No Place Like Tokyo

After the Garden we had plenty of other adventures to behold. We went to a 11 story mall. It only had about 4 stores for every floor and most were pretty pricey but it was nice to walk around and enjoy our time together. Mike was looking for a wallet (we never did get one) and I was looking for a kimono. (Wow, are those lots of money!)
We did see some interesting things however.

 The top 2 floors of the mall were a movie theater. We walked up there just to check it out. We found out that The Amazing Spiderman had an early release there. We decided to leave because Mike didn't think the movie was going to be that good.

From the mall we went to the Art Museum. It was Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art. I expected this to be amazing. It was all about Contemporary Art and we were in Japan. Turns out it was just a gallery and it was some French guy's weekend. All the art looked depressing, all of them began to look the same. It was dead quiet in there. In the hour we were there maybe one person whispered to another. it was a place meant to explore art. Not talk about it. No cameras, no noise, just walk and look and walk and look. Needless to say, we probably won't do anything like that again.
Here are some buildings we passed on our way:

I think I found what's left of the Titanic?

We rushed out of there s soon as we could and by this time I had finally convinced Mike that the Spiderman movie wouldn't be just another first episode, that it didn't have Tobey Macguire and that it would actaully be good. As we walked back to the mall, we past a parade. I am still not sure what the parade is for. I have Googled and tried to figure it out but alas, it's beyond me.

We got to the mall, went up the 10 flights of stairs and made it to the theater.
The movie was great. But just like the art museum the Japanese people were quiet through the entire movie. They didn't laugh, they didnt gasp, they didn't clap. It is bizarre feeling so together yet so disconnected from everyone around you. In a tiny part of it, they bring up Tokyo and Godzilla. It hit us both that we were in Tokyo and no one made a noise. I held in my laugh, Mike on the other hand couldn't.  kept trying to get him to quiet down but that would just make both of us laugh more. Luckily, we were pretty excluded from most of the other people so we couldn't have been too much of a disturbance I hope.

After that we headed home, full on popcorn and tired from all our walking and sun and decided to go to bed early.
On our way back to the hotel we passed an interesting building. Mike called it Lego Building (Or Jenga)

But it really explains the society I think. There are holes in every culture, every government, every country. Nothing can be perfect but in Japan they work around those problems to solutions that can make a stand.

Whether it's helping trees who need a lift,




Or the blind find their way,







Or respecting the roots for where they've come from.





This culture cares about what it has built and it recognizes the beauty that it has and it won't let a few holes break them down.

Instead, those holes give them more of a reason to build higher and become stronger.

Thanks for the lesson, Tokyo.

My Walk With Mother Nature

I wanted to add a few more pictures from the Shinjuku Gyoen. I had never seen such a beautiful place.

   Helping Nature

Cave

                            Dragon Fish?

 

Not So Secret Garden

Our Hotel

Random Ferris Wheel

Tokyo was an amazing adventure to embark on. We only stayed in Tokyo for a total of 46 hours and I can tell you it wasn't even close to enough to explore Shinjuku let alone all of Tokyo. (For those of you that don't know: Shinjuku is a small town inside of Tokyo much like Wrigleyville is inside of Chicago). We stayed in Shinjuku, the whole time. The first night, I was exhausted. We took pictures along the way to our hotel. We saw beautiful buildings and even a ferris wheel. We dropped off our bags and headed out for dinner. I had Curry Shrimp and Rice. I won't lie and say I wasn't a bit hesitant. I am someone who is pretty set in their ways. But I made up my mind months ago that this would be the time I try it all. So I followed Mike blindly into the restaurant.

Japanese Menu

In Japan you always seat yourself unless you are basically stopped to do so. We sat down and looked at the menu. Nothing was in English. What I have come to find out that at least in Tokyo there is normally an English menu stashed somewhere. It might only say "Shrimp" instead of Curry Shrimp and Rice. So... Use your judgement. But it helps you know what kind of meat is in it. Also: Word to the Wise: If it just says "Meat" my guess would be to run! Mike and I caught up over the last few days and talked about what to do in Tokyo the following day. 

We ate our meal when it arrived. I enjoyed mine. It was breaded shrimp and the curry was off to the side so you loaded it on as much as you wanted instead of everything being smothered in it. After the long day we had of travels we went to sleep. 

City at Night

The next morning we were up by 6am. We decided to get ready, head out for breakfast. (We decided to stay easy and went to McDonalds). It is bad manners to eat and walk in Japan so we ate in McDonalds and then headed out to the Garden.

Healthy McDonalds is a Happy McDonalds

Shinjuku Gyoen: The National Garden

It is the Central Park of Tokyo. But as Tokyo is bigger than New York City, this Garden is bigger than Central Park. 

We didn't pick the BEST time of year to come. The flowers were on their last legs, the cherry blossoms had blossomed long ago. But it was still an incredible scene. It is the secret garden of Tokyo. It cost 2 dollars to get in and is about 3 miles wide. It is stunning. The tea houses were quaint. The shrines were stunning and the scenery was breathtaking. It was picturesque. We walked around for hours. Talking, and exploring and taking everything in. We found giant bugs, beautiful pathways, and an experience of a lifetime. 

Here are some more photos from Tokyo's Not So Secret Garden. I'll post more soon!

Tree Stars!

Sayoonara and Konnichiwa! (Goodbye and Hello!)

Hi all!
I made it! I am here on the other side of the world! I figure I should update since it's been 5 days and most of you haven't heard much from me. So the updates will probably take a while.

Firstly, the morning of departure.
I woke up at 5:15 a normal time for my new life but a foreign time to my old. As I was in the shower, I was excited to see the world but like a train it hit me. What in the world was I thinking? Traveling to a new country? For a guy? For an experience? How much was I going to hate it? I quickly shook those thoughts away. This was an experience I needed, and one I very much so wanted. But was it possible that I was too excited? That my hopes would be too high and that I would hate it once I got here? Possibly. But I just needed to go and find out. No need to question the "What if's" later in life. Besides, i was going to be on the plane in 5 hours anyway. No turning back. I packed and put out the notes I left for my family. I wanted them to know how much I will miss them. And I've learned a thing or two about being in long distance relationships... This time it is just reversed. I know I can handle long distance, I will be curious how my family holds up.

The plane rides.
Flight #1: O'Hare to DFW 10am-12pm
I got to the airport super early just to be safe. Even after I went through security and everything I still had 2 hours of just waiting but it was good because I was super nervous and needed to work on calming down a bit. I talked to a few of my friends and family to help me get over the fact that I really was doing this.
The first plane ride was fast. I had a window seat and was able to watch the city disappear into the clouds like it was getting lost in a wave. The flight was only 2.5 hours to Dallas. I was nervous about connecting to my Narita flight. I only had 50 minutes between the two. On the plane I was listening to music, reading and working on some Word Searches thanks to Mr. Hanna. :) The time flew by. Before I knew it electronics had to be off and the flight was landing.
The best news was that we arrived a whole half hour early which meant I had more time to get to my next flight. The stress was flying away from me.
I hoped off the plane and ran around the airport and went to the next. My last meal on American soil was a pepperoni pretzel and hot cheetos. Mmmm.
Flight #2: DFW to Narita, Tokyo Japan 120pm-5pm (Japan time) ((3am US time))
This flight sounds dreadful. 13 hours. I popped a sleeping pill Mom gave me, didn't help at all. So I watched 21 Jumpstreet, CSI (2 episodes), slept on and off for a total of 5 hours and read an entire book and wrote a bit in my notebook so I wouldn't forget anything. It was long. And ironically light the whole time from 515 when i woke up until 315am (your time) it was light. But when all was said and done it wasn't too bad or even as long as it seemed. I can read for 8 hours straight anyway so I was able to break it up pretty nicely. They fed us 4 times. Mostly different Japanese foods. Meatballs (of some sort) and rice, sushi, chicken and rice. It was surprising how often they fed us. I brought all these snacks from home and didn't open them. But its okay, it gives me American food here.

I got off the flight (which was the biggest plane I had ever seen by the way.) Went through the airport following signs and other people hoping I was going the right way. I found customs and my luggage. And before I knew it, I was out with the normal people of Tokyo. I found Mike. He was starring at his phone probably bored since he was waiting a good 3 hours for me to land. (We were an hour and a half late to Tokyo). I snuck up and just starred at him and said "Boo!" With a big smile on my face. We hugged after I stopped the luggage but thats it. The Japanese are very anti-physical contact people and we didn't (I didn't) want to disrespect them. It wasn't until we were at the train station that we had our first kiss (again).

So all in all, the flights could have been worse. My experience was stressful and nerve-racking but it couldn't be more exciting and dreamlike. It is wonderful being with Mike. Getting to really dive into this relationship and this culture. I couldn't be more ecstatic about this opportunity! I will update more tomorrow! :) Love you all and miss you!