Harajuku, Asakusa, and Daiba

Met up this morning and headed to Harajuku. We headed to the Uniqlo UT and got some shirts and stuff and then to Meji-Jingu shrine behind the station. After there we went down fashion street. It was pretty busy considering the holiday and the fact that the street is always busy.

From Harajuku we stopped over in Tamachi and went to Azabu Ramen for lunch before heading back to the Hotel to drop off our purchases.

After a short break at the hotel we headed to Asakusa where we walked down the main street there to Sensoji Temple. From there we headed to the Taiko Museum near by and looked around. There was a guy there who took all of a certain type of stick and weighed each one before making his purchase. I bet he was crazy good at Taiko. I asked him about what he was doing and what sticks he recommended. He was pretty helpful and impressed when I told him that I did it for a bit in the US and that my brother is doing it now.

From the Taiko Museum we went to Mr Donuts nearby and then took the Seabus to Hinode.

The Seabus was sweet! It was only 780 yen and went under 13 bridges that were all lit up cool at night.

At Hinode we jumped on the Yurikamome and headed to Daiba. In Daiba we went to La Boheme in Aqua City, which was always good. After dinner we headed to the Pet Shop to see the monkey they have for sale but someone had bought it. We checked out some of the shops there and then headed to Venus Fort a floor above and walked around there for a bit and headed back to the station.

After I dropped my real parents off at the station I ran into my host parents who had just finished watching a movie and we all went to Tully's Coffee for um... coffee.

Church and Yokohama

Met up with my parents and we got on the Ginza line and headed to Tameike-Sanno where we met up with Josh and headed to church (Jesus Lifehouse International). They had a good service and everything was presented in both English and Japanese. The people there translating did a really good job!

After church we headed to Yokohama and met up with my friend Ryu. Since he lives there, he was able to show us around all the cool spots. I had only been there once before and didn't really get to explore the whole city, so this was really cool to see a lot of the different places. We headed to a building that was used to store goods when they were first received in Yokohama 150 years ago that had been converted for shopping and food. There we went to Kua'aina, which is a really good Hawaiian style Burger joint. After that we headed to China town and walked around there for a bit. From there we headed to the top of Landmark Tower 69 stories up. The view from there was awesome and the elevator only took 40 seconds to get to the top. We looked around there for a bit and then headed down to the mall at the bottom. Stopped outside and saw a street performer and then headed back to Tokyo.

In Tokyo we headed to a chain Tempura restaurant, that was more of a Japaneses fast food restaurant. It's funny cause the cheap fast food places seem just as impressive and good as any other place that we have been to.

Ginza, dinner with the Parents, and Daiba

Met up with my parents in Shiodome. It was raining so we headed to Ginza. Walked around the main street looking at all the stores there and checked out a couple stores that Mom wanted to see. We went to Matsuya, one of the many department stores there. After that we headed to a nearby Stationary shop, Ito-Ya which had a huge selection of paper, pens, and other stuff like that. We stopped in a Mikimoto and checked out a couple other stores in the area. It was getting close to lunch time so we ventures down a nearby street and found a Shabu Shabu restaurant called Nabezo that had an all you can eat special.

After lunch we headed back to the Hotel and rested for a bit. From there we headed to the Host Parents' house for dinner and the Mom made a ton of food as always. After dinner we walked around Daiba for a bit and I showed my parents some of the stuff by the Giant Ferris wheel. It was fun.

Roppongi and Shibuya

I met up with Mom and Dad today and we went to Excelsior Caffe for breakfast and then headed to Roppongi. There we went to Roppongi Hills and walked around the different shops there. For Lunch we went to a Omuraisu place called 66 Dining. It was pretty good. From there we headed to Tokyo Midtown and walked around there. After that we headed back to the room for a bit and caught part of a show about a American guy who sings Enka (Japanese Folk Music) and recently became popular. From there we headed to Shibuya cause we hadn't been there yet and wanted to check out a couple more stores. We started with the 109 where Mom found some cute accessories and I found some cute girls. BOOM! From the 109 we headed to some other department stores in the area and then went to Loft and Tokyu Hands. We met some of my friends in the street and then went to an Izakaya (Japanese style Bar) to get some food. They serve all kinds of Japanese food there but only a little of it was appealing to my parents. Izakayas are popular places for Office workers to go after work to unwind and a big part of the Japanese work culture. After dinner we headed to the local arcade and did some Purikura.

Tokyo and Shinjuku

Today we met up in the morning and headed to Tokyo. There we headed to the Imperial Palace and a bunch of parks in the area. It was cool walking around there cause I hadn't been to Higashi park before. We also visited a Crafts Gallery nearby. From there we went a little further to Japan's controversial Yasukuni Shrine where people who died in the war including war criminals are enshrined. The yearly visits by the previous Prime Minister Koizumi would often create political tension between Japan, China, and sometimes Korea.

After Yasukuni we headed to a nearby Ramen shop for lunch and then stopped at the National Museum of Modern Art. From there we headed to the nearest station and returned to the room where we rested for an hour before venturing out again.

This time it was night and had cooled down a bit compared to the day. We took the Yamanote to Shinjuku and headed to Tsuchiya's where we got some good Okonomiyaki and Yaki Soba. It was a place that I would sometimes get takeout from when I lived there in 2005 and the guy there remembered me.

From there we headed to the Metropolitan Government Building which was busier than usual. I guess a tour bus of Koreans was dropped off there cause the line, the elevator, and 45 stories up at the top was almost all Korean people.

After that we headed to the NS building near by cause it provides a cool view of the city from it's glass elevator that goes up 30 stories. The inside of the building is hollow and is naturally lit during the daytime through the glass ceiling. It also has a huge clock that is quite memorable.

Kamakura!

Met up with Mom and Dad this morning and we headed towards the station in search of a place to eat. Not finding any place with "normal" breakfast food, we stopped into Excelsior Caffe near by. It's basically a StarBucks with more food options and they were able to get some US style breakfast sandwiches there. After that we headed to the station for an hour train ride to Kamakura.

After we arrived at Kamakura, we headed to Engakuji Temple close to the station and walked around there for a bit. Engakuji is the home of the Shari-den Shrine which is a National Treasure and houses one of Buddha's teeth. We climbed over 100 stairs to get up there and see it!

From there we headed to our next stop which was Kenshoji Temple about 15 minutes away. On the way there we stopped at a ice cream stand and got some sweet potato flavored ice cream. It was pretty good!

Kensho-ji Temple is pretty big and consists of a couple buildings. The gate there was moved from Kyoto and the Hatto hall is the largest wooden Buddhist structure in Eastern Japan. We walked around there and took some pictures and then headed to Kamakura station.

At Kamakura station we looked for a place to eat and took a locals recommendation for a nearby Soba restaurant. After that we jumped on the bus and headed to the Big Buddha. The statue weighs 121 tons and used to be protected by a temple around it until a tidal wave in 1948 came and washed the building away.

After that we took the bus back to Kamakura and then the Train back to Tokyo. For dinner we went to Ootoya and we all got the Tonkatsu. Before heading back we stopped in at Gaba so they could see where I worked and then across the street to the Cozy Corner where we got some good cream puffs that they have there.

Exploring, moving, and Onsen

Met up with my parents this morning at the hotel where they checked out and checked their bags for a bit. Mom wanted to check her E-mail so we went to Temple and used the computer lab there. From there we went to a restaurant that I had visited before in Azabu and I think they both liked the food there a lot.

After that we headed to Aoyama and went to the Honda Welcome Plaza there. There was some kind of bike show going on there and there were a ton of bikes parked out front. Since I thought it a waste to just go there for one thing we started walking around. Eventually we got to Omote-Sando and checked out Omote-Sando Hills and some other shops there. After that we hopped back on the train and headed back to the hotel were we got the bags and headed to Shibaura to meet up with Takehito and check into the guest room there. It was pretty nice and worked out well.

A little later, we met up with Takehito again and he drove us over to Daiba where I showed my parents around Decks and Aqua City. After that we walked the beach and met my Host parents at their apartment. From there we headed to the Onsen and Mom got to try sushi for the first time. I think her fear of eating raw fish prevented her from enjoying it and eating a full piece so I ate all her sushi. After that we went into the Onsen, and although Mom and Dad seemed a little nervous before entering, they were relaxed and comfortable after.

From there I escorted them back to their building and then headed home myself.

Getting my parents from the airport

Got up, cleaned my room and headed to Narita Airport to pick up my parents. They flew in on ANA and had a great flight, with good food. I met them at the Airport with Kamu Kamu Lemon candy, Suicas, and my old Cell phone in case they got lost.
There are a couple lines that go to and from the Airport and Tokyo. The Narita Express is the most expensive around $30. It is the quickest and one of the most comfortable ways to Tokyo from the airport. The Skyliner is another line that is a little slower than the Narita Express but offers the same level of comfort and is about $11 cheaper. I guess the Narita Express costs more, because it goes to more major stations in Tokyo while the Skyliner just goes to Nippori. We wound up on the Keisei line for $10. It took a little over a hour but was a regular train so it didn't have as comfortable seating as the other two lines.
When we got to Tokyo we headed to the Villa Fontaine hotel. It turned out to be a really nice hotel and it's in a good area too. After getting settled, we walked around we went to Caretta Shiodome and checked out some of the restaurants there. I had read about some restaurants online and thought they were in that building, but they were actually in another building nearby. Most of the places there didn't look too interesting so we headed to Issa in the same building as their Hotel. Compared to the other Issa's that I've been to, this one was the worst. It didn't have that great of a view and the service was much worse than it had been in my previous experiences at the places in Shinjuku and Daiba. On top of all that, when the desert came they didn't prepare it correctly so we didn't pay for that and left. Walked the parents back to their hotel and then headed home.

Work and hanging out with Eri

Headed to Takehito's for his lesson and then back home. I adjusted my schedule a bit so I had a little more time to change and get ready for work. Then I headed to Shinagawa, did a bunch of lessons and headed back home. After getting home I changed and then around 8:30 met up with Eri in Daiba. She had never been there and said that it reminded her of Hong Kong. I've never been there but she had lived there for a while so I guess she's right. We went to Issa in Aqua City, but I think the one in Shinjuku is better, cause it has darker lighting providing a clearer view of the city, the one in Daiba had brighter lighting so it didn't take full advantage of the view that Daiba is famous for. After that we headed to a near by game center. Eri accidentally hit the wrong button on the change machine and got a bunch of the "metal coins" for the "Metal Games" which are really lame gambling style games that are no fun, but we had the coins so we had to use them. I'm not sure why most game centers have a floor of the "metal games" cause they are really lame. After that we walked around for a bit and then she had to catch the train home.