My Trip to Japan (2011)

In the beginning of March, my sister and I went to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka). We went for about 11 days (we had to extend a day because we were stuck in Japan because there was limited transportation to the airport due to the earthquake). For the most part, the trip was fun. Definitely did a lot of walking, sight-seeing, shopping, and eating.

My first impression on Japan wasn't so good because the people at the airport were giving us a hard time because we did not write down where we were staying in Japan. My sister was studying in Tokyo, so we were going to stay with her; however, we did not have her address on us. The lady at the immigration desk was being a total b*tch and being super anal. So we just put down a random hotel address from a brochure and went to a different person. That took us around 10 minutes. So when we finally got through, we went to go find our luggage and we could not find it! Then we found out that pick-up was finished! So we were running around looking for our luggages and found it at the information desk. So my trip definitely did not start well. Afterwards, my sisters and I had to take 1+ hour subway ride back to her place. My sister's place was tiny, but it fit all 3 of us.

Temples and shrines (Tokyo and Kyoto) - Cannot name all the temples and shrines I went to because there were so many. For the most part, they all look pretty similar but they are all unique to itself. Kyoto is famous for their temples and shrines because they had so many of them. At temples and shrines, you can always spot women wearing kimonos. There were many of them and they became an attraction because all the tourists were asking to take pictures with them.

Tokyo Disney Sea (my sister said this park was better than Tokyo Disneyland) - Fun day! We went on Tuesday thinking there won't be as much people since it was a work AND school day, but there were still a lot of people. One thing I like about the amusement parks in Japan is that they are all full of YOUNG people. Everyone at DisneySea were all younger people--high school students and young adults. I don't think I saw one old person at the park that day. There were a lot of young families (parents in their 20s and their babies). There was an amazing performance in the afternoon and fireworks at 8:30pm. Yes, we were at Disney the entire day just to wait for the fireworks at night. In my opinion, the fireworks were not that spectacular--the ones at the ballpark near my house was better. (>_<") The rides were very tame--no huge rollercoasters and for the most part, very children-friendly. I really enjoyed my time there (until I got grumpy from walking all day).

Ueno Zoo - They had elephants, tigers, lions, rhinos, and giraffes! (The zoos in NYC didn't even have those!)

Harajuku & Shibuya - People-seeing and shopping, but I didn't see many Harajuku girls, which is kind of disappointing. Shibuya  is a shopping haven, we went to a mall called Shibuya 109 and there were soooooo many pretty/kawaii girls there! I think they call it the himegyaru trend. They all had loads of makeup, fake eyelashes, very short skirts, heels, and all of them had blonde/brown hair. They all basically looked like dolls, but not all of them are pretty.

Ikebekuro and Sunshine City - A huge mall and shopping district as well. The mall is so big, you can spend  the whole day there. I went shopping there twice. They have nice shops and also a section of the mall is a mini-mall itself. It had small shops that sold accessories, bags, and clothes. Ikebekuro also has a lot of restaurants and arcades! We went to about 4 arcades there and played UFO catchers. Spent so much money there, but it was worth it when we got the big toys. =D

Osaka Aquarium - A huge aquarium with lots of fish. It was basic one giant fish tank in the center and you start from the top and walk around it. There were also different tanks on the side. There were a lot of fish and penguins. The glass of the aquarium tank is apparently 30cm thick (~12 inches). Pretty impressive. They had an exhibit of clownfish and jellyfish too. It was nice.

Castles - Went to a few Japanese castles--one in Osaka and the other in Kyoto. Nijo Castle was really traditional--they had the nightingale floors that squeak when you walk on them. Osaka Castle was more grand on the outside and was more modern--they turned it into a museum.

Plum Grove - Plum blossom trees were just starting to bloom for the season. Would have been a lot nicer if we went a few weeks later when the blossoms are in full bloom.

Sushi - We went to eat sushi several times, mostly conveyor belt sushi (we went 3 times). They were all very delicious. I went to this one place in Osaka and I was just eating my sushi. I got this dish that I thought was tuna because the meat was pink (it was reddish and it had skin on it). It was seared on the skin. So I had no idea what this fish was and I ate it....turned out it was whale! (T^T) That night when I found out, I wanted to throw up. The next day, we went to the fish market in the morning to get fresh sushi. (Yes, sushi for breakfast.)

Japan Earthquake - At around 2-3pm on our second day in Kyoto, we were eating lunch when we felt the earthquake. At first, it felt like I was dizzy (as if I was tipsy). So I was like, "Is the room spinning, or is it just me?" So I looked at the ceiling lights and they were swirling around. It lasted for a good few minutes. My sisters and I thought it was the trains because we were eating at a restaurant at the station. Then a few hours later, my sister's host mom sent texts to us asking if we were okay and we were so confused! So that night, we found out there was a huge 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Japan! We called our parents at once to tell them we were okay. It was scary watching the news that night because they said the earthquake did a lot of damage in Tokyo as well. We were worried we would go back to my sister's apartment to a mess. We took the bullet train back to Tokyo the next day and when we got there, the room was okay. My sister's roommate was there at the apartment when it happened and she said it was really scary. Transit was affected and we heard that a lot of people had to walk home from their work places. It was almost like Sept.11 and the major blackout in NYC a few years ago. On Sunday, we went out and it was crazyyy. The people were trying to act all normal amongst the chaos--going to work as usual. But it was hard to carry on with all the news abut radiation, aftershocks, and rolling blackouts. Food at convenience stores and supermarkets were quickly running out. People were stocking up on foods and water. The government was issuing warnings and such. Everyone seemed fine on the outside, but inside, we were all panicking. Japanese people are so strong. They never appear worried and show too much negative emotions. The time I was in Tokyo after the earthquake, we felt some aftershocks, mostly in the morning. There were several really strong ones. It felt like a large truck crashed into the building. I cannot describe the feeling of being in an earthquake, it felt scary, eerie, and it definitely sent chills down my spine. It was fear. Every morning I felt the aftershock, I could not go back to sleep. The day my sister and I were suppose to leave Japan was the first day of the rolling power outages, several essential subway lines were down and we had no way of going to Narita. The airport buses were not running either. As a result, we had to reschedule our flight to the following day and try to go to the airport as early as possible. So we went to the airport at 6AM. Thankfully, we got there fine. Now, back in America.