Today I met up with my Japanese host family from summer of 2008, the Yokoyamas. I stayed
with them for a month and had the best time of my life. I can honestly say that to me, they are not just some people I know in Japan, they aren't just some people who put me up for a month and they aren't just a home family...they are my family. I love them as much as I love my family in America, and as soon as I saw them in the lobby of my hotel, I couldn't control myself and ran up to give them a big, big hug :DI missed them soooo much so it was so exciting to see them. They took us out to lunch (seriously, my mom wanted to pay for it as a Thank you for having taken care of me, but Taka said as long as we were in Tokyo, he basically wouldn't hear of it...so I told him when he comes to Pennsylvania, I say the same thing) at a restaurant that I never learned the name of, but made some awesome Curry Tonkatsu. It sometimes scares me how well my host family knows me. Taka was able to tell my mother before I even saw the menu what I was going to order. O_O...and I did!!
From there we went to Oriental Bazaar where for my birthday, Mom bought me this green peacock Japanese tea service with a teapot....then I we went to my favorite place in the whole of Tokyo, Kiddyland. I didn't get to spend as much time as I normally do in there, but I walked away with a wicked cute planner that I actually needed. We bypassed Takeshita dori or "the young people street" since it was Sunday and so crowded and I had all ready been there done that, but if you're in the area and haven't been, I highly recommend it for shopping and the like, or even just for people watching and cultural insight. Its great!
We went to Meiji shrine, the famous Shinto Shrine at Harujuku station and made the obligatory stop to take pictures with the cosplayers on the bridge leading into the shrine. If you're there to see them, be aware as that some schools go six days a week, Sunday is the day that they come out in full force, though you can usually find one or two wandering around there or Takeshita-dori on an off peak day.We went into Meiji shrine and headed to the temple proper to say
our prayers to the kami. I decided I wanted to write an ema, or votive table that you right your hopes and wishes on and hang it in the temple, and as I wandered over to buy some from the miko, or shrine maiden, I noticed a lady in her wedding garb! What were the chances of me seeing to Wedding photo shoots two days in a row! Misako and Taka said there really isn't a "wedding season" in Japan...so I guess I just got lucky!I headed back out into the main temple to write my wishes on my Ema, when I noticed a massive red umbrella making its way through a crowd of people. I decided to investigate, and to my surprise, it was another wedding! But this time it was a processional with Mikos and all! It was so cool, I just couldn't resist filming!
How cool is that?! I guess I had to have been born under some lucky stars to see all that in two days, huh? hehe After that we stopped in at the cafe I had first had soba at with Misako and Taka two years ago for some much needed hot chocolate...did I mention it was positively freezing in Tokyo today? My mother ended up buying another coat!
They dropped us off at Shinjuku, and Mom and I wandered to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum by ourselves to go to the free Observatory on the 45th floor. It was really cool! I decided to play tour guide with some of the views, and you can see videos here, here and here.
Mom and I wandered around Shinjuku some more, going to Odakyu department store (which is so expensive. Unless you're willing to part with some serious cash, its worth passing over. Tokyu hands, about two blocks away is much better and has a grocery store of sorts on the bottom floor. ) and Kinokuniya book store before heading back to Shinagawa for dinner at TGIFridays :D
Fun, fun day..and I'm so excited I got to see the Yokoyamas!!!!
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