Getting sick of Tokyo yet?

I'm not!  I love this place :)

Sunday morning kicks off with a visit to Zojo-ji Temple.  There was a ceremony going on inside commemorating the death of a loved one.  (Maybe 1 year anniversary, etc.)  I'm told this is a common practice for Buddhism.

A bunch of cats wearing colorful bonnets and aprons in front of the temple. 

I see this all over the place, so I asked Tag what the deal was, but he had no clue!

Tokyo Tower. 

Did you know this one is actually taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which it is replicated from?!  Nutty...  

And Fred (from France) pointed out plenty of other differences, like no option of taking the stairs to the top!

Interesting store: Condomania.

What's even more interesting is that the name of the store next door is "Happy Factory".

The famous shopping street of Omote-sando.  We are looking for a 7-story toy store called "Kiddy Land".

I loved all of their Toy Story 3 paraphernalia, like this "Barbie loves Woody!".

How about the Japanese version of "The Game of Life"?  I can tell just by the iconic spinner!

We also took a trip to the man-made entertainment island just off the Tokyo mainland called Odaiba.

They had a pretty cool free Toyota museum there. 

Here's a ride where you could get in a tiny Electric car and drive down the track!!

How would I look rolling in this Toyota car named "Angelic Pretty"?

Futuristic side-door car!

KG driving a mini car, and an Asian kid attempting to go for a ride with her!!

(Have you noticed how someone seriously sucks at taking pics?  They are cutting off all of the cars...)

Everyone needs a giant bow on the rear end of their car ;)

Future mobility device that could replace wheelchairs (for a cost, I'm sure).  It can go over bumpy surfaces, take stairs, and even lower to the ground for easy entry and exit.

Fred tests out the new "folding safety helmet" technology worn by Kerri! 

(I survived even if it does look a little goofy!)

The Goddess of Liberty, which is about 1/40th the size of the Statue of Liberty in NYC.

Rainbow Bridge that connects Tokyo to Odaiba.

Kerri finally found a nice beach!  This one has imported white sand :)

Indian curry for dinner.  Check out the size of that giant nan!!  Yummy!

The waiter mixes the Indian after dinner tea.  It gets poured back and forth between several cups and mixes to a nice, frothy consistency.  Also yummy!

Final pour.  Drink up!!

Now we're locked in a prison... er, training center, for one week. 

The food is very Asian, and I am popular, partly because I packed Oreo cookies!  There is nothing around the center besides a prison (no joke this time) and other training facilities. 

The beds are much too short, the pillows are filled with beans again, and supposedly the rooms are the size of my walk-in closet in Kentucky.  Oddly enough, I got assigned a room at the end of the hallway, which happens to be very large and is, therefore, seriously lacking furniture to fill it.  All of the guys are jealous of my extra space and call it the "Barbie Palace". 

They also work us very late each night, which is why these posts have been at such crazy times!

The Dark, Dirty Side of Tokyo

My day continues touring Tokyo with Tag, Matt, & Fred. 

Here is Yoyogi Park in Harajuku, one of the few "green spaces" in Tokyo.  This one even has an extensive rose garden!

What is that?!  Grass??  I haven't seen it for months!!  This is amazing!  Most parks have dirt or cement!

A beautiful fountain of Yoyogi Park.  This place is traditionally known for crazy "hippie" entertainers wandering about.  We did see some cool stuff (like wannabe Michael Jackson back-up dancers and Frisbee Olympics), but nothing too bizarre.

On to Shibuya, were I always love to eat dinner at TGIFridays!!  First, I also love to stop by and see Hachiko the famous dog statue.  Today he is being decorated for the Japan World Cup game that was being played a few hours later that day.

Crazy Japan World Cup Fans.  BTW - Japan lost the game and Fred (from France) was impressed that there was no rioting or looting!

Quick break in a silly photo machine!  (LOL... Tag decorated it with "We love Transfreight"!)

Here's Kabukicho in Shinkjuku. 

This is an entertainment district that isn't advertised to foreigners, so I've never been there.

It's a world of difference from all other areas of Japan.  There is trash every where, and it's like law doesn't exist in this area.  It's also known as the "red light district".  Here's a seedy club called Glitter designed exclusively for women clientele.

I can even check out the "working boys" before I enter.  My first thought was... "These are guys?  What's with the long hair?"  Yikes!!

Here's a poster for just a few of the "working girls".  I'm kind of disturbed by the one with the machine gun...

Quite an education for me, and I can see why they don't want foreigners hanging out in this area.  It was decidedly creepy and sleazy. 

I leave you with one more fun photo booth pic.  Can you believe that it wasn't even my suggestion to take these pics?!  That is definitely one cool thing about Japan :)  They love pics maybe even more than me!!

We have another full day of exploring Tokyo left, so stay tuned!!

Tokyo = Endless Entertainment

The fun continues with our foreign visitors from USA & France!  We packed a lot of action into one short weekend. 

We stayed at the Tokyo Dome Hotel, which is inside Tokyo Dome City.

"What exactly is Tokyo Dome City" you ask?  It's an small amusement park with rides and shops and restaurants!  I never had a chance to go on the roller coaster, but it looked cool. 

Cool colored-pencil shaped amusement park directory!

Let's play Pachinko!!  It's the Japan's version of casinos, yet gambling is illegal.  It's the middle of the day, so no one is here, but the clanking and ringing noise once you step inside is unbelievable!  I am told that old unsavory chain-smoking men like to hang out here at night.

Kerri's first time playing Pachinko.  You have a tray of small balls, and you must launch them into the machine.  It's half pinball, half slot machine.  In the end, you can take your "balls" to another establishment and exchange them for prizes.  I don't quite see the allure of this game.  You don't even get cold hard cash back when you win!

Next stop is also a first time for me: Akihabara. 

This is the electronics district of Tokyo.  All of the computer geeks hang out here.

I love touring Japan with a true Japanese person because they can read the signs and know the local hot spots.  Tag took us to "@home cafe", which is a very bizarre cafe that allows socially-inept computer geeks to interact with their cute waitress, who is dressed in a maid uniform.

I suppose it's like a Hooters for Japan, but the outfits are much more innocent.  They had a lot of rules in this place, like no touching the waitresses or asking for their personal information, no pictures, and a $7 cover charge just to get in and see what it was all about!

We had a great time watching the computer geeks in this place.  The clientele definitely had social issues which is kind of sad, but this place was making a total gold mine by exploiting their weaknesses.  They even had an "entertainment menu" where you could play a silly 1-minute children's game with the waitress of your choice for $7 or get your picture taken to prove that you were actually with a girl for $5!  

That last one had my name written all over it.  Here's my photo with "Karin".  We got to go on stage for the photo and select from a variety of props.  I got my pic taken for the benefit of the guys I was with, too.  They are all married, and figured they didn't need this type of souvenir but I certainly want to remember this nutty place!

Okay, back to Japan culture...  We went to Meiji-Jingumae Shrine in Harajuku.  The Shinto shrines in Japan are beautiful because they are set in the forest on a lot of acreage and it gets you away from the busyness of the city. 

They had a large bonsai collection, and this flowering tree was my favorite!

Inside Meiji-Jingumae Shrine. 

We even got to see a wedding procession and photography session.  This is a pretty common thing in the Spring and Fall, but it's risky business to plan an outside wedding during the rainy season.  As you can see, they newlywed couple lucked out and the weather was very nice.

Matt, Kerri, & Fred at Meiji-Jingumae.

We decided to check out the gift shop.  (Not my suggestion, but I always like the opportunity to shop for unique Japan goods!) 

Another reason I like travelling with a Japanese person is because he suggests cool things to buy.  Tag told me this place does free personalization.  So guess what this guy is engraving for me?

My very own "KERRI" chopsticks!! 

I thought about getting them done in Japanese Katakana characters, but at the last moment I decided against it because most of my American friends can't tell my name from a restaurant logo in Japan.  These are much more fun!

That was only half of the day, so please wait patiently for the rest of our fun weekend :) 

Fun with foreigner visitors

After a hard day's work in Tokyo, where do you take foreign visitors during the rainy season?

The answer we came up with was a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome!!

By some odd chance the Yomiuri Giants (a.k.a. Tokyo Giants) were playing the Chunichi Dragons (Nagoya's team).  I was happy to cheer on my hometown team, and check out the Tokyo stadium. 

The Yomiuri Giants are based off of the NY Giants of the 1930's (now San Francisco Giants).  They even have the same uniforms and team colors.  The Yomiuri Giants are the oldest and most popular team in Japan, and they have won the most pennants and Japan series titles. 

Take me out the the ballgame... buy me some beer and ... Pocky?!  It was a special Pocky promotion day.  Each free box featured a Giants player.  (Pocky is tiny chocolate-covered sticks.)

I was very happy because the food in Tokyo was a little more Westernized than Nagoya.  I had my first hot dog in 8 months!  It was delicious!

Here's one of the beer girls.  They carry small kegs around on their backs, so you can have draft beer in the stands.  Also notice that no ladies actually wear their baseball caps.  They fold it in half and pin it to their hair. 

Matt (from North America) and Fred (from Europe) in town for some training.  Fred hasn't been to a baseball game since he was a child living in New York in the 1970's!

When the Giants hit a home run, the crowd goes wild waving their orange towels.  Who knows, they might do a similar thing in Nagoya, but I've never seen them score a run, much less a home run!

Fan section with all of the orange towels.

Out came this giant Giants banner during the 7th inning stretch.  It truly felt like a college football game!

There was no "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song at any point throughout the game. I was really disappointed because I was ready for the cartoon Wii voice this time!

Here is the Giant's mascot.  She's half "YG" logo and half rabbit.  Therefore, her name is "Giabbitt".

The Dragons played better today, but not good enough to beat the Giants.  Since the home team won, they had a MVP ceremony and interview after the game.  Notice the MVP on the jumbotron is holding a big "Giabbitt" stuffed animal!!  LOL.

Kerri is fist-bumping with a Giants player!!

Next stop on our Tokyo evening of fun is ... Karaoke!

It took a little convincing to even get Matt and Fred to agree to karaoke, but it's a true Japanese tradition! 

I thought they were going to pee their pants from laughing so hard when Tag asked me if I had my karaoke club members card with me!  I like karaoke, but unfortunately I'm not part of the "club".

Kerri and the giant wall of Zima bottles when we enter karaoke.  Who even drinks Zima anymore?

Apparently, we do!

Tag ordered us all Zima because we could get 10% off of our total bill, but I'm pretty the cost of 4 Zimas was more than 10% of our bill... 

Tag sings the Japanese national anthem.

We all had an awesome time singing the night away. 

Even though the foreigners were hesitant to karaoke at first, by the end we were all rushing to get our choice of songs in.  We even extended our time after the first 90 minutes because we simply weren't ready to leave!