Well…the day started off interestingly. We met a demonstration against animal cruelty and then headed to a famous market in Madrid. We’d planned to go to Chamartín market but sadly it was closed – it isn’t opened on Sundays. We still visited a bakery nearby, helped a couple move their car, which had broken down, out of the street, and headed back to El Mercado de San Miguel.

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Having only half a day in Tokyo left, I decided to go to Shibuya again. But it was awesome to see this city during the day. Visiting Tokyu Food Show was awesome! So much good food and the smell was heavenly! But sadly, my trip to Japan came to an end, but it was full of memories!

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What do you do with only one more full day in Japan? Well I decided to go to Harajuku and check out what I’d heard was a great area for shopping and finding a lot of different styles of clothing, music, people all amassed in one area. To me, one of the places that most embodied this was Laforet which has 6 floors and so many different vendors that cater to all the different styles and sub-cultures that can be found in Tokyo.

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A rather easygoing day. I was pretty tired after a full day around Tokyo, so I decided to do a little shopping in Shinjuku. Where did I go? Well if you ever go to Japan, you know about UNIQLO and their style. The one thing that most stores have in common in Japan is that the men’s floor is often either at the top or at the bottom of building…very convenient! Regardless, bought a bit of stuff, and had fun in another one of Tokyo’s large cities/districts.

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So I’m sure you’ve all seen photos of the Daibutsu…but maybe you didn’t know that it was located in Kamakura. For a small fee, you can enter the complex and enjoy the scenery and environment. But the fun part was making walking through the town of Kamakura and trying both rice pancakes and dango!

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Being on of the first Japanese ports to allow foreign trade, Yokohama is the location of Chinatown within Tokyo. There are numerous small stands selling foods and shops selling souvenirs and general day-to-day products. After Chinatown, Ayaka and I headed towards Yokohama Harbor to see the Hikawa-Maru liner and then onto the Red Brick Warehouse and Yokohama World Porters for shopping.

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If you love sushi/sashimi and fresh fish in general, you MUST visit Tsukiji Fish Market if you are ever in Tokyo. It opens very early in the morning, and restaurants nearby serve fresh fish caught during the night and mornings of the prior day…SO FRESH!! After a wonderful bowl of Sashimi and rice, Ayaka and I headed out to Odaiba to visit Mega Web Toyota Showcase and Venus Fort. For a look into the digital electronics culture of Tokyo, we headed out to Akihabara at night to scope out the deals on all the newest games, consoles, televisions, cell phones, computers, etc.

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My first day of exploration in Tokyo begins with heading out to Ikebukuro to visit Sunshine City. The complex houses NamjaTown, a theme park with rides and plenty of food themed areas, on the second and third floors. Ayaka and I tried the gyoza with habanero chili sauce on top and even beef (ox) tongue ice cream! Later we headed to Amlux Toyota Showcase to try the Gran Turismo Lexus Simulator. Next, Ameyoko for some general shopping and then to Asakusa to see the Kaminarimon and eat Okonomiyaki. Lastly, can’t forget the first time you see Shibuya at night. So many lights, sounds, and people!!

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My first ever trip to Japan! I traveled out to Tokyo, taking a flight from Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA, and then onto Tokyo, Japan. But on my flight to from Atlanta to Tokyo, I had a complete row to myself. I stretched out and was even able to go to sleep comfortably…on an airplane! Arriving in Tokyo was certainly nerve racking as I soon realized how hard getting around would be with no real knowledge of the language. I picked up the rental phone I’d reserved and then proceeded to buy a ticket for the Narita Express and JR lines to head into Tokyo from Narita International Airport. Wow, a lot of people use the subway system in Tokyo, that sure was intense to see so many people rushing from one metro line to another. Luckily I made it to the hotel so that I could rest of for the next day’s adventure!

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I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill back in May of this year (2009). Unfortunately, I had not been back to the area since May. In July, I decided to take a trip and proceeded to took advantage of the opportunity to take some photos along South Road.

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