Two of my friends from the States were visiting and I was very excited to see them. Christmas had ended and I was going to Tokyo on my own on a bus during the late evening. I left Nagoya at 5 and go in to Tokyo at 10. I was at Shinjuku Station and had no idea where to go, but I had directions of which trains to get onto to find the hotel I needed to get to. So I walked with my suitcase and two bags to the trains I needed.
I finally got off the train and walked outside and was met with the sight of Tokyo Tower all lit up and beautiful in the night sky. I got to the hotel and was so happy to see my friends I hadn't seen in four months. Then I looked out the window and saw this:
That was my view from the room. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!So after I passed out in bed, I woke up the next morning and looked at the Tower again. Now it looked like this:
I was going to be meeting two of my other friends from the States who now go to school in Tokyo as well, so me and my friends crossed the street to the Tower and I realized just how majestic it looked from the bottom. I don't know why, but it just did. That's what I said when I first looked up and the clouds were passing by it and the fog was just starting to fade away. I just said, "....MAJESTIC!" and took a picture
MAJESTIC
From the base!Once we met up with everyone, it was time to hit Tokyo. First we went to Shinjuku and walked around. Man was I not ready for the crowds. It was insane. Not much to say about Shinjuku. It was beautiful and crazy, but it was, you know...a place for shopping. We also hit up Akihabara, which is a very well known anime place. Yeah...I kind of went a little crazy, but I didn't go overboard because Comiket was the following day (see the Comiket post)
That day was a real blur because I didn't know Tokyo too well yet. The following two days were devoted to Comiket which I'll update in another post. Then it was NEW YEARS EVE! I was so excited, I didn't know what to do with myself.
In Japan, New Years is more popular than Christmas. New Years is the big day, but New Years eve still holds some merit of big things. Specifically at Tokyo Tower. Across the street from the tower (next door to my hotel) is a rather large and famous temple. There were shops open that sold so many good food, candy, and merchandise to bring in the new year. I was thinking of buying the wood print where you write your wish for the new year, so I did, but once bought, you're meant to write on it and hang it at the temple and you never get it back. HELL NO! I'm keeping that shit. (It's hanging up in my room now, haha!)
At first, we showed up about three hours early and there wasn't ANYONE there; just the vendors. I was really disappointed and worried that a New Years party would be out of the question. We went back to the hotel to get the balloons they were handing out. At the tower, you write your wish for the new year and at midnight, let them fly up into the sky. They go to Kami-sama (God). By the time we went to the temple IT WAS PACKED! I WAS SO EXCITED! We had an hour left, so we all stood around. It was amazing how many foreigners were there. Around us were Americans, Aussies, Russians, Germans, and other Europeans. I even ran into a lady that lives down the street from where I live. How amazing is that!?
So here are the pictures of my time from New Years
The temple before everyone showed up
Everyone two hours later! All the balloons are wishes
All the wishes going up God
After midnight! Right when it struck midnight, the entire tower went off in blue and sparkled. It stayed that way for the next few days I was there.So as for the rest of my time in Tokyo, I went to Shibuya, the most famous part of Tokyo. Whenever they show Tokyo, they show Shibuya. That was fun, but I was so cold and we got very lost and tempers kind of flared and SO MANY PEOPLE SMOKE! I'm not used to going into public places were people smoke...
In any case, I'll wrap this post up with pictures of my time in the areas I talked about above. The next post will be about Comiket.
Shinjuku
Akihabara
いっぱい！(crowded!)
I dunno why Mt. Fuji is in the ocean or why Hawaii is so close! XD
I WENT TO AN AQUARIUM! Actually, I didn't. I went to the planetarium next door
I'm sure a lot of you have seen this image of Shibuya. Sadly, the day I go IT BREAKS! *cry*
A popular and easily accessible meeting place in Tokyo. It's Hachiko. A long time ago, a professor would go to work and his dog, Hachiko, would wait for him at the train station (around the area this statue is now). One day, the professor died on his way home and he never came back. Hachiko, though, waited and waited for him to come back until he died. This statue is there to show the loyalty of the dog. <3>
Another very famous building in Shibuya
Shibuya 109! It was closed ):
Walking across a very crowded walkway. I was excited because I thought of my dad and it was like from Lost in Translation!
THE BEST DISNEY STORE EVER!
TGIF?! HOLY! :)
Hee hee...Condomania store! <3
SEGA!Now that school is out for the next two months, I can post sooner. I promise the next one won't take as long. As always, all the photos are up on my Facebook.
To those back at my hometown I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN FEBRUARY! Until next post!
~星子☆
