Asian Vacation, part 6

On the way to Tokyo from Shimonoseki I got off the train in Osaka and took the loop line to Osaka castle. Josh had the camera at this point so I don't have any pictures from Osaka. BUT, if you go to Japan, go to Osaka and spend a day in the park and at the castle. And yes, the $5 entrance fee to go inside the castle is worth it.

Tokyo! From our hotel room I could see the Sony, Mitsubishi, Siemens, Microsoft, and Canon towers. There were tons more buildings out there, but I don't know what they are. It was great to go downstairs to the atrium and eat breakfast together then head out on my own. Exploring Tokyo on my own while Josh was at work was such a refreshing and relaxing way to end our trip. I love being alone and definitely felt energized.

Lonely Planet says that it would take several lifetimes to really see all of Tokyo, and that even the locals get lost on a regular basis. I totally agree. When I thought I was lost, I wasn't. And when I thought I knew where I was, I didn't. Confusing!

I started by walking to the train station and hopping on the Yamanote line which circles some of the city. Shibuya was my first stop. Shibuya is Tokyo how I imagined it- throngs of people, dozens of huge screens playing movies, music videos, and advertisements, tons of huge department stores and little hole in the wall shops, and mazes that made up streets, crosswalks, overhead walkways, alleys, bus routes, and train tracks. Whew!

The next stop I made was Harajuku. OMG. I could have seriously dropped thousands of dollars here so fast! I'm not even into fashion, but Harajuku was incredible! It made me want to be cool. Anyway, I took a break from window shopping at the Godiva store where I ordered a delicious hot chocolate. Yum.

Our last full day in Tokyo happened to be a holiday so Josh didn't have to work. We spent the day cramming in as much sight seeing as we could- free elevator ride in a TALL sky scraper, Sapporo brewing company, cheese fondue lunch, and a freaking awesome parasite museum (if you like disturbing and sick things).

We wanted to do something interesting for our last night in Japan so we headed over to Tokyo Dome City. This place is so fun! There were tons of Christmas lights, a roller coaster, lots of shops and restaurants, beautiful walk ways, and a huge spa! We spent about four hours at the spa. It's this really cool combination of hot spring pools, restaurants, spa services, and lots of other amenities. It's separated into mens and womens areas so it was very peaceful and relaxing.

Tokyo is such a huge city, but I really enjoyed it. I felt safe even by myself, there were plenty of small neighborhoods, and the train system was super easy.