Erin’s Bloggity Blog

First off, let me apologize for my lack of blog posting last week, really nothing happend and wasnt worth a boring post.  Plus I knew I had better things on the way so I could hold out on you for a little while.

We had a makeshift 4 day weekend here, as the holiday (Dragon Boat Festival) fell on a Thursday, and we were given the Friday off  (only to have to make it up this week on Saturday).  So I was off to Tokyo!
Do you know how many songs I can choose from for a Japan reference?? And how many times I wanted to break out in song when someone said ‘Domo arigato’. ANYWAYS

I left Taiwan Thursday afternoon, and made it into Tokyo (in the rain) early in the evening after exploring the vast train system that Tokyo has to offer (and confuse people). Tokyo has 3/4 seperate rail lines that sometimes connect, and have multiple trains going to certain destinations on the same line (I got on the wrong train a few times during my weekend).   I got to my hostel, only to realize that I left my passport at the airport at the information desk.  I checked in finally, and this was one of the nicest hostels I’ve stayed in. It was really clean, and the beds were comfy.

The next morning I made the trek alllll the way back to the airport (just a bit over an hour each way), to pick up the passport.  I first went to the Sensoji Temple, which is one of the main attractions in Tokyo.  The temples have a bunch of souvenir shops lining the pathway, and all the alleys around the main temple have more shops to browse through.  I then made my way to Odaiba which is a man made island in Tokyo Bay.  It’s said to be futuristic with space age buildings and big shopping malls – connected to tokyo by a monorail.  I went into the Toyota Mega Web – which is a huge showcase for Toyota’s cars (especially Hybrids) and all of their concepts.  I was driven around the building in a self guided electric car, and then took a ride on the once largest ferris wheel (only to be taken over by the one in Singapore recently).  Took some pictures of Tokyo, and then made my way back to the mainland into Shinjuku.  A busy district, filled with lots of people and lots of lights.  It had rained most of the day, so walking through crowds with hundreds of umbrellas was quite daunting.  After ‘exploring’ the streets (meaning really bumbling around getting lost) I made my way back to the hostel.

Saturday I went to see the Imperial Palace.  The palace itself is only open to the public 2 days of the year, but the grounds are free for the public to see (you just arent allowed on the grass…).  Then made my way to Ginza, kind of 5th avenue, littered with rich stores (2 Tiffany’s to be exact).  After that I made my way back to Shinjuku to check out a store I saw a bag that I really liked in, and found my way back to where I was the night before.  After refraining from purchasing the very pretty (and practical) bag, I went to Shibuya the big lights attraction.  It is also where the scene from ‘Lost in Translation’ was filmed, and is one of the busiest intersections in the world.  I walked through this intersection many times, just in shear amazement.  The amount of people that cross here is astonishing, and it doesnt let up at any hour.  That’s one thing about Tokyo that I could not stop being dumbfounded at the amount of people in this city.  Just people everywhere! I guess I was in major tourist areas, but also in major transit areas. It would be crazy to have to weave through that much traffic every day!

My last day I went back to the temple are to buy more souvenirs (as I didnt want to spend ALL my money the first day) and then made my way to a Denny’s I found hoping for an American Breakfast.  None to be found.  Very disappointing.  I then made the trek back up to the airport, and made my way back to Taiwan.  When I finally got home, I walked into the great surprise my cat had left for me – my room destroyed.

So I’m finished my 1st day of my 6 Day week.  We’ll see how the rest pans out.
I’ve added a video at the bottom with most of my pics (the video wont work – I’m still fighting with it – check facebook for pics).

Have a great week!

Miss you!
xoxo