On Saturday we went to Tokyo to watch a piano recital. The pianist is from Tsuru which is probably why we went to attend her performance. The recital was nice. I never went to a 2-hour recital before. It was an interesting experience. I got to talk to one of the tutors more during the intermission. I learned that he likes anime. To be honest, he was the first tutor I talked with that actually likes anime lol It was fun chatting with him. My inner-otaku came out lol (I'm not a scary otaku....). Another nice thing about this is the bus ride and the ticket to the recital were free! =D When we got to the place there was actually a small matsuri (festival) going on. Since we arrived an hour early we hung out around there. I bought myself takoyaki =3
On My Way to the Hotel
After the concert a few people went back home while the rest of us stayed in Tokyo. I decided to stay because I got a free ride to Tokyo so might as well take advantage of that ;D So, after the concert I headed to my hotel. My hotel was in another part of Tokyo so I had to take the train there. I went with one other EAPer, but we split up at one station. When I arrived at the station I was supposed to get off at I ended up exiting through the wrong way... I really hate it when instructions don't tell you what exits to take...
I ended up going the complete opposite way. Seriously, Tokyo. Always giving me trouble (>.<) I eventually found my way to a Koban (a small police station) and asked the policeman for help. That's probably one of the moments where my Japanese speaking skills were the most helpful. It's times like that that I'm glad I can speak Japanese enough to ask for help lol They told me that I was really far from the Hotel I was trying to get to. For awhile one of them was telling me directions, but I fixed my eyes on the clock on the back wall and realized that I have only 30 minutes to get to the Hotel before they close. I eventually asked them if they could call a cab for me. I really didn't want to because taxis are super expensive here. But I had no choice. So, I ended up taking the taxi to the hotel. I spent about $15 even though it was a less than 10 minute ride...
My Hotel
I finally got to my hotel. The people working there (ok well I only saw one) don't speak much English so my Japanese speaking skills were challenged again. This hotel is different from what I've seen. Basically, you get your own room, but you share bathrooms. The nice part is the shower/bath rooms are split between guys and girls, but the restrooms are shared. The restroom near my room had two stalls and even had urinals... I kept thinking how awkward it would be if I walked in while I guy was doing his business... Thank goodness everytime I walked into the bathroom no one else was there lol
The rooms were really small. It was maybe 8x5ft. It was Japanese style so I slept on a futon that was folded up on the ground. I got to my hotel around 11pm so I chilled for about an hour. I mainly just watched tv for abit. The AC in the room was kinda old so it didn't work very well which sucked because it was pretty hot...
I woke up pretty early. I woke up before my alarm went off. I turned on the tv because it was Sunday and every Sunday morning a show I like to watch airs. So, I watched that then I watched some random anime. I left around 10am. While I went downstairs to give my key to the owner I saw a couple of white guys. Being in Tokyo seeing other foreigners doesn't surprise me as much. While in Tsuru whenever I see another foreigner I treat them like they're celebrities lol
I made my way to the train station. I asked the hotel owner where it was before I left so I wouldn't get lost lol It was about a 15 minute walk there. From the station I made my way to Ikebukuro.
Ikebukuro (including zaitenzushi!!!!)
I met up with one of the EAPers who also stayed behind in Tokyo. We checked out Ikebukuro for a bit. First we went to a building called Bic Camera which is mainly electronics. I checked out some Gundam models, video games, movies, and cds. I didn't buy anything because everything was expensive. I kept saying how I can buy some of the stuff on Book Off for much cheaper XP Next we went to find a clothes shop. I kinda forgot the name of one of the shops. We also went to Uniqlo which is a big clothes shop in Japan.
Next we went back to the station where we came from and waited for my friend. This friend is studying abroad in Japan and is also from UCSB. We met up with him and his girlfriend. We went up to the top of the building where the station was to eat ZAITENZUSHI!!!!! (conveyor belt sushi). When we reached the top there was a bunch of dining places. The whole store was a dining area. We got in line for the sushi which was an hour wait. It was pretty funny because we kept "upgrading." What I mean by that is at first we stood up in line, then we got to sit on stools, then on wooden chairs, then on cushioned chairs lol We kept joking how it kept upgrading and it actually did XD
After an hour we finally got to eat sushi. It was my first time being at this type of sushi place before so I was excited. There was an ipad at the table which is what you used to order sushi. There were also sushi moving on a conveyor belt, but those aren't fresh so it's better to order. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a problem with our ipad. Our food didn't come as quickly as it should have. It was ok, though, because in the end we were satisfied. One of the best sushi experience of my life!!! I had 7 plates of sushi for less than ￥1000. That's super cheap! That's about the same price as buying one special roll at Goleta Sushi House. I wish Tsuru had a place like this, but unfortunately they don't.
TO BE CONTINUED
(I shall continue this, but right now I need to study for my test tomorrow lol)
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