22/06/16 - Birthday

We had already spent a day in Tokyo, exploring Shibuya. George arrived and we met up with Kazu because he was in Tokyo for a day. That night we celebrated the start of my birthday on the stroke of midnight. George and Rhiannon started to sing happy birthday and they got out some presents that they got me! I felt so happy. They got me really nice things and I feel like they know me so well. I also got to (finally) open the package from the family and that was so nice as well. I love birthdays!

We started the day in Harajuku. I had always wanted to go there, so my excitement was literally overwhelming me. Since we left kind of late, we just got a breakfast/lunch after doing a bit of shopping in Harajuku. We went to the most popular ramen place there, which I wanted to go to through some research beforehand. It was really nice food! I love any ramen place that gives you extra noodles.

After that, we continued looking around Harajuku. We went to the store that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu apparently likes to shop at. We even came across a million second hand stores. They were all surprisingly very expensive, though. I think the most exciting place in the whole area was Harajuku street. There were so many tiny shops all crammed next to each other and a million people trying to get into them. I really wanted to get some Calbee chips while being there - since I had heard a lot about them. They're normally sold in stores as potato sticks, like they're deep fried but dry. But, when you buy them in store they're hot and fresh! They were seriously good. When we were standing outside eating them, we actually somehow bumped into a friend of ours! It was so strange because the chance of running into someone in one of the largest cities in the world feels near impossible. But, it happened! We hung out for a little bit before they went off to do their own thing. Further down the street we saw probably the 50th crepe stall, and Rhiannon and said how badly she wanted a Harajuku crepe (because they're really famous). I didn't really want a very sweet one because what I have learned from Japan so far is that they love their cream, so I got a custard cinnamon apple crepe. I made such a good choice! It was super delicious. We left Harajuku around 5pm after George booked dinner for us in a phone booth. It started to rain a little bit but thankfully it stopped really quickly! Afterwards we took a train to Shibuya.

Shibuya at night is the best! It's super lively and there's always music playing. One thing I really wanted to do on my birthday was to go karaoke where Lost in Translation was filmed. We booked it to go after dinner - but, unfortunately we didn't realise how much time we had to kill until our booking.

We stood around for a while outside 7/11, slowly realising we were in the love hotel district. Since we had a fair amount of time before our booking, we tried to see if we could get in earlier anyway. So, we went up the dodgiest looking elevator ever and got off on this floor where everything was basically pitch black. The place we were going to was called Alcatraz ER - a prison hospital themed restaurant. At first we were kind of scared that something would pop out at us, but thankfully nothing did. We were just lead to our 'table' which was in a prison cell - which was super cool. They locked us in and told us if we wanted to order anything we had to rattle the cage with a stick. The food was designed to look really gross, but it was actually pretty tasty! And I got to drink alcohol from a blood bag so that was interesting. Personally the service wasn't amazing, but we had a good time anyway.

I definitely think the highlight of the night was going to karaoke. We asked for the window room and
went up to the 9th floor. We could literally see so much from our view and I felt like I was living in the movie. We sang for an hour only because it cost so much money to go there, but it was so worth it. We got back to the apartment late and it was really got, but once we turned on the air con and started watching TV we all felt that we had a really good day. I'm really glad I got to spend my 21st in Japan with some close friends. So much fun.

20/02/16 - Tokyo

This year I turned 21 years old, and since I was going to spend it in Japan anyway, I thought I would spend it in Tokyo with two of my closest friends. Rhiannon and I left for Tokyo a day earlier than George (since he was still spending time with his parents), and I couldn't have been more excited. We decided to take the Shinkansen there - which was much better than our alternatives of 8 hour bus and plane ride. We took the slowest Shinkansen, so it was roughly 4 hours to get to Tokyo. The Shinkansen was amazing. We had so much space and it was great considering the amount of things we brought. We hoped to see Mt. Fuji on the way there, but it was too foggy so we couldn't see it! It was really disappointing, but I still had hope for the way back. 

Eventually we arrived at Shinagawa and it couldn't have been worse conditions. We had hoped that the weather had gotten better than the morning (which was grey at best), but unfortunately it was bucketing down with rain. Trying to navigate with no umbrellas in the rainiest weather possible was so difficult. But, it made us appreciate our apartment so much more. 

When we got inside, it was a really nice surprise. We were a little worried that it would be very different from the photos, but luckily for us it was so much better! There were two comfy looking beds for me and Rhiannon right under the heater. It seemed perfect. Since we were so hungry, we decided to find somewhere nearby to eat. 

Matsuya, which is one of my favourite chain restaurants, has a similar chain to it. It's called Sukiya, but I think I would describe it more as SukiYUCK. I think every time I have been to this restaurant it lets me down in some kind of way. But, my experience there on the first night in Tokyo was definitely the worst. We both ordered a hotpot for dinner,  and for a while I was enjoying it. However, I couldn't seem to enjoy it anymore after finding a large black hair in the broth. Of course I complained and got a new meal, but I couldn't really enjoy the second meal.

Rhiannon and I tried to find a karaoke place nearby, but it was kind of difficult! We found a few, but their prices were so steep. I couldn't believe it! Eventually we found a place on a side street that was cheaper, but still a bit pricey. We went for an hour and to be honest I always feel good after a good karaoke session. But, I think Rhiannon and I were just excited to go back to our rooms and sleep after the long day we had. I was excited for the rest of our time there. 

08/02/16 - Minō

I think in the beginning of my exchange, everyone was going on so many day trips to see different sides of Japan. However, somewhere along the line we stopped going on them, as we have totally adjusted to living here. So, a bunch of us decided to go on a trip to Minō.

Minō is a place where it's kind of empty. I would describe it as being quite traditional. But, we weren't there to see the town, we were there to go into the mountain area and see the waterfall. Walking there took at least 2 hours, but it was such an amazing walk. Nature in Japan is so different from Australia. It's peaceful, beautiful and everything looks a little different. Though, some of the walk was ruined by loud construction - but didn't put a hamper on our day at all.

Once we reached the waterfall, it was suddenly so much colder. We felt a sense of achievement for reaching it, but also we felt that it was totally worth the uphill battle. And, while I thought the waterfall was so peaceful and beautiful, my highlight of the day was seeing my first monkey! It was just sitting on the branches above us - I was obsessed with it. Then, walking back we saw even more monkeys just jumping around in the trees. It was such a fun day, and I think one of the first days in a while where the weather was really nice.

I'd love to go back!

06/02/16 - Kaiyukan Aquarium

George, Kazu, Rhiannon and I finally went on a trip to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. It's one of the biggest Aquariums in Japan. There are 8 floors - you start at the top and then walk in a spiral down seeing every angle of each tank. There was a really enormous tank in the middle which had whale sharks and the biggest fish I have ever seen! And, I probably could have watched the seal's swim forever. I can't remember how long we were there for, but it was dark by the time we went out. I'd actually forgotten that there were Winter Illuminations on at the time, but it was a nice surprise! They were really beautiful (much like every light display in Japan so far). I didn't get very good photos though, unfortunately. Afterwards, we decided to go on the massive ferris wheel that was close by. We could see pretty much all of Umeda and USJ from the top. All around, it was a really fun day and I really want to go back there.