We went out with the group to the Imperial Palace in the morning some cool sites. I even 3d scanned some stuff like the fish statue in the front entrance.
3D Scan of Imperial Palace Fish Statue
After we made our way to another temple after getting lunch in Shibuya. The place was bigger than the ones we went to in Kyoto. It was peaceful and a nice break from the city. We later made our way to the Nintendo store did some shopping and made our way through Shibuya to get back to our hotel to end the night celebrating Fabian’s birthday even passing the famous crossing to get there. It was an eventful night with friends and good food.
So after a train ride back to Tokyo to Akihabara we visited a few shopping places with the main group. They were all very cool and interesting but I personally didn’t find anything for myself. Until I went out on my own and found a copy of monster hunter dos a game I’m missing in my collection ironically below our hotel.
Me and Fabian the next day set off to Diver City. We saw the Unicorn Gundam had breakfast and did some shopping. We then made our way to Shinagawa to find Kojima Productions. We found it and almost just walked into the office by accident turns out security for a major game creator’s office is very lax and you can just go to the studio floor and walk around the great white void room.
We ended our day going to the Tokyo Sky tree where I had a coffee and a nice view.
After waking up early to pack all of my things, Maddy and I went downstairs to have breakfast before the long train ride back to Tokyo. On the train ride, I wrote as much on my blogs as my stomach could handle before taking a nap while listening to music. After getting to Tokyo and dropping off our bags in our hotel in Akihabara, we speed ran as many floors of Mandarake as possible, went to Super Potato to look at their retro games, and looked around Animate before having dinner and going to sleep.
For my last breakfast at the hotel, I was given toast with prosciutto, spinach, tomato, and parmesan. Although I was not a big fan of how hard the crust was, the rest of the toast was delectable. I also grabbed more fried fish because I’ve enjoyed all of the fried fish I’ve had here along with some egg, another croissant, some mushrooms, and yogurt with soybeans and brown sugar. I also got another glass of apple juice because I cannot resist its call.
After our long train ride, Maddy, Brody, Vincent and I went to a food court near the hotel and got some ramen. I got ramen with shrimp tempura in it because I love ramen and I love shrimp tempura, and I have already had the two together, so why not get it again?
For dinner, we decided to go to a sushi restaurant that Toshi recommended to us. I got this rice combination bowl with various different things in it so I could try a little bit of everything. It was absolutely delicious, and I would definitely recommend going there if you like sushi.
Tomorrow is our last free day on the trip, so let’s make the most of it!
June 3rd: the day we say goodbye. After saying one last goodbye to the remaining students in Japan in the hotel lobby, Maddy and I braved the train system together with our heavy bags and heavier hearts. Luckily, our two head working together helped us get to the airport without too much struggle (ignoring how laborious lugging our bags around was). We were also able to get through immigration, security, and on our plane without any issues.
However, Maddy only had about an hour and a half layover, and I had about two, proving to be an issue when we got to immigration in the U.S. Thankfully, we had just enough time to get to our respective gates before boarding started, but the anxiety while waiting in the long, snake-like line was overwhelming. Now we know in case we ever travel outside of the country by plane ever again: if you have a layover in the United States, make sure it’s at least three hours long. Although we made it on our planes, we were both cutting it real close, and I would much rather have way too much time to spend in an airport than cut it that close ever again.
I made it back to Rochester with all of my bags, got picked up by my friend, took a pit stop at Chipotle, and then went home.
This was my last meal in Japan. I decided to get tempura on rice at the airport. It came with egg tempura, shrimp tempura, and various vegetable tempuras. It was super yummy! I kinda of scarfed it down to make sure Maddy would have enough time to eat before the flight, so it’s hard to say more than that, but I thought it was really good.
On the plane, I got some pasta with a piece of bread, red bean mochi, and vegetables. I really like the pasta. It was very flavorful, and I liked not being allergic to something that I eat on the plane. I could not eat the vegetables because there were peas included. The bread was bread. Bread is always solid; a safe choice. The red bean mochi was really good, but the texture made me feel nauseous since Iw as already feeling lightly nauseous because I get motion sickness, so I did not finish the mochi. However, I know if I were on solid lad, I would have greatly enjoyed it.
For a mid-flight snack, I was given a ham and cheese sandwich with some snacks. I pocketed the snacks for later, but the ham and cheese sandwich was… a ham and cheese sandwich. Not much to say about it. Just a plain ham and cheese sandwich. I would’ve preferred it with mayo, but I was thankful to be getting any food in the first place.
For breakfast, I was given an omelet with a sausage and a piece of potato. The omelet was okay. It was cold by the time they got to me, so it felt kind of gross to eat. The sausage was better tasting cold. The potato thing was worse. This was probably the sketchiest plane meal I had on this trip, but once again, I was just thankful to not be allergic to it at all.
That marks the end of the trip! It was honestly such an amazing experience, and I am very grateful to have been able to go. Now, I’ve been back in the U.S. for a few days, and the jet lag coming back to the U.S. is way worse than it was when going to Japan. Take that warning as you will.
We started the day out by braving the rain and making the walk over to Unreal Fest. It was super cool to see all of the projects being made using Unreal Engine. It makes it feel like the possibilities are endless. Seeing that inspired me to keep working hard on my own projects so that one day I may be able to create something like the things that were being shown off there. After that, we went and got a tour of CyberConnect2, the game studio behind the development of the Naruto fighting games, .hack series, and Fuga: Melodies of Steel. After that, Jasmine, Jessica, Megan, Brody, Maddy, Vincent, and I trekked through the rain for a delicious last dinner and ice cream. After that, a few of us had a late-night meeting, I finished packing, and then head to bed.
In terms of the stars of the show, sadly, I had to skip out on breakfast because I did not wake up in time to grab breakfast before going to Unreal Fest. So for lunch, I got oil noodles again, but with a raw egg to mix into my rice this time. Maddy and I had already come to this place before in Shibuya, so we knew this was good. I decided to try a different flavor this time, but I forgot what that flavor was called. Again, this was delicious. I also appreciated that they gave us broth this time. I assume they did this because it was rainy outside. Great service, and I appreciated being able to order form a terminal that included English translations.
For dinner after CyberConnect2, Jasmine, Jessica, Megan, Brody, Maddy, Vincent, and I had dinner together. Jasmine and I shared some garlic bread with pesto as an appetizer. It was toasted just enough to have a bit of a crunch, and the garlic and pesto paired well together. It was the perfect way to lead up to the steal that I got that came with rice and baked vegetables. The steak was super flavorful and juicy, and the sauce only made it better. The whole dinner was just delicious.
For dessert, I got a Sumiko Gruashi-themed ice cream from Baskin Robbins, which was a fruity-flavored ice cream. I really like it, and I enjoyed the character being a little chocolate that you could eat. For second dessert (to help me stay awake during my meeting), I had a coffee jelly from 7-11. It was also really good and super cheap.
Tomorrow, Maddy and I need to brave the subway system together once more to the airport. Leaving will be very bittersweet.
Today, we went to see the life-sized Gundam in Odaiba, Tokyo. We also had lunch in the Diver City Tokyo Plaza and looked around the mall before heading to the Miraikan Museum of Science and Innovation. There were many cool exhibits there, including a jarring robot controlled by A.I, pieces about how humans should evolve to live in sustainable prosperity, a scale model of a living quarters in the International Space Station, and an interactive game to promote medicine. After that, we went to teamLabs Tokyo and went through all of the art exhibits that make use of your eyes, ears, and touch for a complete experience.
McDonald’s again? Yes, McDonald’s again! This time, I got a sausage McGriddle with a hashbrown and a caramel latte. I’ve never had a McGriddle in the U.S. so I cannot really compare the two, but I thoroughly enjoyed the one I had here. It was a good mix of sweet and savory, and the hashbrown helped to tame the strong flavor of the McGriddle. The caramel latte was also super good. 10/10 breakfast. I would definitely go to McDonald’s in Japan again because (spoiler alert), I never got the chance to go back after this breakfast.
For lunch in Odaiba, I had this noodle dish native to China. Why am I having a Chinese dish when I could get a Japanese dish in Japan? Honestly, I think the better question to be asking is, “Why have you eaten McDonald’s so many times in Japan?”. So obviously, although I do appreciate all of the authentic Japanese food I’ve had here, I also enjoy trying other food while I’m here. For all I know, the Chinese food they have in Japan is better than the Chinese food in America. And boy, if this noodle dish is any indicator of how much better Chinese food is in Japan, then it is way better. It was hearty and savory and mellow and just good. It was yummy. I would go back to Odaiba again just to have these noodles again.
For dinner, Brody and I found this cafe connected to a few soccer fields. Side note, I think this idea is brilliant. Imagine how much money you would make from soccer moms who want to grab a good dinner together as a group and gossip as they watch their children. I think it’s an incredibly smart idea, and if that already exists in the U.S., then I’m upset that I didn’t get to witness that as someone who played soccer for six years. Anyways, this meal was super good. Chicken, rice, and raw egg. Where can you go wrong with that?
I was super excited to go to Unreal Fest the next day as well as go to CyberConnect2!
The first thing we did after having breakfast was go to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. We walked around, observing the architecture, gardens, and koi fish before we went to Harajuku to visit the Meiji Shrine and have a lunch break. After that, the class split up, and Brody, Vincent, Maddy, and I went back to Shibuya. We visited a record shop before Maddy and I split off to look around in Shibuya 109 before we reconvened, had dinner, and went back to the hotel for yet another late-night meeting.
Guess what I got for breakfast?
Wow! You got it! I got McDonald’s again! This time around, I got the red pepper Shaka Shaka chicken with fries and an iced latte. The seasoning that came with the Shaka Shaka chicken was super good. It was just a tad spicy, and it was very flavorful. I put a little bit of the seasoning on my fries as well because it was so good. The latte was also good because it was less bitter and not hot coffee.
In Harajuku, we found this unique Pink Panther food court that had a stage for performances. During performances, photos and videos were not allowed, but because we went to eat in between performances, I was able to take pictures. I got a tornado potato and a Korean hot dog with cheese on the top and a hot dog on the bottom. I was not a big fan of the potato tornado. It was incredibly messy to eat, and it was mildly sweet when I was expecting a salty potato treat. Thankfully, the Korean corn dog was incredibly good, and I would highly recommend anyone who likes corn dogs to try it out. It was major upgrade from just a regular American corn dog. This may even ruin them for you as it did with me.
In Shibuya, after a lot of walking to find somewhere to eat, we finally out this barbeque place. Honestly, it was not the best considering the price. It was very tasty, but I’ve had the same amount of tasty but with more food for a lesser price on this trip, so I didn’t see it as worth the price. Vincent may fight me about that though.
Afterwards, we rushed back to have our meeting and get as much sleep as we could before our long trip to Odaiba tomorrow.
Starbucks for breakfast today! I had this cookies n cream chiffon cake at a Starbucks in Hiroshima, and it was so good that I immediately went for it again at the sbux nearby our hotel in Akiba.
A small group of us wandered out to explore & shop since we had a free day today. We had plans to go to character street (and for some, the kirby cafe) but first, crepes!
Ironically, I did not order a crepe despite being in love with the fake food display. Ever since arriving in Japan, I became slightly more obsessed with soft serve than I ever have been in the states. So I ordered a small cone for 300JPY.
A bunch of us craved something savory after the dessert and got kebabs from the stand next door. Thank you Jess for holding my chicken kebab as I took the photo above ?
We shopped around character street and I got to experience some of the cute kirby desserts with those who went. We also stopped by muji!! Weird to say, but I’ve always wanted the handheld paper shredder from their website but the shipping costs stopped me before. I was able to snatch one in person for myself during our short drop-in and I was living the life.
By around 5pm, we were getting HUNGRY. I had a date to meet up with a friend for dinner tonight, so I thought I could eat a few pieces of sushi and still be hungry enough for dinner. Jess and I went to a sushi place where I made a huge mistake. For some reason I didn’t think I would get full off of a full set of sushi and happily chowed down on the fish & miso soup.
The sushi chefs were super friendly & funny with us, and we were enjoying the food so much that I just ate as much as I could. I met up with my friend in Ikebukuro 3 hours later and ended up only ordering a slice of cheesecake due to how full I was from the sushi.
I met up with my friend to grab a package that I had shipped to her earlier this year, and to make a trade off with our merch. She works as a professional translator, moonlighting as a mangaka & illustrator in her freetime. She had recently tabled at an event and sold out of her original series but she had saved one copy for me, so I greedily asked for her signature while sliding over some of my own merch as thanks!
The meal she ordered looked delicious, and unfortunately I ate the worst cheesecake of my life this night. The little pink bud things on the whipped cream were sakura flowers. For some reason I thought they looked fun to chew so I popped one in my mouth and a sour taste immediately blossomed in my mouth, mellowing out to a bitter taste a few seconds later. I died a little. The cheesecake itself was insanely dense (in a bad way) and very tasteless?! The berry sauce unfortunately did not help the flavor much, not to mention how TINY the slice was. It was around 700jpy and it was the first time I felt juped by the pricing of food since I arrived in Japan.
We went karaoking for almost 2 hours after dinner, and then said our tearful goodbyes at the station before heading back.
The classic breakfast photo! Today we’re leaving Kyoto and heading back to Tokyo. I’ll miss Anteroom Kyoto…..their beds were comfy and the breakfast every morning felt so healthy and tasted delicious….!
I had iced my leg after getting back to the hotel yesterday, and here you can see a fresh bag of half-melted ice ontop of my luggage as we all waited to board the shinkansen back to Tokyo (about 2 hours travel time).
Our next hotel is in Akihabara, called REMM Akihabara! It was actually located directly next to one of the station exits which was extremely convenient. While my leg was in slight pain the entire time we walked around, I was so excited to see all the merch in sight. Genshin billboards and hololive collabs…..dreamy sigh.
For dinner, Jess, Chloe and I went straight to a maid cafe (Akiba Zettai)! Judging by the name, I assumed it was just thigh-high themed but it was actually a cat girl maid cafe……but! The girls were super sweet and we still had a great time. The food was cute, and we had fun conversations with each of the girls before we made Jess choose a maid to take a polaroid with. We’ll treasure this photo forever!
We explored animate afterwards (where I promised myself to come back as soon as I could) before heading back to the hotel to crash for the night after a long day of travel.
well. i think a “going home” post is not quite what you’re going to get since i’m staying a week after everyone leaves, but i think a little summary of everything i did instead will be a bit more interesting.
first thing i did was go to ghibli park with my parents and while it was definitely tailored for little children it was well worth seeing as an adult. it’s worth mentioning that i also only saw the “warehouse” park since tickets to the other 2 sections literally cannot be purchased outside of japan. i think those are a bit less of a playground than the warehouse was but alas. i will take what i can get. i loved the park’s focus on immersion over typical Theme Parkiness that i normally have to get past in order to enjoy myself. across the park’s many exhibits i felt like i could truly just Be with thoughts about these movies that i love so much; i didn’t feel like the park was trying to sell an image of The Ghibli Brand (TM) to me because it knew it didn’t have to. my favorite exhibit was probably a series of rooms that detailed how food is animated and colored in the films, it was so specific but exactly the type of detail i was happy to see explained. it’s worth mentioning that i also went to The Milk Stand. yes. there is a critically acclaimed stand that sells milk and little red bean paste sandwiches and that shit was delightful. truly the weirdest milk i have ever tried. it was like creamy in taste without actually being creamy in consistency. and a bit sweet. really was excellent with the red bean paste sandwich though. it was a typical paste between two pieces of pound cake. i miss red bean paste so much. if i found out a way to get red bean buns in america right now i would cry in real life.
[the greater park that surrounds the ghibli park is a sight on its own. i loved walking in the very well maintained trails after the park. saw a stickbug, caught this view, good stuff.]
next we went to nara park, which if you didn’t already know is the famous place where the wild deer walk around. this was very neat in theory but what it ends up meaning in practice is that a bunch of unpredictable large wild animals are comfortable coming up to you and doing whatever they want. this was a bit stressful but the surrounding shrine and woods were truly amazing and it was cool to see it basically function as a deer city.
[there was also, if it needs saying. shit everywhere. i would not go to this place for the deer. go for the hike.]
the last place we went before leaving was the ghibli museum, which you weren’t allowed to take pictures of. that was a shame because this was hands down my favorite place and an architectural masterpiece. the stained glass windows were probably my favorites, all depicting characters from the films, and the railings that lined the floors with the occasional glass sphere. i really liked the exhibit that was all about the concept art and storyboarding of the films, they had original works just covering the walls of a intricately decorated “apartment”, tacked up with thumbtacks like they are in the studio. it felt authentic, it felt approachable. it quite literally was approachable, with no protection or divider between museum guests and the works. the design of the space implicitly has faith that you will respect the work and not try to vandalize or touch it, which seemingly has worked thus far. i also saw a movie here that i was really looking forward to. they don’t play the shorts that screen at the museum and the park anywhere else in the world, and they rotate them out so you don’t really know what you’re gonna get. the one i saw was a short continuation of my neighbor totoro which was as good as i could have asked for honestly (if you made me pick totoro’s probably my favorite. yes. i am basic.) the film displayed a whole underground catbus society with a soundtrack that was just lovely. i wish i could see it again but i suppose they want to make the films precious in this way for a reason.
[you were allowed to take pictures of the outside. looked crazy, went hard, i feel like there’s only so many ways i can generally point at something and say “I LIKE THAT” before it gets redundant.]
and. well. time to talk about the dawn of the final day. the true ending, if you will.
the ending of my time with everyone was uneventful. i like it that way. i think my reaction to permanent endings is best kept in private. i hugged jasmine the night before, encountered some people when i was checking out and gave a very awkward “bye.” nothing too serious, no real acknowledgement of the connection that was made over these two weeks. i think that is how it has to be sometimes. some relationships are special enough to feel like they could never be replicated but not close enough for emotional vulnerability to be comfortable. i think we all knew how this would go, and it went how it had to.
when i decided to take this class and go on this trip i fully expected to be spending as much time as possible by myself. i knew nearly everyone on the trip would be younger than me, i knew that the only person i knew ahead of time was going to be spending their time with someone else, and i hadn’t made any connections during the class. i had fully set myself up to be alone, i made that bed and was prepared to lie in it. i’m not sure what exactly happened but somehow i ended up doing the opposite the whole trip. i feel like due to the setting and the overall lack of pre-established close relationships between us, everyone was able to move very freely within the group. i felt comfortable hanging out with everyone and going with any person who made an open offer. it was a real Group in every sense of the word, everyone on the same level as each other and regarding other members equally, and that is seriously such a rare dynamic in this world. if people could bottle that feeling they would.
i didn’t spend as much time doing my typical introspective focus-on-the-culture travel activities because i was honestly just having so much damn fun hanging out with people. that was a first for me, having a solid group like that. i don’t regret spending as much time as i could with them even though it did come at the expense of a few of my plans.
i’m making a drawing of everyone, it’ll get done eventually and i’ll post it in the discord. turns out drawing 20 people kind of takes a while. lol.
anyway i hope you liked reading my posts. i skipped the free days and the last friday because. honestly. i didn’t take any pictures and in a few cases i literally didn’t do anything other than follow other people on their shopping trips and eat. i didn’t have a lot of inherent reasons to go where i was going i just liked being included. i like to think that what i did write makes up for it. quality over quantity if you will. or maybe you won’t. i was never good at persuasive writing because while i have a lot of strong beliefs i’m largely not interested in telling people what to think. you can take points off for that i don’t mind. alright. well. this has gone on long enough, but if i stop typing and post the document it’s over for real. no you hang up. no. no you do it. fine i’m hanging up. alright bye.
[i had a window seat on the way back. ain’t that neat :2]
