Photoroll...

Photos from yesterday and Tuesday.

Tuesday:









Yesterday:

Keepin' up with the Jones'

So the past several days have been pretty jam-packed. We hiked up (part of) Mt. Fuji after a bus took us up just shy of 7,000ft. When we returned back to Tokyo we hung out in Shinjuku for a bit then hit the sack.
Yesterday we all split up to do our own thing, being the last day we were in Tokyo. John went back to Akihibara to buy some electronic goods, Evan, Linda and I went to the imperial gardens where we walked around for hours. We only walked around the east garden, as it took several hours just to get around it. The entire imperial grounds would need at least one day of non-stop walking.
Afterwards we went to Shibuya to do some last minute shopping (mostly for Linda to go back to some record shops). We had some dinner, went to a punk bar (no live music though) and then went back to the hostel around midnight to pack.

This morning was amazing - we went to the Tokyo fish market to get some fresh fish for breakfast. The size of the market would put any in the states to shame. Row upon row of fish vendors, fish heads, octopus legs, eels, squid, giant tuna... whatever you want you could easily find.
We stopped off at one of the market eateries for some fresh tuna - wow - I don't think i'll ever have fish as good again! For 1,400Yen (about $13.50) we had a giant bowl of tuna and tuna roe on rice with miso soup and pickles - a typical Japanese breakfast. So good!!!

Then it was back to the hostel to shower and check out - off to Kyoto!
The train was pretty quick, only 2 hours from Tokyo. When we got to our new hostel we were pleasantly surprised - swanky! We have a Japanese-style room, so we sleep on mats on the floor. The AC works wonderfully (not so much in Tokyo!) and the internet is much faster. Everything here is pretty hi-tech.

We walked around the city for the remainder of the day, getting acquainted with our new neighborhood (for the next 2 days) and surrounding areas. We went to Gion, the Geisha district first. VERY touristy, "Gaishen" as they say here (it means "foreigner"). We've actually learned some pretty useful Japanese words so it's getting easier to order in restaurants and ask for directions.
We went to one of the famous theaters to see some traditional Japanese theater and music. It started out with a tea ceremony which I was picked to be in! I got to eat some tea cakes (sweet wafers) and was served freshly made green tea by a Geisha. We saw a puppet show, dancing, comedic play and some flower arranging. Really beautiful!

We left Gion to walk around downtown. Let me tell you - after Tokyo, nothing will ever be as big or bright. Downtown Kyoto looks like a watered-down Shinjuku.
Kyoto has a overwhelming amount of shrines and temples, and it's easy to get so called "temple-fatigue". We've picked 4 that we really want to check out, so we plan to rent some bicycles tomorrow and explore.

I can't upload any pictures right now, but rest assured, they will come soon!
For now, we're off to bed!

Can you take me to funky town?

Today we went to Togo Shrine which has one of the more well known flea markets. Tokyo has some great flea markets every week; individual markets run at different times of the month, so you can usually fine one or two to visit during your stay. Togo Shrine flea market runs every 1st and 4th Sunday of the month - unfortunately it didn't run today! :(
But! It was ok because we went to Hirajuku!!! :D

Hirajuku is like the St. Marks st of NYC, just way bigger and way cooler! There were some AMAZING clothing stores so I was definitely in my element! (We won't discuss how many bags I left with :) ) Most people here where clothing with english words on them, and it's pretty funny to see what some of them say... like "get back dad"! haha

Evan, Linda and I shared this great dessert while shopping: a crepe, topped with whatever topping you choose (we had whipped cream, strawberries and cheesecake), rolled up into a cone like ice cream! It was deeeeeeeeeeelicious!

After all that shopping we went looking for some real food and took the train over to the Shibuya district. One great thing about Japanese restaurants is that they all have fake dishes outside the restaurants to show what foods they serve. Unlike Japanese restaurants in America, these restaurants have specialties, so certain restaurants will serve only sushi, while others will serve noodles like Udon and Soba, and others Tempura, etc.
Also, I used my first Japanese-style toilet today... it's just a hole on the floor that you squat over!
Shibuya has some great music stores, so we stopped by RECOfan, a store one of Linda's friends said we should check out. I'll let her tell you more about that.
I picked out some Japanese band's records to check out. Hopefully they'll be good!
I left a little present behind, if you can catch it in one of the photos... ;)

Anyhow, We just got back from the bar downstairs next to our hostel. We met some people and had a few drinks. Now it's time for bed. :)