Filbeys in Tokyo

Lately, things in my life have been slowing down a bit. School is officially out for summer next week, there was a 4.7 earthquake on Sunday and there's supposed to be a big typhoon tomorrow.

Just another summer day on Kyushu.

Given so much free time, I realized that I never got around to posting about my super fun trip with my parents around Tokyo. We ate decadent sushi, explored museums at Ueno Park, saw the amazing view from Tokyo tower, visited the Gundam Cafe, had teppanyaki on the 51st floor of our hotel (with my limited Japanese skills, I grossly underestimated how much that adventure would cost) and generally just had some awesome family bonding time.

Sushi restaurants at the Tsukiji Fish Market.

Dad squeezed onto the subway.

A look at the Imperial Palace Garden. The palace was closed, but it was still nice to see a glimpse.

Heading to Ueno Park! It was raining the whole time we visited Tokyo, so we had to buy three umbrellas. I now have an abundance of umbrellas in my apartment. They came in handy during rainy season.

The amazing plesiosaur skeleton at the Japan Museum of Nature and Science.  

The Gundam Cafe, my first experience with Tokyo's famous themed cafe. I only knew that Gundam was an anime show about robots, and my parents had literally no idea what was going on. When we walked in, the hostess asked, "Do you like Gundam?" in Japanese, and I was responded with, "I didn't watch it..." It was awkward.

"Get a load of this metal menu, amirite?!"

Both my parents thought all the crazy characters scattered around Tokyo were pretty fun, especially when they talked and moved (like the one pictured above).

But there's no mascot more beloved in Dad's heart than the Colonel.  We thought they even looked similar.

Our hotel, which my father was very excited to stay at because of that little bridge connecting the two towers. He was really into the bridge. I liked the art pieces in the park below.

At the top of the hotel, they had a very swanky teppanyaki place. My parents, who love teppanyaki, encouraged me to check the prices. I misread the menu. So we accidentally splurged one night.

But it was worth it. The food was mouth-watering and the view was even better. 

 Finally, we finished our sightseeing with a trip to Tokyo tower, where we looked out upon the whole city, took photographs, and chatted with other foreigners who were also enjoying the view. Tourist traps are great for making friends with other tourists!

I've been feeling monumentally homesick lately, so looking at these photos just makes me want to give the folks a big hug! I'm looking forward to a trip back to California in December for the holidays, but I suppose it's still a long ways away.

Until then, I guess I'll just deal with this whole typhoon situation and plan for speech contests.

Good thing I have an abundance of umbrellas.

Yo From Tokyo!

Konban wa (good evening) from Tokyo!

It's my last night here before I head to my new home in Miyazaki prefecture and I must say, it's been a surreal and exhausting few days! The Miyazaki JETs and I are all waking up at 5:00am tomorrow to fly out to Kyushu tomorrow, so I should probably be sleeping. But before passing out tonight, I couldn't resist putting a few pictures of what I've been up to lately! It's just been such an insane journey, I can't believe it's already time to head out.

After our San Francisco Orientation, where we listened to some awesome JET alumni talk about their experiences and attended a reception at the Consulate General of Japan's house/mansion, we shuffled luggage around and boarded the plane to Tokyo. The flight was just under ten hours and the airline food wasn't too bad. It didn't even make me want to vomit! Success!

Our tower of luggage was as tall as Mt. Fuji.

This was my first glimpse of Japan from the plane!

The next morning, we woke up jet lagged and bushy-tailed for the first day of Tokyo Orientation. And might I say, it was quite an ordeal. The speeches were interesting and informative, but all the new ALTs were exhausted, so I'm not sure how much information we actually absorbed.

One of my favorite parts of orientation was getting to meet the other Miyazaki JETs and talk about what we expected life to be like in Miyazaki. Apparently we're having a lot of monsoon rains right now and the heat and humidity are off the charts. Gotta love that tropical weather.

Aren't we a good looking bunch?

After the panels and speeches were finished each day, we were able to do some real Tokyo sightseeing. We mostly stayed in Shinjuku since we knew we'd just have to wake up again early the next morning, but it was still quite a treat to eat, explore, and karaoke our way through the city. One night, we karaoke'd so hard, I actually lost my voice for the whole next day! Damn those power ballads and my incessant need to sing like Steven Tyler!

Debbie and I enjoying karage (deep fried chicken) on our first night in the city. 

My Tokyo Orientation roommates (who also happened to be SF JETs) and I going out for some serious noodles. 

My first Japanese noodle dish, an oily pork noodle bowl. It was out of this world!

I even had an opportunity to meet up my friend from the states, Alisa, during one of our lunch breaks. Her family lives in Tokyo, and luckily, we just happened to be in the same place at the same time. She took me to an amazing observatory right across the street from the hotel and the view of Tokyo was incredible!

You can even see Tokyo tower!

I've loved my time in Tokyo, and so far, I'm enjoying my time in Japan. Though I wish I had studied Japanese a bit more before showing up here. There are so many opportunities to practice and I want to understand people so badly! But I know I'll have more time to learn in Miyazaki, and I'm sure I'll figure things out quickly. 

No regrets! I'm ditching the fear and anxiety and embracing this opportunity! Live in the now!

Though I must say, I do regret the fact that I'm leaving the Keio Plaza Hotel's magical heated toilet seats. That's a Japanese invention I will always think of fondly.

As you can see, I'm very inspired, but also very sleepy. I have to wake up in six hours.

Goodnight! Talk to you soon!