Japanimawesome Tokyo

Tokyo!!!! Yowzas baby!
We pulled in late off the bullet train from Kyoto (so fast and so cool) and, in typical Tokyo fashion, got lost. I don't know if you've ever been to the city, but ohmygoodness the subway/JR lines are a tad bit confusing. In essence, there are two train 'companies' running through the city with a total of like 60 individual lines. Yeah, sure beats ye old 'expo line' and 'millenium line' of the lower mainland! So we were in fact at Tokyo Station which was JR, and needed to get over to another station which would then lead us to the subway system which would lead us close-ish to our abode. I (Adge) got a little "FRIGGIDIGIBITEY!" but then a guy helped us and that was great. So we got to our station and realized we lost the map to our hostel... so we used some of our beautifully honed international signing skills and finally made our way to our hostel -which was AMAZING compared to Uno House! A TV! Good showers! No mold smell! No weird itchiness in the night! Niceness all around. We met up with Sara that night at a pubish thing nearby and reconnected over a beer. All safe and sound, we headed back to bed, then woke up the next morning to this beautiful sight:

A giant golden POO! Simply marvellous.

That picture was actually taken on Sunday when it was sunny, but on Saturday it was typhoonish in all aspects and we broke 2 umbrellas.

So that day, we hit up a cool museum, the Sony museum (very techie!), and various restaurants. That evening, we met up with the last bunch of Douglasers downtown for some birthday sushi, cake and karaoke!

It was great to see those crazy gals again: Yuika, Misato, Tomoe (her birthday on the 6th), Manami and even Atsushi (though he's not a girl). In the restaurant, they made me eat horse sushi for my birthday, like it was regular ol' california roll or something. Just craziness... didn't taste too bad but I still feel gross.

And karaoke was very cool! Expensive like a monkey, but very sweet! So there was no bowling this year, but I figure, I did the Japanese equivalent. It was a great birthday party and we had a marvellous time -we were SO soaked by the end of the day, but it was spectacular through and through -quite a memorable way to turn 25!

And then, I actually DID turn 25. Hil put presents on my feet while I was sleeping and then tickled me awake to a gorgeous Tokyo birthday day! We three piled downstairs and started opening up prezzies galore. Such a wonderful start to the day. Hil rules.

Next, we took a stroll into Tokyo and lo and behold! We found Godzilla! How cool! The dude was only like 4' tall but man, he's got a bad side and he's just letting everybody see.And what birthday breakfast would be complete without choclate-banana waffles and ice cream? That was the question of the day and so we sought to answer the Q with a little waffley-ice cream goodness. Delicious creamery joy.We continued our jaunt and found found a nice waffle-eating bench to sit at. So we sat.

And who would guess that we'd be seeing cats everywhere!!! In a certain park, that is. Yes, these cute lil' critters were to be seen sunning themselves all over the grounds and there were tins of cat food all along the walkway. I guess it was a kind of SPCA idea to have such a place not only for human citizens but also for the feline assortment. The park itself was across the street from the furthermost grounds and moat of the Imperial Palace.
The imperial palace was, well, hidden cuz it turns out the emperor still lives there. But the moat was nice! There was a swan too -see?

Later that day, we were to meet my old roommate Junji, and meet us he did. We hooked up at Shibuya, the famous intersection of Tokyo, and that was neat to experience. I can't believe that many people actually need to cross the intersection all the time. Perhaps they just do loops and they're actually paid to do it to keep up the 'busy' image. That's probably the case. Regardless, it was great to see. Then, one last sushi meal together in the city (by the way, don't try prawn raw -like, really raw prawn... it's gross and tastes like nothing so there's really no benefit to eating it) and then Hil and I said our farewells to Junji and our dear travel mate, Sara, and booked it on a midnight sleeper bus to Osaka.Our driver talked like he was both on speed and nervous, but we were able to make it safely to Osaka, where we caught the JR line to the lovely airport. And THEN!!! SO COOL: our flight was booked solid, so they moved us up to business class! There was so much leg room, so many snacks, so much comfort... I don't think I could go back. Well, I could, but man was it ever a sweet ride back to the smoggy skies of Seoul.

And so ended our trip to Japan.... we absolutely loved it and would actually like to go back. The people, the food, the sights.... it's the land of snow monkeys, and if that doesn't say enough, I don't know what else I could possibly say.