Sami in Japan – Photo Recap

Aug 1, 2010 by Sami

I have been walking so much the past few days so I’m totally fine with eating everything I see in sight that looks remotely edible. Not to change the subject but I really can’t deal well with rejection so I stopped taking photos of people because I’ve been turned down way too many times. Friend told me that old creepy men use photos for “sexual purposes”…honestly, do I look like that kind of man?? So, for now, I just try to sneak a photo here or there.

I got to visit the Advertisement Museum in Tokyo the other day. They had a special exhibit called “The Real Men and Women of Madison Ave“. I was in heaven! Mad Men fever exists in Tokyo! I also went up on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building with amazing views from the top floor. I’ll go ahead and post some photos with captions, it seems more fun this way

This is one of the many views from the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. The big park you see is Yoyogi park. It’s popular to go there on Sunday and watch music performances, people dressed in all sorts of costumes and even Elvis impersonators. I think, due to the hot temperatures, most people chose to stay indoors and therefore, I barely saw anything of note but it was still a lot of fun to be there.

The Sumida River Fireworks are one of the biggest in Tokyo. The show is at 7:30PM but people start waiting by the river in the AM for a good spot!

I was lucky enough that when I visited the Meiji Shrine I witnessed was a wedding there!

In Harajuku! This is where the very fashionable shop and hang out. Check out how many people are there?! Although, this is probably 3 times or more, less than the crowd at the Sumida Fireworks!

I was able to “steal” a photo!

So excited to have tried several Macaron shops in Tokyo!

You have no idea how happy I was to learn that they were showing a film, outdoors, in Yebisu Garden Place! Brought back memories of watching movies in Grant Park in Chicago.

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Sami in Japan- From the Traditional to the Technological!

Jul 31, 2010 by Sami

It seems like the ability to sleep past 7AM haunts me in Japan too, regardless of the much walking that’s being done during the day. On the upside I get to watch commercials that make no sense to me whatsoever!  Yesterday, I finally got to take the train alone without any assistance and did NOT get lost. I repeat I was able to reach my destination without any problems! Granted I only exchanged trains once…but I’m rather proud of my accomplishment.The weather is still not as bad as I had imagined it. I think I was well prepared coming from Chicago.

The destination was Asakusa, a district most famous for The Sensoji Temple. I got to enjoy a stroll down a street that has small shops on both sides selling everything from fans, chopsticks, miniature figures to bean bread and Manju. Before the Senjoji temple I went to the oldest Tempura restaurant in Tokyo. It was extremely delicious friedness! At Senjoji shrine I was able to get my fortune predicted (it turned out to be a good one!), light incense and have their smoke purify my body and observe a prayer.

After I made sure I got my religion on we head over to Akihibara, or as I’d like to call it, every nerd’s wet dream! Not sure where to even being with this one. First stop was a Maid Cafe a food establishment where girls dress as various characters, mostly servants and role-play. Depending on the theme the Maid Cafe can be little different from each other. I went to one called “The Rabbit’s Forest”. As the name might allude, you enter and you are in a forest where the servers are dressed in servant costumes with rabbit ears. It was a really fun experience. You are called “master” or “mistress” and items on the menu are named after items typically found at the forest. Each time you order something the “rabbit” hops to behind the “tree” to make your “parrot juice”. They have a very bubbly personality and when you leave they tell you that “we rabbits get very lonely so please come again and play with us”.  You are not allowed to take pictures of the rabbits and they have several rules to make sure the creepy men are kept out. Yikes! If you don’t like rabbits you can head few doors down to a maid cafe where you are treated like an older brother or an older sister and play games with each other. Whatever it may be, there’s something for everyone here in Tokyo. I plan on going to the male counterpart called the Butler Cafe…hehehe.

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Sami in Japan- Part 1

Jul 29, 2010 by Sami

It’s 8AM on day two in Tokyo. I’m sitting in the hotel room and watching what seems to be the Japanese version of The View. I’m surprised though, that the women are not yelling and interrupting each other.

Anyways, it hasn’t even been a full 24 hours and I’m already having such an amazing time. Arrived at Nartia International Airport at 3:15PM and to my delight it wasn’t that hard to navigate through. There were English signs everywhere and if everything else failed, I just followed the rest of the people. To be honest, I have used barely any Japanese. I am shocked at the level of English in street signs/menues/train stations. I counted on being embarrassed multiple times due to my horrible speaking skills but hasn’t happened so far. Maybe once I start leaving the city…We’ll see.

Last night, dinner was eaten at Shibuya. A neighborhood, or ward, known for fashion centers and restaurants among young people and a major nightlife area. One thing that I kept asking myself is “where did these people come from?!” there were so many people…everywhere. When I asked if it’s always like this I was told yes. It wasn’t some sort of rush-hour. It’s always this busy. It’s extraodrinannry to be surrounded by so many people.

@benedictwong, on twitter, asked me to use a bathroom ASAP. Well, why do you ask that Benedict? I feel like this is an inside joke between people that have experienced the toilets of Japan. It’s unlike anything I have experience…quite odd would be how I would describe it after using it for the first time. Here’s a photo of what the side of the toilet looks like. You know, you see photos and you think you know what you’re up against but nothing can prepare you for that!

The train I took form the airport might actually pass for an airplane interior but it’s only the train. Take that CTA! This one actually had assigned seating too so when you buy the ticket it has your seat number and you must sit there.

A favorite hobby of mostly Japanese girls are these photo booths or PuriKura (short for “Print Club”). You go in there, take photos of yourself with your friends and get creative with adding captions, animations, icons, etc. That was a lot of fun to be in. As soon as you get inside the booth (and I didn’t realize it until the photos were taken) pop-dance music starts playing to get you in the mood.

I think that’s pretty much it for the 1st six hours. Barely got any sleep last night because I was on sensory overload and brain couldn’t stop working!  Talk to you later!

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