June 14 -20, 2010
The following day we slept in (surprised?) and then headed to Aomori with our friend Rachel to walk the driving course to study up for my driving test on Wednesday and Rachel's test on Thursday. When we got back to our house we had dinner together and then Eric took us our for some practical driving advice. Hopefully we can both pass, but it will be my first attempt so it's not very likely :/
This week started out with a sprint to the finish line! It feels so much like I have been running the never ending marathon and the finish line is a 5 hour test, that is finally getting close! This week I focused mostly on making sure that I had formulas memorized, and I wrote a few practice essays.
On Wednesday morning we headed to Tokyo. We were fortunate enough to be able to fly to Tokyo rather than taking the long bus thanks to Eric's parents. It made the trip so easy, stress-free, and we actually had fun getting there. We took so many modes of transportation and it was pouring rain all day, thank goodness for umbrellas! We took a taxi from our house to the train station, then a train to another town when we caught a shuttle bus to the airport, we flew to Tokyo, then we took a monorail to a train to a subway and then walked a short 5 minute walk to our hotel. It felt a little bit like a preview of Disneyland and we really enjoyed the day. 
After we arrived we relaxed at the hotel and went out for a walk in the evening and got some dinner. We stayed in a hotel very close to the testing center for convenience sake come Thursday. We were in the Kayabacho district of Tokyo along a canal that was actually quite pretty. After we arrived we relaxed at the hotel and went out for a walk and enjoyed some Starbucks :)
In the evening we took the subway just one neighborhood over and got some dinner. We didn't have plans of where to eat, we just walked until we found something of interest. Along our walk we saw many of the typical sights of Tokyo, like cleaver parking:
and bright lights and busy city streets. It was such a change from our little quiet town. I felt so much like a kid in a toy store, mesmerized by everything, and completely over stimulated.
We ended up finding a great spot for dinner..... tucked away on a side street, in a basement. The entire restaurant had 4 tables, and the kitchen consisted of 2-3 burners, 1 small sink and a Japanese size oven (which is probably smaller than your microwave). The food however, was fantastic! And the nan was almost bigger than the table, when I was asked by one of the brothers working in the restaurant if I wanted a second piece, as a free service just for us, I actually chuckled and said no thank you. The service was also extremely friendly, it helps that it was early and we were the only people there, and hey we're foreigners too, but I don't know how much of a benefit that is in Tokyo. I would say I will go back again and re-indulge, but I don't think there's any chance I could find it again. . . but if I trip down their stairs, I'll certainly be happy, and eat there again.
I realize I look strange in this picture, but it's the night before the MCAT, I felt pretty strange too. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and called it an early night, which is silly being in Tokyo, but I had a BIG day ahead!
These very helpful instructions were included with our phone, thank goodness for them. I hate when I make an incorrect call! (see statement in bottom right corner of photo.)
Friday morning we started with breakfast at Denny's! I'm thankful our friends warned us it could disappoint. While I was looking forward to waffles, french-toast was a decent second. . . and the only Western item on the 1 sided, single page menu. Not quite what we expected, but it still managed to hit the spot. We then gathered our luggage and got on the train to Disneyland.
After we arrived we relaxed at the hotel and went out for a walk in the evening and got some dinner. We stayed in a hotel very close to the testing center for convenience sake come Thursday. We were in the Kayabacho district of Tokyo along a canal that was actually quite pretty. After we arrived we relaxed at the hotel and went out for a walk and enjoyed some Starbucks :)
In the evening we took the subway just one neighborhood over and got some dinner. We didn't have plans of where to eat, we just walked until we found something of interest. Along our walk we saw many of the typical sights of Tokyo, like cleaver parking:
and bright lights and busy city streets. It was such a change from our little quiet town. I felt so much like a kid in a toy store, mesmerized by everything, and completely over stimulated.
We ended up finding a great spot for dinner..... tucked away on a side street, in a basement. The entire restaurant had 4 tables, and the kitchen consisted of 2-3 burners, 1 small sink and a Japanese size oven (which is probably smaller than your microwave). The food however, was fantastic! And the nan was almost bigger than the table, when I was asked by one of the brothers working in the restaurant if I wanted a second piece, as a free service just for us, I actually chuckled and said no thank you. The service was also extremely friendly, it helps that it was early and we were the only people there, and hey we're foreigners too, but I don't know how much of a benefit that is in Tokyo. I would say I will go back again and re-indulge, but I don't think there's any chance I could find it again. . . but if I trip down their stairs, I'll certainly be happy, and eat there again.
I realize I look strange in this picture, but it's the night before the MCAT, I felt pretty strange too. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and called it an early night, which is silly being in Tokyo, but I had a BIG day ahead!*Tokyo- The Worlds Largest and Most Expensive City (fact)*
With the worlds smallest hotel rooms (Melissa's personal decision)
With the worlds smallest hotel rooms (Melissa's personal decision)Tokyo also has TINY hotel rooms. Our room was actually very decently sized, but the doorway was quite short! Our room had a double bed, with a walkway about 1 foot wide on 2 sides, a desk with a chair that was difficult to get into, a TV, a microscopic fridge and a bathroom- much like an airplane bathroom. Although it was tiny, it was actually really nice. In Tokyo you can stay in even smaller rooms than this, a lot smaller in fact. They are called capsule hotels. The best way I can think to describe it is like the drawers in the morgue, with a little extra room. I have yet to stay in one, I'm a little afraid, probably because of what I have equated them to, but they are very cheap and if you literally just need space to sleep, it's perfect.
These very helpful instructions were included with our phone, thank goodness for them. I hate when I make an incorrect call! (see statement in bottom right corner of photo.)Thursday was the big day!! We had a light breakfast at Starbucks and I reviewed a few flash cards, then we went back to the hotel and watched a little T.V. and just tried to relax and think about something other than the test! We went to a small cafe near by for an early lunch and I had delicious spaghetti and a piece of bread with Italian toppings that Eric taught me is called a grandma slice. It was so good, I got a second one to go as a mid-exam snack! Eric walked me to my test and then set off to explore the city. He walked around two well-known areas of Tokyo, Roppongi and Ginza. This is a view of Tokyo Tower
from a vantage point above a cemetery packed tightly between two apartment buildings.
I think Eric was quite thankful he didn't eat earlier when he stumbled upon this:
Do you recognize it?
T.G.I. Fridays! Eric indulged in some Boneless Buffalo Wings (his favorite) and then headed out to explore more. I think he really enjoyed his day being out and about and not trapped at a desk!
After the exam was over (HOORAY!!!) we met up at the hotel and after I took a few minutes to breathe we headed out for a dinner I've been looking forward to for months!! We got to the right area but then had a little trouble locating it, but with some help from locals we found our way. This is the neighborhood we were wandering in, it's quite small and quiet for Tokyo, it reminded me a lot of Mill Ave in Tempe.
If we ever live in Tokyo, I want to live here!
If you don't already know, you're probably curious as to what food could interest me months in advance... well Mexican of course... but specially "Frijoles" and no I don't just mean beans,
I mean the restaurant.
I think under the store name it should say "A.K.A. Chipotle"
I can assure you the creator of this restaurant has been to a Chipotle in America. The layout of the menu was identical, for that matter the font on the menu was the same. The menu on the wall is only in English, Japanese menus are available printed on long skinny pieces of brown paper... seem familiar. Yes they had burritos, bowls, and tacos and if you wanted something not on the menu, "just ask, they'll make it for you" burritos and bowls start with Cilantro-Lime Rice. The meals are even served in red plastic baskets.
Fortunately the owner was just as good at copying flavors as they were at copying aesthetics. The food was phenomenal. Please take the aforementioned phrase with a grain of salt; I've been living in Japan just a few weeks shy of a year and other than home made choices, I've had "Mexican food" once otherwise and I'm pretty sure the second ingredient in the re fried beans was black pepper on that occasion. This surpassed that experience by leaps and bounds. So with that I'd like to say... "Dear Frijoles, thank you for an impeccable rip off of Chipotle. If you broke copyright laws and get shut down, I'm liable to cry. Thank you for a wonderful meal, I'll see you again."
After a thoroughly satisfying dinner we took a hike to walk off our burritos and Eric showed me around Roppongi, where I felt like I was having reverse culture shock, there were foreigners everywhere! We eventually headed back to the hotel and crashed before our fantastic day ahead at Disneyland!
We got to the park just a few minutes after it opened and eagerly entered the park, and took a step into familiarity. Many aspects were identical to Disneyland in California, like the signage and store fronts and basic designs of the rides. Our first stop was a Churro.... mmm delicious. We got a fast pass for Thunder Mountain and then went and rode several rides in the area, like Pirates of the Caribbean, that was more of a show and less of a ride, I think we made a 2 foot drop at one point. We also enjoyed the Tiki Room, hosted by Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch). The Tiki room had a Japanese style pagoda, and birds singing and talking in Japanese, with no rainstorm!
Thunder mountain was high on my list, and it surpassed my expectations, it was actually a better ride than in California, the roller coaster was a lot more fun. At this point in the day it started raining. The morning was clear and sunny and looked promising, so we left both of our umbrellas in our luggage locker outside the park... with the earlier sunshine of the morning and a weather report with a relieving break of rain Thurs/Fri amidst a week of rain, we thought we would be okay.
Unfortunately just before noon the sky got very dark and shortly after it began to rain. Being cheapskates, and thinking the rain would let up soon, we refused to spend $20 on a Mickey branded umbrella, or $10 on ponchos.
About 2 hours later, we were starting to regret the decision, and come 5 p.m. when it was till pouring, we were really sad we hadn't bought umbrellas, but why give in now we were already soaked.
When the rain first started we spent about an hour hiding out in the arcade and having lunch and checking out some of the shops, but then we figured we should just embrace it. Thunder mountain is like a whole new ride in the rain!
After one last run on Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain (which was also better in Japan than in California, the special effects were amazing and the roller coaster was insanely fast) we had one final thing to check off my list, tasting 1 variety of the odd and numerous varieties of popcorn. Throughout the day we saw the following options for popcorn; salted, honey, caramel, Butter, Soy Sauce and Butter, and Curry. We tried the curry, and it was actually really good, I might have to try making it at home.
So after 7.5 hours roaming Mickey's playground we headed out of the park, waltzing down an empty main street in the pouring rain, and yes I mean waltzing in the literal sense. Every step we took was a squishy splashy one. We made our way to the bus station where we would catch our 8 hour over night bus back to Aomori. Stopping on the way for a quick change into dry clothes, and purchasing Eric flip flops as his shoes were shot! For me, dry socks did the trick until I could kick of my sneakers on the bus. We also made a 12 minutes, $13 dinner pit-stop in a sushi bar, it was delicious and supper speedy.
We came home after a sleepless night, totally exhausted from Disneyland and Eric had 30 minutes to shower, eat and get dressed for work, where he worked outside all day taking photos of the school's sports day. By the time he came home at 3 we were both completely exhausted and ready for bed! We took a nap and then had dinner, and went right back to bed.
It's been a long, monumental week and I'm quite thankful it's over!
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