actually, the thought that kept recurring to me the whole time we were in Tokyo was how many foreigners there were there! I guess I’m no longer used to seeing people who look like me!
After we met up, we got back on the train to check into Sakura Hotel in Ikekuburo. The location was great – a McDonalds, Subway, Denny’s, and KFC right outside Ikekuburo! Angie and I were very excited! Ash was looking forward to all the “delicious” Japanese foods so his enthusiasm didn’t quite match ours! We had a quick dinner at KFC (my first time eating there in Japan, if you can believe it! It was so yummy! There’s a KFC here in Himeji but I don’t know where exactly). It was an early night for us; Angie and Ash were understandably exhausted after the 12 hour plane ride!
The next day we were up all too early (unfortunately I also got on the early to bed, early to rise sleep schedule). After breakfast at Denny’s, we visited Meiji Shrine where we saw a wedding party and then walked through the gardens there.
Next on the itinerary was Harajuku to people watch, specifically all the teenagers dressed in goth outfits! We never figured out why some of them have bandages/rags tied over their noses. We assume the suitcase was because they couldn't leave the house dressed like that and changed clothes at the train station.
Angie and Ash were much more impressed with the people watching than I was, leading us to the theme of our time together: “Sara has been here too long”. For instance, I suggested Melon Fanta to Angie as an alternative to ginger ale. She didn’t like it. I recommended Lemon Cider as a beverage similar to Sprite. She thought it tasted more like cough drops. They did like my favorite candies, Pure sweet/sour gummies, but I think they discovered them on their own.
We stumbled into a sushi train restaurant for a late lunch. The sushi circles around the restaurant counter on a conveyor belt and you just grab the plates you want. At the end, the waitress counts your plates (and the color of your plates) to determine your bill. Ash was in heaven, while Angie and I made a light snack of a salad roll.
We stumbled into a sushi train restaurant for a late lunch. The sushi circles around the restaurant counter on a conveyor belt and you just grab the plates you want. At the end, the waitress counts your plates (and the color of your plates) to determine your bill. Ash was in heaven, while Angie and I made a light snack of a salad roll.
A bit more people watching and we called it a day and headed back to Ikebukuro for dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant and an early night.
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