Cheeky Tokyo Blog – ただいま！

So here I am, back in Tokyo after almost a year and a half of absence. What’s changed? Nothing.

The girls are still adorably dressed, with friends perfectly happy to walk around in exactly the same outfit. The trains are still insanely busy, business men still walk around snorting down your earhole rather than blowing their nose, and surprisingly, food and drink prices are the same. Ah Tokyo… sparkle sparkle. I’m home.

Night view from my hotel

So, I’ve been staying in the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. I’m right over Shinagawa station, so I could watch the Yamanote line and the Shinkansen coming and going all day if I wanted to. Since it’s the weekend and the rush hour probably isn’t as bad/doesn’t exist, it’s not as fun to watch

I got here on the morning of the 19th, yet wasn’t allowed to check in until 2pm. After about 24 hours of travelling and no sleep on the plane, this was really tough. I hate to admit it, but do you know what I did? I got snacks and went to sleep. Shame on you, Jennifer.

Day view from my hotel

I did finally emerge on the 20th, however. I got up bright and early (yes, really!) and went out to those old favourites, Shibuya and Harajuku. I didn’t take any photos, but those of you who know me will have had Shibuya shoved in your faces every week before anyway! I was still sleepy and aching from the flight (in which there was NO CHEESE!), so I didn’t stay out for long before coming home and sorting stuff out into Niigata and training piles.

Right, I have lots to do… so I’m going to make this quick. Here are some pictures of things I did and places I saw today I hit up Asakusa, Shinjuku and Shinjukugyoen. Check it.

Asakusa

Asakusa

Asakusa

Shinjukugyoen

 

Shinjukugyoen

Koi

３月１９日～３月２２日：東京の予定！Tokyo Plans!

First and foremost,  I want to say a big ありがとうございます to all of you who’ve been commenting my posts recently. This experience is a rollercoaster at the moment, and having the support of my soon-to-be fellow ALTs is a really big help. I met some of my very dearest friends in Japan, so let’s make it another year (maybe more) of adventures and fantastic memories.

Shinagawa Prince Hotel

So, back on track, I’ve got three days all on my lonesome to get back in touch with my Keio exchange roots. Anyone who wants to solve this *lonesome* issue let me hear you shout “woooooo Japan!”. 3 days just doesn’t seem to be enough to fit in everything and everywhere I want to see again before training. In a pretty vague, disorganised list form, I really want to hit 渋谷, 慶應大学, 原宿, 浅草, みなとみらい
Shibuya, Keio University, Harajuku, Asakusa, and Minato Mirai.

I’m very excited to be staying on a Yamanote line stop, as (those of you who spend enough time with me will know) I have a habit of singing ALL of the stations on the Yamanote line along to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. I have a habit of getting stuck at Shin-Okubo though >.< Just try it… I guarantee you’ll be hooked or disgusted at the sweetness. I swear to God I just watched this three times in a row!

Things to do include meeting up with any friends who may be in the area, shopping, drinking, karaoke, shrines and SWEET FACTORY. I’ll save the big details for when I actually get out there and take my own photos, though!

For those of you who don’t know Sweet Factory, let me help you out. Having looked at the website, it turns out it’s a sister company of a British one! Thank the Brits for spreading the message of “pick n mix sweets = win” around the world! Me and my dormmate Kris used to spend obscene amounts of yennies here getting our sugar fix inbetween going on the rides and shopping. Their slogan is “Eat Sweets, Be Happy”. This is my life motto!Here’s the website if you want some excitement: http://www.sweetfactoryjapan.com.

In tune with my current video posting, if you’d like to see a fun trip out to Minato Mirai, check out this video. It involves me, Rodg, Kris and Esben all going on a trip. I definitely recommend checking Yokohama out if you get the chance and riding “banishu” – Vanish!

I hope these amazing videos make up for the lack of pictures in the blog 24 days to go…