Team Marshall: Summer Vacation Part 2: Tokyo

Our big summer vacation trip kicked off on August 12 with a 3-day exploration of Tokyo (which is really pronounced "Tohk-yo" not "Tok-ee-oh"). We took a 6 hour bus ride to Tokyo that left early in the morning, so that by the time we arrived it was only around 2 pm. The bus, like many other modes of public transportation, was so quiet you could hear a pin drop! You couldn't turn on the sound on your phone, talk on your phone, or eat any "loud" food.

The first thing we did was check into our hotel., Hostel Komatsu Ueno Station. It was really difficult to find and it turned out to be quite a dump -- especially for paying over $65/night for it (Tokyo is so expensive!). We hated it; and it's only redeeming quality was that was a 2 minute walk from a very convenient station (Ueno Station).

We rested a little bit since we were tired from hauling our bags all over the subway system and walking around in circles looking for our hotel (seriously, what kind of hotel doesn't even have a NAME on it?!). Then we did some sight seeing. Tokyo was incredibly easy to get around, since everything is labeled in English and most of the people we encountered spoke English. (Our iTranslate app and map app helped us out too). We started out in Asakusa at the Sensoji Temple, dedicated to Kannon, the goddess of mercy. As we walked around we were surprised at all the foreigners we saw. Finally, we weren't the only ones! Not only were there other foreign tourists, there were other Japanese tourists as well -- we no longer stood out so obviously!!!! Not only that, but on the subways and around the city we noticed people speaking loudly and not acting or dressing as conservatively as they do in Sendai. As weird as it sounds, our trip to Tokyo became like a mini-vacation from Japanese culture in some ways. Especially with the food -- we didn't eat any Japanese food when we were in Tokyo!

Lauren in front of the Kaminarimon Gate at Sensoji Temple

Kris in front of the vendor-dotted pedestrian street leading to the temple.

Kris in front of the Hozomon gate

Monks before the Gojundo pagoda

These people bought an omikuji (fortune written on a small piece of paper). You place the money in an honor box and shake a small cylinder containing sticks with numbers written on them. Shake the cylinder until one of the sticks falls out and pull your fortune from a drawer with the corresponding number. If your fortune is bad, the custom is to tie the paper onto a nearby string so that the wind can disperse the bad luck.

Kannondo Temple

People "bath" themselves with this incense to purify themselves before going inside the temple. We didn't do this.

View of Sensoji area from the Kannondo Temple. You see the temple squre and the Hozoman gate.

We found this fun statue/float next to a festival storage house beside the temple grounds.

Small garden near the temple

Kris is trying to get the genie to come out of the lamp!

Next we ventured to the east side of the city to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, where we took an elevator to a free observatory on the 45th floor that overlooks the city.

Cool building we saw from the observation tower

Kris and a view from the observation tower

Next we headed to a dinner we had been anticipating for weeks -- at TGI Fridays!!!!! It may seem absurd that we are in Tokyo and all we wanted was American food; but please understand that we had been in Japan for 6 months at this point, during which we had eaten shloads of Japanese food but about no real American food. American food in Japan isn't usually done very well -- at least not in Sendai. And since we couldn't go to America, we were looking forward to this trip as our indulgence in American food. At TGI Fridays, we were not disappointed. As soon as we stepped in the door, it felt like we were in an American oasis! There were foreigners EVERYWHERE, the sound system was blasting American music, the staff all spoke English, and we devoured American food made American-style in American-portions and with free pop refills!!!!! Yes!!!!!! I even asked one of the waitresses in Japanese where the bathroom was and she answered me in English! I don't want to leave Tokyo! (hahaha)

I was excited for TGI Fridays!

After exploring the Roppongi area, we headed over to Shibuya, a popular night life area that is also known for the famous crossing where thousands of people cross the streets like ants.

Shibuya Crossing -- 6 street corners converging at one huge intersection

For our second day in Tokyo we went to DisneySea. To read more about that, check out my DisneySea post.

On our last day in Tokyo, we explored Ueno Park (the area around our hotel) while enjoying some Starbucks. We found a field full of these HUGE plants with beautiful flowers.

Then we went to Akihabara, the big electronics district that is also home to an anime museum where voice overs are frequently recorded. We did a little shopping and went to the museum briefly -- just long enough that I could take photos to make my sister jealous.

Akihabara, the electronics district in Tokyo

Anime Museum -- are you jealous Madelyn?????

After that we had a failed attempt at seeing the Imperial Palace. The palace, which is usually open for tours on Saturdays, was closed. We still enjoyed walking near the palace, but were really disappointed we didn't get to go inside and see the famed East Gardens. Kris really enjoys Japanese gardens.

Park with cool trees near the Imperial Palace

Imperial Palace

Then we stopped by Zojoji Temple, where we were able to get a picture of the temple and Tokyo Tower. We didn't go in the tower since we had visited the free observatory of the TMG building instead.

Zojoji Temple and Tokyo Tower

Then we headed over to Meiji Shrine, which sat amidst a beautiful, forested area. To get to the shrine, we had to sprint down a long path (as the shrine was getting ready to close). The shrine itself wasn't anything special, but I thought the area around it was really nice. And I liked seeing the giant torii (gate).

People hung wooden plaques on this prayer tree to have the monks pray over them.

Kris next to the large torii (gate) leading to Meiji Shrine

We capped off the evening by eating at Outback Steakhouse. That's right, we ate at an Australian-themed American restaurant in Japan. Unlike our visit to TGI Fridays, we didn't feel like we had stepped into an American Oasis -- because of all the Japanese people eating there and because world ballroom dancing championships were playing on the big screen at the bar. In America that would never happen lol!