Happy Election Day to my friends in the United States, today is a day that we are all able to practice our rights as citizens of the freedom country by electing the representative that will represent us as a people for the next couple years.
As for me, just a Tuesday after Culture Day yesterday (November 3) in Japan, the day of Emperor Meiji's birthday (look him up if you do not know him, he is one of the reasons we have the super modern Japan that everyone knows!). I can say that all I did for Culture Day was sleep to recover from three days in Tokyo, and boy were those days ones to remember!!!
This trip started last Thursday when I took an overnight bus from Sendai (where I live in Japan) down to Shinjuku, Tokyo. Upon arrival, I found a local bath (sento: せんと) to wash up for the travel gunk and set off exploring the city. I started with Ueno park, which was the best decision I ever made on a trip in my life!!! I didn't realize that Ueno Park was a cultural center of Tokyo! I spend many hours exploring the city, I saw the Tokyo National Museum, National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Kaneiji Temple, Kiyomizu Kannon Temple, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Ueno Toshoku Shrine, and too many statues to count! I really need to come back with friends to enjoy it fully!!!
After the highlight of the trip already on the first day, I then went off to Hamatsucho Station to visit two places that I have been meaning to visit ever since I knew I was going to come to Japan. First off, I found the Tokyo Pokemon Center!!! I was very lucky in visiting it at this time as it was going to be closed soon for the opening of the new Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo in December!!! After that, it was a nice long walk to Tokyo Tower, probably one of the most beautiful structures in Tokyo, even after being a common sight for so many years. I enjoyed seeing the city while enjoying a parfait and drink from the observation deck, and found the curry place my mother mentioned (mom!).
After that, I took the long walk back to the train station to head over to Akibahara so see if anyone was dressed up for Halloween. Sadly, I did not do my research to realize that people gather in Shibuya during Halloween, so I was rather disappointed, but either ways, I enjoyed some time exploring the shops and headed off to Shijuku to crash in a capsule hotel for the night.
So, Saturday was a day of meeting up with family and friends!!! I met my cousin Chloe for lunch, the first time we met in 15 years!!! After that, I met up with multiple friends at the Tokyo Skytree. Sadly, it was cloudy, so we elected not to go up to the observatory, but we enjoyed the mall right underneath the Skytree having dinner and buying many souvenirs from the specialty shop. Heading back to Akihabara, my friends and I spent some time at the huge arcades they have here, and then went to an internet cafe to spend the night.
Sunday arrives, and the exploration continues. We headed to the Meiji Shrine, Shibuya, and Shinjuku, and since we did not see enough of Tokyo yet, we rode around Tokyo in the Yamanote line of the JR. After being tired from all of the exploring and sightseeing, I finally decided to throw in the towel and took the late night Shinkansen back to Sendai.
TLDR; I had a great time in Tokyo and would love to visit again! Tokyo has captured me with it's special culture and design, and I can't wait for the next time I come back for another adventure!