Akita! 🐕

Holiday weekends are always a great excuse to travel. Especially when it is a holiday that is not celebrated in the country you are in. Labor Day weekend gave us a great excuse to head across the country to Akita and explore. However, the drive itself was anything but relaxing. 

Highways in Japan are different than one would encounter in the US. The only 'highways' are purposely constructed straight, flat roads that are more than likely a toll road. And there aren't that many. Most of the time, this isn't an issue, but for this particular trip, the drive itself was about the same time, but the tolls were around 50 dollars. So, we decided to embrace the adventure and drive right over the mountains. It was a choice. Good choice? Debatable, but a choice we made. 

The mountain roads were terrifying. Between the blind corners and tight roads, it was an anxiety-ridden drive. The drive home was even worse. Since we drove home from a different starting point from where we drove towards on Friday, the drive home was slightly different. We ended up going up this mountain where we had a whole stretch where every corner was a one-car-length wide road, except there were about 12 different curves tightly placed together. We were just crawling around the edge of the mountain. 

FRIDAY

Arriving in Akita on Friday, we were both exhausted from the drive. We had a late start getting on the road, so by the time we got there, we ended up getting some Udon for dinner and heading in for the night.  

SATURDAY

As Akita is both a city and a prefecture, we decided to travel around the city on our first day and visit a few other locations in the prefecture on the other days. In the morning, we ended up at the Kubota Castle Ruins. We walked around the historical location of Akita's government and saw shrines and statues. It was so beautiful. We also lucked out because it started to rain just as we finished, so we went back to the hotel for a little break before heading back out that afternoon. 

We went and saw the Museum of Art, a local Market, and the Folk Arts Center (which told us all about the various festivals that are held every year in the city. There is a festival where people balance these giant lanterns on their backs and shoulders. Even young kids do it. It was really interesting to see in the photos and videos. (We were unfortunately a few weeks late to see it in person). Of course, one thing that is absolutely necessary to do when you go to Akita is to see the Akita Inus. Unfortunately, they were closed when we were there, so I wasn't able to see any of the puppies. The Inu is very popular here in Japan, so I see them out for a walk a lot. 

SUNDAY

Sunday consisted of a lot of driving for us. The first stop was Lake Tazawa. This is the deepest lake in the country. There are a bunch of beautiful stops to make on the drive around the lake, including shrines, the statue of Tatsuko, and views of the lake. 

After this, we drove to the opposite side of the prefecture to the Oga Peninsula. The first stop was the Namahage Museum. It was a beautiful part of the history of the area that I had never heard of.  The Namahage were creatures who came down from the mountains to take lazy children and interrogate the families about what they did over the year, like their harvests and making sure no one was lazy. This is a tradition that some villages still do each year (without the kidnapping, of course). Next, we continued around the water to stop at the Oga Aquarium. I got to see this adorable polar bear get fish just chucked around his enclosure, and he was running around for it. The final stop before heading back to the city was this really cool rock formation that had naturally been produced to look like Godzilla. We got there right around sunset, so the head against the sky was beautiful. 

MONDAY

Before heading home on Monday, we visited a samurai village, where there are multiple preserved samurai houses. It was enjoyable walking around the historic area and learning all about the families that used to live in the area. 

Heading to the West- Tsugaru Peninsula ⛩ 🦊

 Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to get to go to two locations in North Western Japan that were absolutely stunning. And strangely enough, for the first time since, I have been traveling, not absolutely swamped with people. I went on a bus trip through the base travel office. 

The first stop on our trip was the Takayama Inari Shrine, known for its 1000 shrines. It was absolutely beautiful. 'Inari' shrines are all over Japan, having the place where the fox spirits settle. The most famous is probably in Kyoto. The Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is the one known for having all the Torii gates going up the stairs. I visited it when I was in Kyoto back in 2020. But I think this one was actually a lot nicer. While there were some stairs initially, getting up to the beautiful shrine, I didn't have to climb a mountain this time. And it was much less crowded. 

The shrine itself was really pretty, and going up a path just past it, there were several much smaller shrines and a memorial to an American Merchant Ship that sunk just off the coast of the peninsula in 1889, in a corner where you could see the water. 

The Torii gates were down the other side, past the shrine. Said to be 1000 (not actually) Torii gates; they were lining a path just past a pond. I think what really makes this place unique is that when you get to the end of the path and look over the line of the gates, it resembles a Chinese dragon, with its head at the far end, facing away. 

There were also dozens of fox statues lining one edge of the area and more scattered around the shrine. It was really interesting. They were all dressed up. I assume due to the recent holiday, this was a way of honoring the spirits that rested there. 

That wasn't all we were going to be able to see, though. After the shrine, we stopped at a local mall to get lunch and then headed off to the Tsuru-no-Mai Bridge. On our way through the area, we drove through an area that translated to Rice Rice Road. It was completely covered on both sides by rice fields, the local crop. With the cranes flying past, it was something out of a movie. But now to the bridge. 

While not as impressive as the shrine, it was still a piece of Japanese history. Tsuru-no-Mai Bridge passes over the Tsugaru Fujimi Lake with a reflection of Mt. Iwaki. With the bridge's total length being 300 meters, it is Japan’s longest triple-arch wooden bridge. The bridge view looks as if a crane is flying in the background of Mt Iwaki. Also, it is said that visitors who walk across the bridge will have a long life. Mt. Iwaki is known colloquially as Mt. Fuji of the North due to its shape. While we couldn't see the whole mountain due to cloud cover that day, we could still see portions of it. 

After we crossed, we stopped at the shop on the other side and got soft serve ice cream. Grape flavor for me and Apple flavor for Charles. While it sounds strange, it was actually really good. Apples are what Aomari province is known for, so be prepared for some apple content coming your way in the next few months as they are getting harvested. The trip was a good one, and I was glad to have gotten to go when I did. The Shrine is going to be going under a rolling renovation for the next three years, so the view I got today wouldn't be visible for the rest of the time I will be in Japan. 

Aomori Nebuta Festival

The end of July-early August is the season of festivals, it seems. One of the annual festivals for early August, and actually one of the most famous festivals of northern Japan, is the Aomori Nebuta Festival in Aomori and is part of the three festivals of Tohoku that are in the first week of August. It is an upbeat festival that has homemade and handpainted floats that proceed in a parade with music and dancing. Although the origins of the festival are unclear, it is thought to be a post-battle celebration. 

The day before my birthday, Charles and I were fortunate enough to get to go on a trip to Aomari and watch the parade. We got to the city a few hours early for the parade, so we had the opportunity to walk around the area in which the floats were stored and people were getting ready. Here we got to look at the floats up close, and it was incredible. Both the size and the level of detail is insane. The floats were hand painted. You could see the brush strokes on the paper. We walked around the main area of the city and bought some souvenirs (I got socks that had fish on them!). 

On our way to find food, we ended up at Utou Junja Shrine. It was a small little area, but it felt like we were being transported out of the city in the middle of downtown. It is actually amazing how the Japanese people do that. These little natural sanctuaries are in the middle of a busy city. We ended up sitting down next to a little pond that had a bunch of turtles in it! There was even one really curious turtle who kept coming up to us, perching itself on the ledge and staring at us. It even got out of the water at one point but couldn't get up over a curb, or it may have walked right up to me. It was so cute! 

For dinner, we got ourselves some Yakisoba, sitting by the water to eat it. At this point, it was time to head toward our seats for the parade. Along the way, we stopped at this cute little table that was selling snow cones with homemade apple syrup (Aomori is known for its apples). I walked up, and it was almost a little scary. Everyone was yelling their handful of English words that they knew. This family was actually really sweet. In our conversations, I mentioned that my birthday was the next day, and they ended up singing me Happy Birthday! It was so much fun! If I get to go back, I will go to their shop. It wasn't far off the main street. The snow cone, by the way, was actually super delicious. It even had chunks of apples in it. It's probably the best snowcone I've ever had. 

The parade itself was an experience. All of the music (flutes and drums) were done live by people walking down the street, and the floats were pushed by a bunch of guys. Which is not something we typically see in the US. The floats in US parades are usually motorized, but with the people punching them, they were able to move around the street and interact with the audience. There were several times when it would stop and turn and almost charge at the audience. You could see the effort don't their faces trying to stop the momentum of the gigantic floats. 

Between the musicians and the floats were large groups of dancers. Something interesting about this parade is that anyone can join the parade as a dancer. They just have to have the outfit, and every department store in the city sells them. They had bells attached to their outfits and jumped around. It is actually said that if you catch a bell that fell off of the dancer, it was good luck. Many of them just tossed bells toward the audience. I ended up going home with five bells and two fans that were being handed out by people in the parade. 

But that's not all!

We went and saw the parade on Friday, but the festival actually ended on Monday. So I went back to see the finale. The finale consisted of the four winning floats from the festival being loaded onto boats and paraded around the harbor and fireworks. I took the train up and arrived right as the parade was starting. I ended up getting a spot on the beach to watch. The downside was that my whole view was being framed by two bridges. I guess that is what I get for not getting there earlier. I could just see the floats through the bridge at the bottom, and some of the fireworks were cut off by a bridge above me. Something I found interesting was that the fireworks weren't just after the boats went by but actually, as they started their way around the parade route. So it was boat + fireworks four times. This was actually one of the most interesting fireworks displays I've ever seen. The fireworks themselves were so good, with a really good mix of different types. There were even some that were in shapes, like elephants and cat faces and hearts. The only strange part was that the fireworks lasted for an hour and a half, but it wasn't steady. There were 3-10 minutes between spurts of fireworks.  The later the fireworks went, the shorter the gaps between were, but it's still interesting that there were some. If I didn't know what time the fireworks were supposed to be, I probably would have left early because I thought it was over. Still super glad I went and will hopefully go again. 

Weekend in Sendai ( ☀ it's so hot! 🔥)

Charles and I are attempting to make the most of our weekends. After all, three years may seem like a long time, but it can go by in a flash if you aren't making the most of it. For the last weekend in July, we made a plan to head off to Sendai literally the Monday before. I have the feeling this is going to happen a bunch. We are not great at planning ahead of time. This means we ended up traveling to Sendai on a weekend when the temperature was incredibly high, and the sun was out and ready to make you hate life. 

Sendai is the closest large city to us. It's about halfway between Hachinohe and Tokyo (which also means it was only an hour and a half on the Shinkansen). We got to Sendai around lunchtime. We ate on the train, so when we got there, we chucked our bag in a locker at the train station and started to explore. Sendai Station is massive and has a whole mall attached to it. Beyond that, there is a whole shopping area just outside of the station as well. The station and the mall were decorated for the Tanabata festival already, even though the following weekend was when the festival would be celebrated. It was kind of cool, as I knew that I wouldn't be able to come down and see anything the next weekend. 

The adjoining mall called SPal was multiple floors, and the floor plan was so strange. Every time we turned a corner, there was more mall. We wandered around the mall for a bit and then headed over to our hotel to cool off and relax until dinner. For dinner, we wanted to get a staple of the region called Gyutan. Beef Tounge. We didn't end up at a restaurant for it but found a Yakiniku restaurant instead. Still so delicious. Afterward, we found ourselves at a Zunda store (edamame), which I know sounds gross but was surprisingly not terrible. I liked it in desserts and shakes that were a bit sweeter. When heading out to explore more of the city, we found yet another Pokemon Center, so of course, we had to go in and look around. It actually had some stuff that Tokyo didn't have. I don't know if this was because of a new release or store-specific merchandise. Afterward, we did end up at a stationary store, so we could both be nerdy. 

Eventually, we walked around for a bit and ended up at a three story arcade (games, claw machines, Gachapon Capsule machines). We played games and looked around. Across the street, there was a five-story Don Quixote, which, if you don't know, is kinda a catch-all store. It had food, drinks, toys, and more expensive things like watches, makeup, and colored contacts?. It was nuts. They also had hilarious music playing over the store speakers. 

On day two, we decided to get a Loople Pass. This is the sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus in Sendai. Waiting in line for the bus, we were already sweating. It wasn't even 10 am. The kind older gentleman who was working at the main bus stop talked to us for a little bit about where we were planning on going and warned us about a few stops that were more intense exercise-wise, with little shade. He told us to drink a lot of water. We actually took off one of the stops off our list because we knew it would be too much for today with the weather and the number of stairs. After all, our traveling is supposed to be fun. 

Our first stop was the Zuihoden Mausoleum. This is where five of Sendai's feudal lords, including their most famous and most powerful, the first lord, Date Masamune. It was really beautiful. The hike up the stairs was not great, but there was a little rest station at the top that was air-conditioned. I was grateful for it. The mausoleums themselves were quite beautiful. They were colored in gold and red and blue, and other colors with depictions of various symbols on them. None of the buildings that were there were the original buildings; however, since Sendai was actually bombed in WWII and most of the city was destroyed and rebuilt. On the way down the hill, we stopped by a temple and a children's graveyard (children of the lords who died in childhood). 

The second stop was Sendai Castle. There wasn't actually still a castle built, but the foundation was laid out with stones, and there was a beautiful view of the city next to a statue of Date Masamune riding a horse. We also got some lunch here and got a rice bowl with gyutan. It was so delicious. 

After skipping a few things for next time, we visited the Sankyzawa 100-year Electrical Historical Center, which features a Hydroelectric Power Staton from the Meiji Era that is still in use today. This wasn't too interesting, but since Charles is an electrical engineer, he found this place very interesting. 

At our last stop, we got off at Jozenji-Dori Ave, which is a street lined with trees (Sendai is the city of trees), where they host many festivals. We walked from here through the Ichibancho district (a large shopping district) and made our way back to the station. We hung out there until it was time to go. Very long day with a bunch of steps. I was really grateful I got to go, and I can't wait to head back. Hopefully, it will be cooler next time. 

Misawa Tanabata Festival

 

The Tanabata (七夕) Festival is a festival that is held all over the country every year. It is also called the Star Festival (星祭り, Hoshimatsuri). It is the celebration of the annual meeting of the two star lovers, Vega and Altar. According to the legend with Chinese origins and the Chinese Qixi Festival. It is said that the two stars are separated by the Milky Way and are only allowed to meet once a year. The festival is celebrated with beautifully decorated and colorful bamboo branches and ornaments. A tradition of the festival is also to write your wish on a slip of colorful paper called tanzaku. It is then tied to one of the bamboo branches. The belief is that the star lovers will grant the wishes tied to the branches. 

    I was fortunate to get to celebrate this particular festival in my town. It is interesting because it was either advertised to the base or held in tandem with the Misawa Beer Festival. There were about six booths in a line that all had various beers and ciders. Along with this, there were several booths that had street food, such as Yakisoba (Japanese stir-fried noodles), Takoyaki (fried octopus balls), and Yakitori (grilled meat on skewers). Also, desserts like bubble tea, Japanese street crepes, snow cones, and a bunch more. The smell was incredible. The heat was also intense. End of July/August tends to be the hottest month of the year in Misawa, so it was 90+ with high humidity. 

    Charles and I walked around the festival with some of his work friends for a while, enjoying the drinks and the food. It was a really good evening. 

    Toward the end of the night, everyone was tired of being out in the heat and ready to sit down and hang out somewhere. Instead of the bar, we ended up at Karaoke. I was really grateful that we had two Japanese speakers in the group because organizing 10 people for Karaoke was not easy. But we sang our hearts out for an hour, and by the time we were done, we were so ready for bed. After all, Charles and I were heading out to Sendai the next morning. But that's a post for another day. 

Ryūsendo Caves

This past weekend, Charles and I decided to head out somewhere near us. About a two-hour drive away from us are the Ryusendo Caves. This cave system has multiple interconnected underwater lakes. When we got there initially, we ended up parking in the lot near the campgrounds (we didn't even know it was there) and ended up walking down a short path to the cave entrance. By the cave entrance, there were some rest areas, a couple restaurants, a cute shop, and a really beautiful little river. There was even a guy you could rent a pole from and fish in the river. We didn't do that, though. 

Going into the cave, the temperature dropped drastically. It dropped like 30 degrees. Plus, there was water dropping from the ceiling. At first, I was a little annoyed at the gigantic droplets that fell onto my head, but towards the end, it actually felt nice. Walking in, the limestone walls were really beautiful, with the colored light shining on it. It wasn't too busy, which was nice. Walking through, there were nice wide areas where people were walking in both directions, but then the path narrowed to barely a person wide. In a few spots, you can look down into the water. The light in the water showed the different depths in areas. The sign had some of the areas as deep as 35m down. It was actually really beautiful to look at. 

I thought I was getting off easy with this trip. The last time I went to caves, I was with my first host family in Korea, and we walked down like a thousand stairs. I was beginning to think on this trip, it was going to be a nice walk through the cave. I was wrong. The path took us up the tallest chimney in the system. The stairs were so steep and wet from the dripping water. I was so relieved to make it to the top. We ended up having a view of some of the paths we went down earlier but from the top. It was actually really pretty. Going down...well...it was a tight fit. We were holding on to the handrails for dear life. Eventually, we came to a spiral staircase where the wall of the cave was so close overhead that we practically bent over sideways to get down. 

Once we got out of the caves, we explored the area a little. There were a few restaurants, a cute little shop, and a really pretty creek. So we got some lunch and took a walk by the water. It was so pretty. There were even a few people who had rented a fishing pole and were catching fish. That wasn't something we were very interested in, so we just kept walking. 

After walking around the water for a little bit, we saw signs for the Science Museum. The tickets for the cave included the museum, so we headed over. Let me tell you, this wasn't like any museum I had ever seen. First, there was no one over there. It was not staffed at all. You were expected to rip off the end of your ticket and put it in a box before you went in. It was actually kind of eerie. There was no one there. We headed in and found out pretty quickly that the 'museum' was actually another part of the cave system that had been separated by the river. There were signs on the wall that told you facts about the rocks and other parts of the cave system. Unfortunately, they were all in Japanese. But it was still really cool to look around. It was a lot narrower than the main area, but there was no one there except for the bat. It flew right over my head and Charles's. It was freaky. 

By the time we were finished at the museum, we were both ready to go home, so back down the path to the car, we made the two-hour drive home. 

Driving in Japan 🚗🔰

I have never really enjoyed driving. I was the first of my friends to drive and have a car. Even in college, I often was the one who ended up driving, and I am not sure if it was due to this or has always been the way. Still, driving tends to give me a lot of anxiety, especially in areas I am unfamiliar with or there is a lot of traffic. 

When I started thinking about moving to Japan, I fully expected to be able to walk everywhere or take public transportation. But Misawa doesn't seem as easy to get around as Hwacheon was. That means I have to drive. Which ordinarily wouldn't be an issue, but in Japan, they drive on the left side of the road. This means I get to learn a new country's driving laws and signage while remembering that I need to be on the other side of the road, driving from the other side of the car. 

The first time I got to try this, I drove around on base, which is a little easier as the roads are wider, but it was still nerve-wracking. Once I was driving around for a bit, I got more comfortable. It's not as bad as some might think. The hardest part is turning right through intersections and using my turn signal. Now stay with me for a second. I'm sure turning through intersections makes sense since I have to make sure I go far enough through the intersection to turn into the correct lane. 

Turn signals, however, may not sound like something that would be difficult, but the turn signal lever is actually on the opposite side of the steering wheel. So I keep accidentally turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. Well, guess I will just have to practice, and I will probably get decently good. After all, I am going to need to drive in order to get to the base for work, or literally anywhere, not to be stuck in the house. Well, here's to a licensed Kristy and a new car. Isn't it cute!

TOKYO!!!! 🗼

Well, barely two weeks in the country, and I've already gotten to go on a trip. Since the 4th of July was on a Tuesday this year, Charles could take Monday, and we had a four-day weekend. Even better was it was a holiday weekend on base but not in the country itself, so we didn't get hounded by many Japanese people traveling as well, like on national holidays. 

So, we decided to take advantage and head down to Tokyo. Some people might think we were a little crazy going to Tokyo in the summer. Those people were definitely correct. It was humid and 90+ degrees F. the whole trip (around 32-33 degrees C.). It was actually insane. We were sweating from only a few minutes of walking outside. We definitely took advantage of the subway lines to get us from one location to another instead of walking outside as much. Next time we will be smarter. 

Day 1

So we road down on the Shinkansen train on Saturday. This is a high-speed train meant to take you long distances quickly. It got us from Hachinoe (a city about a half hour from me) to Tokyo in about 3 and a half hours. The train was actually pretty cool. Nice and roomy. Plenty of legroom and room for bags. Once we got to Tokyo, the real fun began. We got off at Ueno Station, which was one stop before Tokyo Station, as it was closer to our hotel and an easy transfer. Good thing, too, since it was crazy enough there. To even think about going to an even bigger station before I had familiarized myself. But we figured it out, got ourselves a Suica card (transit card), and made our way to the hotel. It was only two stops away! Even better, the hotel was right by the station. 

After dropping off our stuff and cooling off a little, we decided to go out and see something. The first thing on Charles's must-see list was the Pokemon Center. So off we go! The place was so crowded. They were even doing timed tickets into the store, and there were people constantly bumping into each other. We went around, picked up some things, and headed out. Got some dinner at a restaurant in the shopping center, and on the way out, I found something that was on the top of my list, a stationery store! I might be a little obsessed with notebooks and the like right now. I also bought this really cute yellow and grey flower fan, which for some reason, I never thought to bring with me to use over the next two days. I also bought one of the accordion-style notebooks that have special paper in it. They are the only types of notebooks you can get the Goshuin (御朱印) put in. These are seal stamps that act as a record of your visit. It typically has an image or design that is first stamped on the page, then the monk writes the shrine or temple’s name, the date, and sometimes other messages. Unfortunately, I was only able to get one on this trip. Oddly enough, it was from Tokyo Tower. The book I got was so cute, and it was on clearance, so win-win. 

Day 2

We woke up early on Sunday and made a plan as we ate our breakfast. The night before, we had stopped by a convenience store on our way back to the hotel and picked up some things to eat. We got Aloe yogurt, which I thought was really good. I actually really enjoy aloe drinks, and this yogurt was similar, especially with little bits of aloe in it. Now we head out and about on a 24,000+ step day. The first place we visited with the Imperial Palace Gardens, which was alright. There was a really pretty place by the ponds that were really nice, but it was so hot that we had to take several breaks in the shade, and it was only 9:30 in the morning. After the gardens, we decided we needed an indoor activity. There was a science museum nearby that is probably geared for children, with a bunch of interactive exhibits, but it was kinda fun. There were several exhibits that Charles and I could interact with, and it was actually kinda fun, even if I couldn't read anything. 

Our break from the sun had us ready to go back out. After lunch, Charles and I headed toward the Hibiya district to see the Godzilla statue. It was much smaller than expected. But it was cool. To escape from the heat, we walked around a shopping center across the street. We ended up at a movie theater and decided to actually watch something. Super Mario Bros was playing in a few hours, so we went over to a nearby Temple to kill some time. The Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple was very impressive, and it was really cool that there were active services going on when we got there. From there, we had some more time, so we went to the Pokemon store in Sunshine City Mall. It was massive, and we will definitely go back. There was even an aquarium! We didn't have too much time so we went to the store and then got some dinner. The restaurant we went to was an Italian place, and the food was so yummy! 

Day 3

My feet are sore! Day 3 was the day we had some ticketed events that we bought ahead of time. They weren't until the afternoon, so we headed over to the Ginza district for our morning. And, of course, being me, we ended up at an 8-floor stationery store. I mean, hey, we went to two Pokemon stores; can't I go to a bunch of stationery stores? After shopping around for a bit and getting lunch, we headed off to the Art Aquarium Museum. It was so hard to find. It was in a multi-floor department building. We had to take go up to the 9th floor and then down to the 8th floor. It was strange. But the place itself was very pretty. With a combination of interesting lighting and fishbowls, they created a bunch of exhibits that were very beautiful. I have no interest in going back, but it was really nice to go once. 

After the fish, we went to where every person on Instagram wanted to visit in Tokyo. Teamlab Planets. It is an interactive multi-sensory art experience. It's split into two sections, Water and Garden, and personally, I really liked the water sections; the light room, the water room, and the projection rooms were all beautiful. After all that, the garden section was kinda a letdown. I'm still really happy I went, and I will probably be going back several times with friends when they visit. by this point, I was so tired, but we still really wanted to go to Tokyo Tower 🗼. We traveled over to where the tower is, and on our way, we ran into this really beautiful temple. We explored it for a bit, but it was mostly closed. We got to the temple around sunset, so I was able to capture pictures with the sun going down and after dark. 

We had also paid to go up to the top observation deck (which I don't think was really worth it for the view). We got in line to go up about 15 minutes before our ticketing time, which I am so glad we did. We waited in line forever. About 5 minutes after we were due to start going up, they made an announcement for anyone with the current ticket time to get in line at the desk. Well, this teen boy and his mom got out of line and walked up to the desk. I get it was an honest confusion, but this boy starts pitching an absolute fit about how he was in line, and they told him to get out. I don't know what he was expecting, but the workers were just not caring in the least. He was back and forth from the desk the rest of the time we were in line.

The experience itself was very interesting. We went into another room (looks like a fake library) where CGI animated portraits of the Architect and Owner of the tower have a conversation to explain how the tower came to be. It was hilarious. The rest of the trip up wasn't too interesting, and the night ended with a long walk back to the hotel. 

Day 4

Last day in Tokyo. Charles and I went to meet up with one of his friends at Tokyo Station to have lunch at a really yummy Mexican restaurant. Afterward, we had a little bit of time before our train left from Ueno Station to head home. We went over to the Ueno Zoo at the park across from the station and managed to see about half of it before we had to leave. We will definitely go back. We didn't even get to see the two-year-old twin pandas. 

Train back to Hachinoe and a short drive home, and I am so happy to be back. Time for a relaxing next few days. I'm grateful I don't have to work just yet, so I can sleep in tomorrow.