Shibuya (Tokyo) Downtown |
Rain in Shibuya |
By Colin Meighen
Well Odaiba was very interesting and fun last night. There were many places to go and see things. Such as the Toyota car show, Venus mall, the small amusement park, and various other stores. We then returned to the youth hostel where several other washed a few dirty items of clothing. At 11pm promptly it was lights out.
Then morning I awoke at 7am. Then I went and used the public showers. They were pretty nice and had a curtain you closed. After cleaning up it was time for breakfast. Breakfast was a tradition Japanese one consisting of rice, a slice of salmon, I believe, and miso soup. It was quite tasty. Once done eating we packed up our bags and cleaned out our rooms, and then placed our bags back in the storage room.
We were then on our way to Meiji shrine. After several trains we were there and had another nice long walk to the shrine its self. Before enter you must wash your left then right hands. Once inside you could purchuse good luck charms or make a wish, or even get your fortune. It was a very pretty wooded area in the middle of Tokyo.
Our next stop was Shibuya, a popular area for young people, according to sensei. Here we placed our order for our very own hanko, personal stamp, at Toyku Hands, the massive store that has nearly everything. Then we all found a place to eat. I and 5 others hit up a ramen shop. Though we could only read 3 items on the menu that didn't stop us from getting ramen. The next hour we spent walking around and shopping. A few of us hit up the arcade again. Then Brian C., Fred, and I went to the largest manga, Japanese comic, store around. Deep underground and it carried nearly any manga you could want. Then we met up at a large record store.
Then it was off to the hostel to get our bags. Then began the process of getting to Yokohama. 2 hours later of train riding and walking with our large backpack we arrive at the high school. Which was very nice. We then were introduced to our host families and proceed to their receptive homes. Where we ate dinner and shared more insight into each other's cultures. My host mother is pretty good at English and the rest of the family, 2 sons and the father speak it decently.
Tomorrow we're off to spend a day attending classes at the high school. It should be very interesting.