Return to Tokyo

So lately there hasn't been much in the way of adventuring . Last week I was in my first match as an amature boxer. I won against an enlisted security forces woman, which is apparently a big deal. But it took up almost all of my time training for the match. 

As a reward for working so hard the past few weeks, Anthony and I took a weekend trip to Tokyo for the Memorial Day weekend. We took the Shinkansen from Hachinohe to Tokyo.

Waiting at Hachinohe

By bus it takes 8hrs, Flying takes 1hr (but is expensive!), and the Shinkansen takes 3.5hrs. The train goes through the countryside and the views were wonderful. We left on the first train out, which meant we had to be at the station at 6:30AM. Waking up early wasn't fun, but this time I remembered to bring my pillow so I could relax. 

When we got to Tokyo we went directly to our hotel, Apa Hotel, in Hiroo. It was too early to check in (11:00AM) but we were able to leave our bags at the front desk. I wasn't too impressed with the lobby. It was really small and dimly lit with almost no windows. As soon as we got our things tied together we walked to Roppongi, which really wasn't far at all. We had lunch near the train station at a place called The Pantry.

Simple hamburgers and french fries. I had onion rings (delicious!). We had a hard time deciding what to do between lunch and the time to arrive at the Mori Art Museum for the One Piece Exhibition. So we walked around exploring Roppongi Hills area and we stopped at Cold Stone for some ice cream. I tipped them, so they sang for us and it was fun! I forgot to get pictures of that. There's nothing but Baskin Robins from Sendai to Amori. 

Finally we went back to the hotel to check in and change clothes (I was dressed for comfort for the train ride, not a fancy art exhibit). When we got to the room I realized that the lobby was some kind of dark foreshadowing. The room was TINY! I felt bad for Anthony because he almost had to duck everywhere.  After we changed our clothes we were ready for the One Piece Exhibition! (Anthony really wanted to go to this because One Piece has been a love of his for a long time). We entered on the 5th floor of the Mori building, and within a one minute elevator tide we were on the 52nd floor! My ears popped a few times and I didn't even realize that we were going so high. While in the exhibit we couldn't take photos, but the displays were amazing! There were life-sized displays in several sections of the exhibit. I can only imagine the excitement of One Piece fans on seeing these displays. On the way out of the event there was a gift shop and I think Anthony bout died and gone to heaven. Anthony bought two books that had pictures from the exhibit. One book also had English explanations about the displays.

That night we walked around Roppongi and ate dinner at the TGI Fridays. I wish we had gone to the Outback instead, but it was still good. I had forgotten how much Americans like big portions and fried food, so we just ate a few appetizers.

The table-side guacamole was soooooo goooood. After dinner and a drink we went to a local watering hole called BJs. The girls were dressed in cowgirl style and the front of the bar was open to the street and looked very inviting. The owner was there taking shots with customers and making balloon animals. It was fun watching his high energy.

The next day we went to Akihabara. Anthony is in love with this area of the city. Once again we walked up many floors and into many geek stores to find his heart's desires. I got one T-shirt and I wanted another but I can't justify $35 on a T-shirt. For lunch we wandered off the busy streets and found a buling where a flea market was being held. Inside we found a reasonably priced curry shop. The curry was weird and we couldn't figure out what kind it was. I think it wasn't made with meat so it tasted funny. The salad was good, though. 

For the afternoon we visited Palette Town in Odiba (a man-made island on top of a landfill in Tokyo Bay). I rode to the top of the 16M Ferris Wheel by myself.

I got some great shots of the city.

Then we walked to another mall on the island near Muscle Beach and got pictures with the Gundam.

We're not sure if it's "life-sized" or not. Then we went to eat dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp on the other side of the island. While we were waiting for our food a surprise firework show happened!

I was excited to see how well the firework setting on the camera worked. Back tot he food! I had the fish of the day with 3 kinds of salsa, pepper jack cheese and rice with a nice cold Mama's Favorite to drink. It was a Kahlua and Amaretto-infused milkshake of gigantic proportions. And every drop was as delicious as the first taste. I was a super fat kid. So to walk off the heavy meal we took the subway to Roppongi and walked up the hilly area to get a picture of Tokyo Tower at night. It was lovely and the walk was great. 

For the last day I discovered a regular-looking doughnut with custard and creme filling. We ventured into Ginza and walked around to the Sony building and the Imperial Palace. The Palace grounds are only opened 2X a year (the 1st of the year and the Emperor's birthday). The palace looks like the size of a mansion in California, but is is HUGE in comparison to other castles in Japan. Then it was time to go home. All-in all it was a great trip and I had a wonderful time. Next time I want to visit some of the older districts.