Rachel in Tokyo

This is a blog about an American law school student studying in Tokyo for the semester.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Jared in Tokyo!




My boyfriend, Jared, surprised me this past week by coming to Tokyo to visit me! He and I have been together almost 5 years! For those of you who know me personally, he must be quite patient to be able to put up with me for that long! No, really, he is a very kind and supportive man, who has helped me achieve so many of my dreams. But ENOUGH about the MUSHY stuff, let's get to some pictures!

So what did we do for a whole week with me fulfilling my role as "Julie the Cruise Director"? (loveboat...Jared's mother affectionately gave me this title several years ago when I took the liberty of planning every minute of their first trip to see us in Atlanta...)

Read on!!!

Jared flew in on Saturday night, the 11th. Several trains later, we managed to make it to the apartment with just enough time for him to take a 5 minute shower and meet my friends who were waiting for us at a Korean BBQ restaurant in Roppongi Hills. Korean BBQ is super hot here in Tokyo. It was a lot of fun!

Here is the list of the things we did. I'll do individual posts regarding each event that I have pictures for...

Saturday night: Korean BBQ in Roppongi Hills with Hito Mi, Joe, Takada and Tom!

Sunday: Jared and I bought day passes on the JR line Yamanote line, which basically circles Tokyo. We hit all of the major stops: Ikebukuro (where we saw Sunshine City, the Sun60 building observatory, the Aquarium, Namanjatown, and Sega Gigo). Then on to Ueno to a shopping district we had heard about. After that, we hit Akihabara, where lies "Electric City". There we saw Club Sega, and another Sega Gigo. Finally, we ended up at Tokyo Central Station, where lies yet another "city" of sorts. A mall underground, that goes on forever. Finally, we made our way back to a restaurant close to my apartment for Okinomiake (or, Japanese "pancakes").

Monday: we slept in a little, but then made our way to Temple University, so I could show Jared the campus here. Then we hit Tokyo Restaurant for lunch (it's my favorite lunch-spot).



After that, we caught the Soijubus, or Water Taxi, to Odeibo, so we could spend the rest of the day at Sega Joypolis!



At Joypolis, Jared and I rode every ride that we could, and even some of them twice! There was a roller coaster that went SIDEWAYS, the only one like it in the world! We ate at a really cool place there, and took pictures of Tokyo Bay and the Rainbow Bridge on the way in the daylight, but then took pictures on our way out at night!

The lights were beautiful! Finally, we made it to a local "southern-style" restaurant near my apartment and called it quits rather early, so we could wake up for the FISH MARKET!

Tuesday: We woke up at 4:30AM and were out the door before 5AM to catch the first train to Tsukiji! The fish market was incredible! On our way there, we weren't quite sure of the right direction, but managed to find it as we followed the stream of people which quickly turned into a crowd which quickly turned into a bunch of crazy Tsukiji vehicles driving around moving fish all over the place. There were hundreds of vendors selling everything imaginable and somethings you don't want to imagine. Nevertheless, no cows or chickens or horses were harmed in the production of Tsukiji, so I enjoyed looking around. After Tsukiji, we went to Asakusa, where sits the most incredible and infamous Pagoda and Shrine of Tokyo.



A few hours later, the flea market opened up in front of the shrine and we walked around for a few hours marvelling at the Japanese trinkets....Then we were absolutely exhausted! So we went home and took a 3 hour nap before meeting my friends in Kameido for Karaoke!



Wednesday: We woke up around 9AM and then caught an early train to Kamukuro where sits the GREAT BUDDHA. There we walked around town and visited several shrines before making our way to Daibatsu. THE GREAT BUDDHA. And great he is!! After Kamukura, I took Jared to Shibuya for dinner and then Shinjuku for drinks afterward. Tom was our tour guide in both of these places. We had a fantastic dinner and then had a chance to see the red light district of Shinjuku.

Thursday: we met up with Yossi, my boss with Apple Japan. We had a fantastic lunch at the top of the Tokyo Opera City Tower at a Korean BBQ place. Filet mignon extraordinaire. It was wonderful! After that, we walked to Tokyo Tower and then we went to Zojiji Temple and walked around Daimon a bit. We ended up near Mita where lies "restaurant row", where we had Tempura for dinner.

Friday: Jared went home. And now I'm very sad!

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