Bye Bye Japan

So, I finally left Japan.

The last week was very hectic, but pretty fun.

I took off for a few days and headed to Kyoto. I had always wanted to take a train journey, so I decided to take the local train (9 hrs) instead of the quick shinkansen - bullet train (2 hrs). The train ride was much easier than I expected. I got to relax, film, and read a book. I had to change trains 4 times, and each time I was at the beginning of the train line, so it was easy to get a seat.
Once in Kyoto, I rented a bike and cruised around my favorite city for a couple days. I was very happy to get there alone finally. It was my 5th time there but always with people, thus doing the tourist things. This time I could just relax and enjoy this city. I love Kyoto, and hope to be back many more times in the future.

I came back to Tokyo and then headed off to Hakone with Julie. Hakone is a mtn town near Mt. Fuji. It is about 75 miles outside of Tokyo and a great getaway. The most popular thing to do in Hakone is onsen (hot springs). We took two days to hang out around the town and just enjoy being in the mountains and away from Tokyo. There is a big lake that we cruised around on, and lots of small villages to walk around. We also got very lucky to stay where we did. Fuji Hakone Guesthouse is a Japanese style place but, cheap and basically the Gaijin (foreigner) place to stay in Hakone. Because it was geared towards westerners, they allowed people to reserve onsen and use it privately; japanese style is for men to use 1 and women another. It was a great 2 days.

The next day Julie and I decided to do a tourist tour of Tokyo. We planned out all the cheesy, funny, usual etc. tourist attractions and tried to do them all in one day. However, while we were blessed with great weather in Hakone, we had definitely picked the wrong day for this tour. It was miserable, cold, windy and rainy.
We woke up at 4 am and caught the 1st train to Tsukiji. Its the worlds largest fish market, and its best to get there early. We did and spent a couple of hours wandering around. It was fun, interesting and gross. Next we headed into a family restaurant to get warm and have breakfast. By the time we finished we headed to Ebisu Beer Museum. It opened at 10 and we arrived as it opened. We toured it in 5 minutes, then started drinking. We tried all the beers the y had, then ordered another before braving the weather again. Around noon, we went through Meiji Shrine. It is a park, leading to the most famous shrine in Tokyo. We got so wet and after the long walk back to the station and a cup f coffee, we debated whether to quit or not. At the coffee shop we took a nap and pressed on to an arcade, then to the other side of town for Asakusa. This is a tiny row of souvenir shops that lead to another shrine. Its the most popular place for tourists. The weather let up and we were feeling a little better. Now it was evening. Akihabara was next. Its 'nerd central', filled with maid cafe's (where girls dressed as maids serve the men saying things like "how can I help you master"), manga stores (japanese comics - usually dirty comics), and tech toys. This place is cool and unusual and we spent more time than expected wandering around this unique corner of Tokyo. It was around 10 after dinner and the weather was again our enemy. We realized that we really couldn't continue after 17 hrs on the go. It was an interesting day, wish we could've done it in better weather.

Sunday, March 12th was my 'farewell party'. Around 5, 10 of us headed to an izakaya (japanese bar/restaurant). We drank for a couple of hours, then headed to the main party at Pure (where I worked for a few months). The party was both for me and for the completion of the movie 'Nightwalker' which I had helped out on. About 75 people showed up and we had a great time. It was very cool to have a going away party like that. We partied till around 1, then home.

I quickly headed to sleep and then up again at 5. A couple of my students took me to play golf (my first time in Japan). The course was nice and the clubhouse RIDICULOUS, it looked like what you'd expect at only the very best course, with more staff than players, however, it is the regular style in Japan. I enjoyed the day, although a bit hungover from the night before.

My time in Japan is up. Next......