Obon (Summer Vacation)

So as you can see from the pictures before, I went on vacation! I know, only 5 weeks at work and i already get a paid vacation? Just lucky I guess. Haha, no but seriously. It was just great timing. And the vacation was actually much needed. The summer seminar period for Amity is the busiest time of the year, and I was just thrown into the mix! I'm adaptable, and adjusted well, but it was stressful, and the work is draining. So getting this week off right after getting into the flow of things was really nice. My next vacation is a 3 day weekend in September. That one isn't as necessary, but i plan to make the most of it!

So on to my vacation!

Sunday:
I headed off to dinner and Miroku with Briana, like we always do. My friend Ayumi also came into town that night from Kyoto for Obon. (Obon is a holiday in which traditionally one goes to their family home to honor their ancestors who are allowed to look on from the afterlife during this week.) She came and brought Briana and I some Hello Kitty Kyoto cookies! Yum! We shared them with everyone at the bar. Our friend Hiro was also hanging out, and had some of his friends along. One thing lead to another and it was decided that we all needed to go out for karaoke, and well.... I can never say no to karaoke! But Briana can... so I struck out with Ayumi, Hiro, and two of Hiro's friends. He took Ayumi and I to a place just down the street that I didnt even know existed. It wasn't your average Japanese karaoke, in that it was a bar with a stage and everyone can hear you (American Style!). We sang and had a good time for a little while. The owner/bartender is a friend of Hiro's and apparently something of a musician. On the stage was a full set up for a band, and it was ready to go! Ayumi hopped on the keyboard, Hiro and the bartender picked up a bass and a guitar respectively, and Ryo (who had finished his shift at Miroku and had come to collect his big sister Ayumi) jumped on the drum set. And they began to jam, and it was wonderful! Ryo even showed me how to play a simple rhythm on the drum set and I got to play while the others jammed. So much fun! We didn't go home until the wee hours of the morning, but before we did I made plans with Ayumi and Ryo to have lunch the next day.

Monday:
Ayumi apparently doesnt like to wake up, so lunch quickly turned into dinner. So I spent the day packing and preparing to leave for Tokyo. For dinner Ryo took Briana, Ayumi, and I for a 5 course traditional Japanese dinner. It was fanTASTIC! We ate ourselves silly. I was super surprised when Ryo paid for us too, I guess Miroku pays its bartenders well. Afterwards we all went for more karaoke. Japanese style this time. Then Ryo was nice enough to drive me home to grab my suitcase, and then dive me to the station to catch my train. I took the train to Nagoya where I caught my bus, and I was off to Toyko!

Tuesday:
I arrived safely in Tokyo in the eaaaaaarly morning. I took the train to my friend Bethany's place which was only two stops past my old home in Japan from my study abroad days! The ride was very nostalgic. Once I got to her place I cleaned up a bit and we grabbed some food. Then we met up with our other Amity co-trainees in Harajuku! Harajuku was fun, lots of shopping was had. We went up and down the famouse shopping street. I bought a really cool shirt that I promptly wore the next day, and a nice scarf (winter is coming). Before leaving Harajuku, I lead the others (Rachel, Ariel, Kalai, Steve, Bethany, and I) to Meiji temple. Its a forest oasis in the middle of the city. Its completely man-made specifically for the temple, but you would never know walking around in it. We then left Harajuku for Shinjuku. My favorite place in Japan! There is so much there to do! I left the others to their own devices and met up with a friend from Sophia named Atsuko. She took me out for Mexican food! The enchiladas were great, the salsa was delicious, the beans and rice were SUPER fail. But Japan doesn't know anything about Mexican food, so I wasn't expecting much. Afterwards we walked around a bit and eventually ended up at a cute cafe where we had coffee sundaes! That was a first, but it was really good! Then I went home with Bethany. Her place is your average SUPER TINY studio. There was barely room for me to crash on the floor, that's how small. Six of her places could fit into mine. Literally. I feel so lucky.

Wednesday:
Wednesday we woke up bright and early to go to the newly opened Tokyo Skytree! The tallest tower in the world, and the 2nd tallest structure in the world. Woo! We got there at 9am and got in a short line where they gave us each a ticket telling us to come and get in the actual line at 1pm. To kill time we ate breakfast, and waited in yet another line to try to get into a planetarium. When we finally got to the front of the line we find out that the show time we were gunning for only had 2 openings left. >__<  It just wasn't our morning. So we waited in starbucks till 1. We then got in line and waited until roughly 3pm to buy our tickets an board the elevator. The ride to the top was super fast, and when the doors opened on the observation deck, the view was breathtaking! There were a TON of people (it being new, and obon) but we made our way to several windows and took lots of pictures. Then we got into yet ANOTHER line to buy tickets to the very top! That elevator ride was really cool because it had a glass ceiling and you could see yourself rocket upwards. The view up there was even more stunning because the walls were ceiling to floor glass. Amazing! We left shortly after. We lost Steve and Bethany to other friends of theirs, but the rest of us made our way to Odaiba. Odaiba is a man-made island in Tokyo bay, and the monorail to get there has a stunning view. We were also joined by Kristen! One of my besties from my LMU days. Unfortunately as soon as we got to our destination, Rachel had to leave us. But Kalai, Ariel, Kristen, and I all went to the Oedo Onsen. An onsen is a public bath house. A lot of times, they are made at natural hot springs, but this one is man made. And it is gorgeous! We walked around in Yukata and stretched/soaked our feet in the wading pool. Then we hit the baths. There are over a dozen different baths all ranging from 38-41 degrees celcius. I can't tell you what that is in farenheight, but I can tell you that its HOT! There was also a freezing cold bath at 20 degrees. We pretty much tried them all. We completely lost track of time, and it was wonderful. After we finally pulled ourselves out, we grabbed some food in the onsen and chilled for a bit. Finally we realized that we needed to hurry home so as to not miss last train, but also our phones had died (too much use taking pictures of the Tokyo skyline) and we needed to meet up with Steve and Bethany. We rode to Kristen's place to make use of her internet to contact the others, then we rushed to the trains! Ariel and Kalai made their train, but I missed mine. Luckily I was able to get back to Kristen's place and remembered my way back to her apartment. I did not however, remember which room was hers. So I knocked on some doors at half past midnight and woke some people up until a kind stranger pointed me in the right direction. So... I crashed with her that night.

Thursday:
In the morning I headed back to Bethany's place and promptly went back to sleep, haha. That afternoon we all met up in Ikebukuro and went to Sunshine City! Its a big mall, with an aquarium, planetarium, and Namja Town. Namja Town is where we were headed! Inside its an old traditional town. Its so dark, and creepy, but its freaking adorable! There is a haunted house where you touch things and things jump out at you. It was really fun wandering around in there. But the crowning glory was the gourmet Gyoza (fried dumplings). I am a fool for gyoza and we got two big pans of the stuff and dug in! Delicious! We also hit up a place called Ice Cream City where they have every flavor of ice cream imaginable, including my favorite, Black Sesame. I got a big cup of it! Yummy! After Namja town we decided that we would finally get into that planetarium, so we bought tickets for the next show, and shopped around until it was time. The show was gorgeous, and I can't remember the last time I was in a planetarium. Unfortunately it was all in Japanese, and beyond my vocabulary.  Afterwards we grabbed dinner and then it was time to go home. Ariel left that morning before Ikebukuro, so Steve and I switched who we were staying with. I went home to Yokohama with Kalai.

Friday:
Friday everyone was tired and we just wanted to take it easy. So Kalai and I didnt make the trek back out to Tokyo (about an hour+ train ride) and she showed my around Yokohama instead. We went to the bay and rode one of the biggest ferris wheels in the world. the view was amazing, and it was really relaxing! We also rode a small roller coaster that vanished into a pool of water and went through a tube. Cuz yaknow, why not? Afterwards we tried to get into the instant ramen museum, but it was all sold out. What up with that?! Stupid obon... We went back to her place and took naps, then it was time for dinner and another (smaller) ferris wheel. Then I headed into Tokyo at met up with Kristen and Steve in Shinjuku for a night of dancing! Only when we got to my fav club, there were signs everywhere that said "PLEASE DONT DANCE" and they were for real! Check this out --> Why can't I dance in Japan? So we bar hopped instead. It was really fun. We took the first train home thoroughly exhausted.

Saturday:
And then I went to sleep. When I woke up, Kalai and I headed to a city called Futakotamagawa (a mouth-full, I know) to attend a fireworks festival. This city is situated right on the line between Tokyo and Yokohama, so everyone from both places was pouring in in droves. I am not exaggerating when I say there were thousands of people there. All having picnics on this half mils stretch of a river and either side. There was a bridge that ran through the middle the split the two cities, and each side had its own hour long fireworks show at the exact same time. Yes an whole HOUR! It was amazing, and we ll got whiplash trying to watch both shows. The Tokyo show was far superior, though. It was so pretty and so much fun! That night we said goodbye to Bethany and Steve came back to stay with Kalai. And then there were three.

Sunday: 
We headed to Sea Paradise and checked out an amazing aquarium! I saw so many animals and took so many pictures. The marine mammals show was amazing as well. We had a really amazing time! That night Steve took his leave and Kalai and I had a relaxing evening. We went and saw The Avengers which had just opened in Japan that weekend.

Monday: 
My last day in Toyko! So we went into Tokyo and hit up Shibuya. Shibuya is Tokyo's answer to time square and is home to the busiest intersection in the world. Of course, I got a video of it. We then went back to odaiba to explore what else the boardwalk had to offer. We stumbled upon a trick art museum that was a lot of fun! After Odaiba we went to Shin Okubo which is Korea Town. There we had amazing Korean BBQ and I was able to introduce Kalai to the wonderful world that is K-pop! If you haven't seen this music video yet, you need to now! Then it was off to Tokyo station where I had to kill some time before my bus home.

Tuesday:
I arrived safe and sound back in Nagoya and took the train home to Ogaki. I missed Ogaki! I took a taxi home and crashed into my bed. A few hours later my alarm went off and it was off to work for me!


I'll update about my first week back after vacation and this current week soon. But now its time for bed...

Matta ne!

~寒