Visitors!

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I've had visitors! Finally I get to show people around and use the knowledge and other goings on of Tokyo and Japan I've been learning for the past several years, two of which spent living here.

Well two weeks ago I had some friends visiting Tokyo, the last leg of their tour of SE Asia before returning to Minnesota. I took them out for Okonomiyaki in Shibuya, showing them the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world and other craziness that is Shibuya after work on a Wednesday. Then I took them out to Yakiniku near Shinjuku on Friday before they flew back on Sunday. I finally fulfilled my dream of me (pasty white) showing around some (non-Japanese Asian) friends in Japan. For some reason all the waiters and cashiers tried talking to the wrong person...

Then last week my cousin (Brian) and uncle (Bruce) visited! Hooray for more faces I've known for more than a year! My uncle was here on business related items, but my cousin decided to tag along. They also decided to bring an extra suitcase for souvenirs, which means... free suitcase full of American goodies!!

3 boxes of cereal
4 bottles of barbeque sauce
1 bottle of ranch dressing
1 giant Twins blanket
1 U of M mug
2 pairs of sunglasses
1 trumpet mouthpiece
1 bag of Twix

...and TEN POUNDS OF CHEESE

Oh, glorious cheese. That's even better than the 6 lbs of cheese I got last time this happened when I studied abroad. I love cheese. So major Kudos to you guys for lugging that beast over here. It was all worth it for my brick of bacon cheese. :D

Anyways, the first day they spent touring a high school (jealous!) where they'll be having some sort of student exchange relation with. Then Brian came out this way on Tuesday, and I showed him around Enoshima island, one of my favorite spots in Japan. There's just so much to do in this place. Not only do you have the cultural standard temples and shrines, but the geography of this island is gorgeous, with a long narrow bridge jutting out from the coast leading up to the island itself. Then its up up up hundreds of steps to get to the top of the island, where sits a large lighthouse, complete with indoor/outdoor observation deck. And if that isn't enough, find your way down to the other side of the island and you can explore the rocky shore and caves. What a cool place.

After Enoshima we ran over to see Daibutsu (Big Buddha) and then Kamakura, where there are supposedly 250 temples (and one 72 year old taxi driver dude - you rock). Then we hopped on a train into Tokyo for some classic Karaoke. I emailed my friend about Karaoke the night before, and he manged to get together a dozen or so people. Sufficed to say, much fun was had at the Karaoke booth.

Brian then toured Tokyo on Wednesday, and he and his dad found their way back to my place where they stayed for the remainder of the trip. On Thursday they toured Hakone, and Friday I took them around Tokyo, on a rather busy schedule. We started out at the Tsukiji fish market in the morning, but unfortunately missed most of the hustle and bustle. There were still some shops open though, so it was worth it. After that we headed to Ginza, cause you gotta see Ginza, and were introduced to this really cool and very traditional Japanese restaurant - Ganko.

After Ginza we hopped over to the Imperial Palace, but the gardens were closed on Fridays. Since they came all that way though, I wanted to at least show them the park on the north side of the imperial palace. Unfortunately it was quite the long hike from the south portion (sorry guys!). After that we headed into Asakusa for some more sightseeing, and also stopped by a rice cracker store I frequent, before chowing on Okonomiyaki, which that area is famous for.

Finally we ended the day with Akihabara and the giant Yodobashi Camera (like Best Buy) there. I also bought some cool plastic Gundam models (theres another post coming), which I've been thoroughly enjoying.

Anyways, it was a lot of fun finally having visitors! Who's coming next?

Also Brian, when are you coming back!!? :D