California- January 12, 3:54 a.m.
Japan- January 12, 8:54 p.m.
I've been in a public bathroom three times since I've bee here... and two of those times have included a soundtrack. Not to be graphic, but follow me on this. You sit down on the toilet, and I kid you not, the toilet starts expelling sounds of running water. Sorry, just found that to be a bit odd. :p
Anyway, today Grandma and I took an all day bus tour to see all Tokyo has to offer. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my drift. :)
The tour we went on was from 9:00-5:00 and included five different stops. Stop number one was at Tokyo Tower. "Standing at 333 meters high, this self-supporting steel tower is the tallest in the world. On a clear day, you can see Ginza and Tokyo Bay from the observatory. If weather conditions are favorable, you can even see Mount Fuji. At night, the illuminated tower is a must-see." Ok, I'm not going to lie. That's not a direct quote. I edited it a bit... ;) Grammatically speaking.
ANYWAY! I think this was my favorite stop of the tour! You'll be able to see some of the view from the observatory in today's video. Mind you, that's only one small portion of Tokyo though. The ovservatory was a full circle (er, rectangle), and you could see Tokyo from all sides. We just filmed from the side where you could see Mt. Fuji. :)
Our second stop was at the Happo-en garden. At this garden, we were able to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Not only that, but the garden itself was gorgeous. And hey, it was a great day to get married. We saw at least 4 different wedding parties while we were at the party. Our tour guide said there was something along the lines of 10 weddings scheduled to take place in the garden today. Craziness!
After we were finished in the garden, we headed to a restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel for lunch. It was delicious! The meal was prepared right in front of us as a Japanese style barbeque- cooked on a lava rock (direct from Mount Fuji) grill! Since we were in a large group, we all sat at tables of five or six. Grandma and I shared our table with a couple "on holiday" from Austrailia and a man in Tokyo on business from Munich, Germany! They were all really nice.
Once lunch was over, we headed for the Imperial Palace and the Nijubashi Bridge. In Japan, there are only two days a year in which the public is allowed into the Palace: January 2nd (to wish the emperor Happy New Year) and December 23rd (to wish the emperor Happy Birthday). Seeing that today was neither Jan. 2nd or Dec. 23rd., we weren't allowed into the palace... or even onto the bridge! Oh well. We were able to take pictures of the main enterance to the palace (at the end of the bridge), and we could also see the old Imperial Palace. Despite the distance, it was beautiful.
In order to get to our last stop, the Sensoji Temple, we took a "sightseeing tour" down the Sumida River. For a little less than an hour, we were all on a boat heading down the river where we could "delight in a mix of Tokyo's continual redevelopment, combined with the atmosphere of the good old days of Edo." The water was a little choppy, but the boat ride was fun. We passed under 12 bridges! All of them were so different from each other.
Our final stop with the tour was the Sensoji Temple. Once the tour finished at the Sensoji Temple, we were supposed to go back to where the tour started, but we would've had to pass the house in order to get there. Thinking it was silly to have to back track, Grandma and I said our goodbyes and hung out at Sensoji on our own. We did a bit of shopping before catching the subway and train back here to Ikebukuro. Then we had a nice dinner, took yet another train, caught a cab, and came back to the house. :)
Tomorrow, I leave for Kyoto with Grandma, MKBS, and Gigi for two nights. I'll take my computer with me, but I can't guarantee I'll have internet access. If I am unable to post, goodbye! See you all here on... Wednesday. I think. Until then (if not sooner), peace out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqZnxO2u7rg
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