konnichiwa!!!

WOW! Japan was amazing! I definitely did not have enough time to do everything that I wanted to do. In one short week, I visited Kobe, Tokyo, and Yokohama. Japan had one of the biggest language barriers out of all the countries. Brazil and Japan are tied for 1^st place for the hardest to communicate. From early on in the voyage, my group of friends had big plans for Japan. The first and most important thing on my itinerary was to go to Tokyo Disneyland! So of course I made it happen! The first day in Kobe was spent as most other first day's had been. We went exploring through the city, and found shopping malls and markets. It was here that I really got a feel for what I was going to experience my rest of the stay here. I did not really know what to expect in Japan, but it is a very modern and technologically advanced nation. The public transportation here is very efficient. We got all over Japan without every hiring a taxi driver! The next day was spent on the ship because I was injured again. Unfortunately, this country got short changed for me and many others. I feel like I was less motivated to be off the ship at all times. I ate most meals on the ship because it is free, and also didn't take much energy to find. So, I am glad that I had Tokyo planned to get me off and in to Japan!

To get to Tokyo, we had to take a 10-hour over-night bus ride. After a McDonalds dinner, we found our way to the bus station and waited. When we got on to the bus, I was hoping for the best, but was prepared for an “India” bus. When I got on, my eyes dropped! This was the fanciest bus that I had ever seen! I felt like I was flying first class. Although it was a bit difficult to sleep because we kept stopping, and the lights kept going on, I slept almost the whole night. When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in the Tokyo Disney Parking lot!!! I felt like a kid again. All of the people I was with were still trying to wake up and gather themselves, I was already jumping around and on the phone with my mom. I was so excited! Everything was the same. The character parking markers, the trash cans, and even the Pirates of the Caribbean music playing! After gathering myself I looked to the left and there it was. “Hilton at Tokyo Bay”. MY HOTEL!!! One of my friend's mom works with a travel agency and got us good deals on hotels and transportation, I really don't have THAT much left over $$.We walked to the hotel and we checked in. We were escorted to our room and what a surprise we had! We had a traditional Japanese style room. The table was on the floor, the chairs were pillows, there were no beds, and we had to take our shoes off before entering. It was so neat! The lady showed us the mats and blankets that they would set up for us later that evening. We all got settled in and found free wi-fi.

A while later, we headed for Shibuya! Shibuya is like the Times Square of Tokyo. It was amazing. It took a little over an hour of reading maps, transferring trains, and exploring the public transportation again before we stepped out in to a mad house. When we finally arrived, there were so many high rises, SO MANY PEOPLE, stores, loud cars, bright lights. First things first, Starbucks. It was after lunch time so we decided to find some food. Mc Donalds would work, but we came across a food court first. Outside of the restaurants there were pictures of the food that they serve. We found one that had a bunch of different noodles that we thought might be a safe bet. This port SAS gave us a list of helpful words and phrases in Japanese, and the pronunciation. I pointed to the characters that spelled out “do you have an English menu?” The lady said no, then I pointed to “I'm vegetarian”. I'm not really, but I had a long day ahead and didn't want to be slowed down by mystery meat. She brought me spaghetti with clams. Close enough. It wasn't the best, but it sure beat “ship pasta”!! We spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around. I didn't really buy anything because I was so excited for Disney, and I knew I wanted to spend my money there instead. Not much happened after this, we finally got back to the hotel and had plans to go out, but decided to sleep instead. True Life: We're cool kids.

The next day I was still unsure of if I wanted to go to Disneyland or DisneySea. Everyone had said that Disneyland was just like in California, but DisneySea was completely different, and only in Tokyo. We finally decided on DisneySea and I am so glad that we did! I put on my Disney shirt that I had already bought at the hotel, and practically ran to the gate. As soon as I got in the gate I was all smiles. 2 of our other friends were already in so we met up with them and had an amazing day in Tokyo DisneySea. It was fun seeing all of the characters, riding all of the rides, and just spending a day in Disney. My highlight was ending the day by forcing my friends to go to “Turtle Talk w/ Crush”. My mom made me in to a crazy turtle lady during this whole voyage. I have taken pictures of purtles everywhere! Haha. The worker told us that Crush speaks Japanese, but I still wanted to go. It was SO MUCH FUN! The whole time my friends were looking at me like I was crazy and like they weren't having a good time. I even wanted to participate, but I didn't understand what was happening. It is the same as in Cali, it is Crush the interactive talking turtle. SO FUN. We weren't able to stay for the water show/ fireworks because it started thunder storming and we had to be in Yokohama by midnight when the trains stopped running. Before leaving, we did some shopping, and were on another adventure called public transportation!

This was especially fun because it was a Friday night during rush hour. During our pre-port for Japan, we were told that during rush hour, hundreds of people will fit in to one car. There will be no more room to even stand, and people will still push their way in. This was quite an experience! We were on the rapid train that didn't stop as often. This just meant that we were sardines for longer stretches. Every stop we picked up more people. By the second stop, I was touching 5 different people, all the windows on the train were fogged up, and it was hard to breath. It was crazy packed!!

2 hours later and only 30 min early we made it back to the ship safe and sound. What a day! The last day in Yokohama was pouring rain, so I only went out for a little bit to get some snacks to last this 11 day stretch I'm on now. I took in that this was my last day on foreign land. Next time we would be on land would be in Hawaii and then San Diego! Japan was so much fun! I really wish I had more time and energy to do more, but 3 months of traveling constantly wipes you out.

I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HOME! This experience does not even have the right words. I would say it has been fun, but it hasn't always been. I would say amazing, but there have been times when I couldn't take it. There are just no words. I will try my hardest to share what I have learned with everybody when I get home. You get a head start by following my blog! 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS.