more boats!

After the short trip to the beach with Baba Sensei, some of the buddies came round the dorm to lend and help us get dressed in Yukata's (summer kimono). We were going on an evening cruise around Tokyo Bay and if you wear a yukata you get a 500yen discount! 

We boarded the cruise ship in Hamamatsucho around 7pm then cruised around for 2 hours. The ship was a nomihodai (all you can drink for 2hours) and they had typical Japanese summer food- fried chicken, grilled squid, takoyaki (fried octopus), yakisoba (grilled noodles), etc.

Got plenty of stares walking through the station!

The night view of Tokyo is really pretty from out at sea! After the boat cruise was over.. everyone rushed home to change out of Yukata's and then we headed out to Jiyugaoka for one last Karaoke party...

Everyone was exhausted but we powered through it for one final memory! One of the exchange students was catching the first train (5am) to get to the airport so some of us walked back to the dorm around 3am.. The sun was just about up by the time we made it back - it get's too bright, too early here!

Kawasaki Beach!

Cramming as much as physically possible into this last week in Tokyo! My days are starting to run together a bit though... Saturday was my last day for English lessons, then fireworks in the evening. Sunday was all day fun in the sun cruising around Tokyo Bay. Monday morning I was picked up at the dorm by Baba Sensei (friend of my mom's/Brendan's old teacher) and we drove about an hour away to a little beach in Kawasaki. There wasn't enough time to swim but we had at least an hour to enjoy the beautiful weather and ocean.

Driving in Japan really helps you realize just how small this country is! If you drive an hour away from Marietta, Ga... most likely you're still going to be in Georgia. If you drive an hour away from Tokyo.. you're in a completely different place! 

The weather was so nice and the breeze made it so nice. The weather in Tokyo has been super hot and humid these past few days, so it was nice to get a break from it. The average temp in Tokyo is about 35C right about now while at the beach it was about 27C. 

Baba Sensei's little girl, Megumi, and her friend, Yui, were also along to enjoy the beach! It was still early when we arrived/left so we were able to avoid any crowds.

Baba Sensei

We had a quick bite to eat before heading back into Tokyo to drop me off.. It was too short of a visit but it was nice to get a chance to see them one last time before I head back to the States. 

Sumida River Fireworks

花火(hanabi) is the Japanese word for fireworks. Summertime in Japan is all about the festivals and fireworks! This Saturday was the 隅田川花火大会(Sumida River Fireworks Display). 

This particular fireworks show is famous for being one of the best, but it also means big crowds, lots of drunk salarymen, and saving seats (by placing a tarp on the ground hours beforehand). A lot of my friends did this, but I was luckily enough to have been invited to view the fireworks from the air-conditioned comfort of Suda Sensei's (my teacher) friend's apartment. 

Suda Sensei's friend had an apartment in the 下町downtown area of Tokyo. From the apartment balcony/windows there was a beautiful view of the Tokyo Skytree which is right around the area where the fireworks were going off. My camera died so I wasn't able to take the best pictures of the fireworks but I stole some off the Sumida Fireworks website for your viewing pleasure! 

Japanese hanabi are really just amazing! There was even a Pikachu shaped firework! (though it looked more like a cat than anything else) 

The skytree was unlit for the fireworks show (started at 7, lasted until 8:30!). Usually the skytree is blue or purple, it alternates days. 

Suda Sensei's friend who's house we were at was an old co-worker of hers. This woman was so nice, not your typical Japanese woman though, very outspoken and loud. At the party were also some of her hometown and high school friends. It was a lovely fireworks watching party, we ate sukiyaki which is a kind of Japanese dish where you fry tofu, veggies, meat, basically anything in the same hot pot. 

I was the only foreigner so I did feel a little bit like a celebrity (a really awkward celebrity) when it seemed like everyone wanted a picture with me. The man behind me in the white shirt is (or was?) a co-worker of Suda Sensei's, and the man in the black shirt is the husband/host/owner of the apartment.

Another one of Suda Sensei's co-workers

I actually can't remember who this lady is but I took a picture with her!

Cruise!

Sunday, I met my mom's two cousin's, Tatsuru & Yutaka, in Shin-kiba at 10am for a bit of a boat outing! Shin-kiba station is about 45 minutes from my dorm, and the boat was about docked at a marina about 10 minutes from the station. 

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but after I met them at the station and we did all the necessary introductions we made our way to the boat - quite a nice boat! Altogether there were about 10 of us.

We had a bit of finger food and champagne before setting off to cruise around Tokyo Bay... it was nice to experience this side of Tokyo life for once! Tatsuru's friend owned the boat, this cruise was part birthday celebration for another friend and celebration for a professional Go player. Go is a game, played with black and white stones on a grid/box.

The boat cruised around Tokyo Bay - passed under the famous rainbow bridge in Odaiba!

The owner of the boat, laying anchor in front of the Fuji TV office building in Odaiba. We anchored here for a bit of lunch, and an acoustic concert by Yutaka and Megumi Akatsuki.

The woman in the white shirt was the professional Go player and the man in the middle was celebrating his birthday! I wish I could remember their names..

暁月めぐみ(Akatsuki Megumi) ＆浅野佑悠輝 (Asano Youki)

Mid-concert photo of me and the uncles/cousins/family members.

At the end of the day I was taught the rules of Go! Just about everyone on the boat was some kind of Go professional apart from Akatsuki Megumi, Yutaka (stage name- Asano Youki), and me. The rules of Go are simple enough but it's definitely a strategy type of game. Also a bit difficult to play on a boat - the stones kept sliding around everywhere.

Learning from the professional -  http://gree.jp/mannami_nao  (sorry it's all in Japanese)

Sitting in the beautiful sunshine! I was ready to get some sun but most Japanese women try to avoid it to the best of their ability so we didn't sit outside for too long.

Omatsuri (Festival!)

Wandered around Shinagawa Station the other and stumbled upon this little Department store 10th Anniversary Matsuri! It was very tiny but very cute. Everyone was in their summer Yukata's (It's like a lightweight version of a kimono) and there was loud music and drums, very festival atmosphere.

ice carving of a fish

Fruits and veggie carving station (the chef was carving a radish!)

festival lights, drummer, dancers in yukata's

This is a typical summer festival game - you get a little paddle made of paper and you have to use it to try and fish out the rubber bouncy balls (or goldfish) before the paper rips. 

crowds waiting for their turn

Farewell Party

Our school buddies hosted a farewell party for us last Sunday. It was another one of those somewhat forced events where you had to deal with lots of small talk with people you've met once or twice.. we were all also tired from going clubbing the night before (no sleep!) but other than that it was fun! 

There was food and drink (it was a nomi-hodai which is all you can drink in two hours kind of thing)

At the end a few of us made speeches (not me! ha!) but everyone started getting teary-eyed and some just started bawling but it's sad that our year is over! Everyone is from far away so it's really one of those 'will I actually ever see you again?' situations..

Hopefully we will! At least we have skype, these days.

The Countdown Begins!

My last week is really hectic - I can barely find the time to pack! We have to cancel our phones, bank accounts, health insurance, say our farewells, all while trying to enjoy our remaining time together! It doesn't help that it's just about to be the summer festival season in Japan - one of the best times in Japan - so we're trying to enjoy the fireworks, shaved ice, and festival atmosphere while we can. I'm starting to realize how lucky I am to know and have met so many good people in Japan. There are so many people in Japan that I want to see before I leave that I'm literally squeezing in everyone, any chance I get. 

Suda Sensei has been so great to me, her entire family has welcomed me into their family since I first came to Japan my summer after 1st grade. Suda Sensei's sister (when I first met her she was the cool teenager that I wanted to be like) is now a mother of two!! It's hard to believe, but she's still the same, just went from a cool teenager to a cool mom now.  Suda Sensei's mother has always been so kind to me as well, I remember her teaching me how to sew... I still can't really sew but I have proof that I did learn once! 

Mt. Fuji!

Waiting at the bus station in Shinjuku - the bus ride to the 5th station took about 2 and a half hours..

We arrived at the 5th station about 7pm - just in time to see the beautiful sunset! We started on our hike at about 7:30pm - thinking that would give us enough time to slowly get to the top for the sunrise. (Turns out it was more than plenty)

We reached the 8th station at about midnight/1am.. we ended up stopping at each station for about a half hour to an hour because we didn't want to wait the longest time at the top (where it's colder and there is less wind cover)

Made friends with these two dudes from Australia on holiday in Japan at the 8th station and ended up hanging out with them at the top. We reached the peak at about 2am... the sunrise was at 4am.. Luckily the wind wasn't too strong and it wasn't too cold.

At the top there are shops selling hot coffee, gifts, keychains, postcards, etc. There are also vending machines! (everything is wickedly overpriced though)

Made it to the peak! without any sleep, and a borrowed snazzy looking windbreaker!

Waiting for the sun to rise.... took forever..

The crowds were incredible! All up the mountain at night (starting from around midnight) you could see a trail of hikers headlamps... couldn't get a clear picture with a camera so I might have to search the internet for you!

Pretty neat being above the clouds - climbing at night, you can't really tell how high you are or how much farther you've got left to go on the trail, but then seeing what you hiked the next morning was pretty cool. 

The crater at the top of Mt. Fuji

Once the sun had risen far enough above the clouds, everyone at the top gave three 'bonzai!' cheers.

The trek back down was difficult.. walking straight down on volcanic rock is not the easiest thing. Didn't help that we managed to take the wrong fork in the path so we ended up at a 5th station on the other side of the mountain... oops. There was a man who offered to drive us to the 5th station we needed to be at (don't think he realized just how far away it was... about 30-40minutes) Bless his heart, he drove us down the mountain and back up it so we could get to the bus stop.  We made it in plenty of time even with this mishap - took about 3 hours to slide down the wrong side of the mountain and we started down at 5:30am (our bus was booked for noon)

All in all good day! Hiking up, down, and around Mt Fuji was definitely worth it - you're just absolutely knackered the day after. (the recommended way of hiking it is to rest for a few hours sleep at a mountain hut  instead of pulling an all-nighter like we did... but.. a stay in a rest costs 5,000yen ($70).