Monday, June 17, 2019

6/15, Saturday

Hello! This is Roman Kurz, and I will be a senior this coming school year. Today, we went on our first sightseeing day in Tokyo. We started our day early as most of us were awake before 6:00 (jet lag can be tricky). We were told it would be raining all day, so most of us went to buy umbrellas to prepare for the day. After an amazing breakfast, Featuring things like fish, rise, and fermented soy beans, we began our adventure. Our first stop was Tokyo Tower, a tower resembling the Effiel Tower but red. Here, we met Iwasaki-sensei, a past exchange teacher who had worked at Shaler three years ago.the tower had multiple observation decks, which gave us an astounding view of Tokyo from almost every angle. On the first floor on our way out, we encountered the Tokyo Tower mascot, a giant pencil looking thing. It was weird but really neat.

After the Tower, we went to a pair of more traditional buildings. First we walked to the imperial palace. The palace is a beautiful piece of sprawling architecture. The building itself is closed off to visitors (it is the emperor’s home after all) but we were able to take some nice pictures of the outside. After, we went to Yasukuni Shrine, the first of what is to be many shrines and temples we will see. It was a breathtaking area, filled with beautiful trees and seemingly ancient buildings. Here many students bought small charms to protect them or help them in some small way.

After that, we returned to something more modern and took off for the Pokémon Center. The rain had not slowed down, and unfortunately this is when my umbrella broke. Despite that, I remained in a happy mood and purchased a new one at a local convenience store. The Pokémon center was located in a giant mall called Sunshine City, a contrast to the weather outside.


After leaving the mall, it was almost time for dinner, but first we found a Japanese gaming center. It was filled with various games that one would never find at an arcade elsewhere, all of them very unique and interactive.

To finish the day, we went to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Here, sushi is prepared and put on a conveyor belt that passes by each table. When you see a type of sushi you want, you simply take it. The sushi was better than anything we ever had in Pittsburgh, and at the coat of only a dollar a plate, it was crazy cheap. After our fill of sushi (some eating much more than others), we made our way back to the hotel, tired, happy, and a little wet.

In front of Tokyo Tower 

The gate to the imperial palace

Getting some sushi

Tokyo Tower observation deck

Nate ate one more plate of sushi than sensei, 17 and 18 

Yasukuni Shrine 

The Tokyo Tower mascot 

Breakfast

Tokyo Tower 

Plaung at the Game Center 

Washing ourselves before entering the shrine 

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