Kabuki and Karaoke.

We visited Kabukiza Theater in Ginza (still Tokyo), where we watched one act. It was just beautiful. The quick costume changes -- that take place in a fraction of a second -- were especially spectacular. I wish we were allowed to take photos inside the theater.



We also had our first karaoke night to say goodbye to Mitsuro.

I sang "Livin' On A Prayer." Of course.

My second time around, I sang "Stairway to Heaven." Two minutes into the song, I realized that this genius of a song is probably not preferred for karaoke, considering it is nine minutes long. Oh well.

Katie brought out her inner Britney Spears:


Javier featuring Lisa as a back-up dancer.


Even Sensei boogied. And got a little tipsy.


Thank you, Mitsuro!


(And also, thanks to Sho for these photos of karaoke, which are so much better than mine.)

Friends.

Part of the Bridge to Japan group:

Mitsuro, one of our fab tour-guide-Japan-navigators, and Britt. Herro prease.


Neil and David. With me and Victor, we make up group "Oishii Neko."


Javierrrr, Michael and Tiffany.


Sho (me the Sho), our second Japan navigator, with Katie and Buruuusu (Bruce).

Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.

Ghibli Museum features the anime works of Hayao Miyazaki, creator of anime films Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle.



I've only seen Spirited Away out of those three, but the museum was interesting nonetheless. If I had kids that were fans of these films, I'd definitely take them here. It was like walking in an interactive fairytale world that showcased how Miyazaki's beautiful animated works are born. We weren't allowed to take photos of the inside, unfortunately.

Cable car ropeway.

Everyone knows that I'm scared of heights.

But hey, you only live once, right?

In Hakone, we took a cable car ropeway to the top of the mountain.


It was pretty incredible. Too bad it was also pretty rainy.



Peering at the sulfer mines down below:


Did I mention that we were really high up?

When we got to the top, the views were pretty, but much too foggy. At one point it was so foggy, it felt as if there was nothing around us.




Oh, and of course, as soon as we got back down, the sun came out. And the next day, the weather was perfectly sunny. Our return to Tokyo felt like it came a little too soon.

Hakone.

We left Tokyo for a day and a half to head over to Hakone, a picturesque mountain town. It was absolutely gorgeous there, despite the fact that it was incredibly rainy.



We walked around downtown for some lunch. Hakone is also famous for its kamaboko (fishcake).


We walked up a steep hill to our hotel. Of course, I was the one trailing behind. I hate hills. But the views made it worth it.


A zoomed in view of the kanji for "big" (ookii) on the mountain across from where we were.


The hotel rooms and baths were awesome. Our group pretty much took over the hotel. I don't think there were any other guests staying there that night. It kind of reminded me of The Shining -- us being all isolated like that. Except without the hauntedness and the crazy Jack Nicholson and creepy twins.


The view from our room.


And the view from the lobby.


It's a getaway location for not just us gaijin, but for the people of Japan.

Akihabara and Shibuya.

I walked around Akihabara and all I could think was, "My father, uncle, and boyfriend would really enjoy this." There are so many gadgets and computer things and newfangled machines. No wonder they call it "Electric Town."


Yodabashi Camera is a 6-floor department store that has everything under the sun. Including these capsule toy dispensers.


Cha, this one's for you!


Yeah, I could probably spend a full day in this store alone.




We also visited Shibuya, where there exists an iconic crossing.

We're about to participate:


It kind of looks like we're about to run into a huge mob of Japanese people.

The statue of Hachiko, the legendary Akita dog who came to Shibuya station everyday to greet his master, even after he passed away.

Behind..

I'm about a week and a half behind. I have several more posts on Tokyo, but have since left and have been in Yoron Island for about a week. The beaches here are beautiful, the people are friendly, and the bugs are abundant and huge. There's so much to tell, and so little time. It's difficult to get access to internet, so my posts are pretty sporadic (obviously). But still more to come on Tokyo. I'm headed back to Tokyo in a few days to stay there until I head back home!

Tokyo bus tour.

The half-day bus tour was on one of the rainiest days of the trip thus far. Our tour guide was a endearing older man with a dry sense of humor. He talked about how KFC's Colonel Sanders has become somewhat of an iconic character in Japan, more so than Ronald McDonald (and I believe it -- I think I saw a comedy show where one of the characters dressed up like Colonel Sanders). Then he said he wished he had maybe "10 percent" of Colonol Sanders' success, but "when you're older, it's not so easy." And then he laughed to himself. It was awkward.


We stopped at Tokyo Tower, built in the 1950s as a TV broadcast tower supporting a giant antenna. Sorry I don't have better photos of the actual tower.


Views of Tokyo from inside the observatory.




On clear days, you can apparently see Mt. Fuji in the distance. Since it was so cloudy, I still have no pictures of Mt. Fuji.

There are look-down windows that were creepy because I am afraid of heights.


On the way out, I took a picture with this guy. And I hugged him. I have no idea what he was.


The next stop was Tokyo Imperial Palace Plaza. It started pouring and I was not dressed properly. But I was able to borrow an umbrella.



The statue of General Masashige Kusunoki.


Next we visited Sensoji/Asakusa Kannon Temple. There was a marketplace with lots of shops that I didn't get a chance to explore because I was really cold by that time.




Afterwards I changed into pants.

Backtracking: Nishiki Market.

I forgot to write about Nishiki Market, which was back in Kyoto. Read my post on Food Blahg here.