Takin' on Tokyo

My last trip in Asia before leaving was to Tokyo. I had my last day of teaching on the 31st of August and I left on the 1st for Tokyo. My friends were all either working r on flights back to their home countries, so I went by myself. I have to say I wasn't too excited about this trip because all I could think about was my trip home, leaving my school, moving out, etc. Anyways, I got there and my attitude changed immediately. I met a few people in my hostel that night and ended up spending the entire trip with them and I loved Tokyo more than I expected. It had such a good energy to it. Here are a few city shots, just to get an idea of what it's like there:



These are a few more pictures I took while exploring the city. The first is a bookstore I saw while passing. I want a store like that!! When I was there I ate lots of noodles...actually I think I ate noodles everyday! One of the restaurants I went to, you just walk up to the machine, press the button to the meal you want, sit down at the counter and they serve you your noodles in a matter of minutes!! What a way to eat! Also, Tokyo was covered with Anime and comic shops, arcades, statues, people dressed in costume, everything! Besides the Anime craze, I was really taken back the amount of technology there was. Like Korea, they are so far ahead with all things electronic.


The first morning I was there, I went to the Tsukiji fish markets. I look tired because the market started at 5am. We got there about 6, just in time just to see the end of the tuna auction. I never knew tuns were that big.


One of the days there I took a day tour to see Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, it as a super cloudy day so I wasn't able to see the peak. We were able to take the bus to the base of the mountain though. At the base where tons of tourist shops as well as a little temple. I missed the hiking season by just days unfortunately. Oh well. With the trip we also took a boat ride on Lake Ashi and a cable car to Mount Komagatake overlooking Hakone National Park. Even though it didn't workout exactly how I'd like, it as still great.

In Tokyo, I made it to a few of the major shrines and temples. A shrine is a sacred place for Japan's original religion Shintoism while a temple is a sacred place to Buddhist. Many Japanese follow both religions. Here are some photos from the Meiji Shrine and Sensoji temple.


Another dayI had time for another day trip out of the city to Kamakura. Kamakura is a city just out of Tokyo that is dotted with Buddhist temples. There were like 12 all within walking distance of each other. Here are a few photo of the many Buddhas I saw in the area.


This last photo is of the Hachiko statue; the dog that waited for his owner outside the subway station everyday at the exact time his train would come, even 10 years after his owner died. Also, at the same station, Shibuya Station, there is a massive crosswalk. I had to make a video of the crowds, and this wasn't even the biggest group I saw. Sooooo many people in Tokyo!!