{ japan: the land of the rising sun }

*Warning: Longest post ever. This is mostly for journal purposes.

Going to Japan was a trip that I will never forget. It is such a different world over there. I loved seeing how people live, learning about the culture, eating new foods, seeing new sites and visiting family. People keep asking me what my favorite part was and I can't tell them. I can't pinpoint one thing I liked significantly more than others. Honestly I enjoyed it all.

It was so interesting not being able to understand anything, not knowing my way around (and having to rely so much on my aunt and uncle), having everything so close together, seeing people walk everywhere and being the minority. Seriously, there were a couple times we would be on the train or subway and it would be completely packed. I would look around and I would be the only blonde. I definitely stuck out. Everything there is so much smaller than America; the cars, the food (both serving sizes and food packaging), the cups of water given to you at restaurants; elevators, and of course the people. My dad joked with me that I finally found people that I can relate to height-wise. I actually felt tall for once.

Day 1: Sunday/Sunday, March 27-28 (You lose a day)

I got off on my trip just fine. Got on to Portland for my first flight. My flight was earlier than my parents (they were going through Seattle) and I had like a 4 hour layover. When the plane landed, I turned on my phone I had 5 new voice mails. Let me let you in on a secret...I can go days and not have one call so obviously my first reaction was, "Oh no! What is wrong??" I couldn't figure out what would've happened within the hour and a half flight. Everything was going through my mind on what could have happened. Except what actually did. My sister's water had broke. She wasn't due for 6 weeks! She lives in Chicago with no family near, it was her first baby and her husband was on the opposite side of the country driving back. Talk about a crisis! By the time I landed my mom had switched her flight and everything in her suitcase and had decided to head to Chicago...hoping to make it there in time. Leave it to our family to have something like that happen! When I called Adrienne during my forever long layover, I told her that little "S' sure knows how to make an entrance! So my mom wasn't able to come. I was really bummed that she wasn't coming. But what can you do, right?

Finally I took off to Tokyo. The flight was long, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I tried to sleep as much as I could. When I landed I had been told how to find my family. I had gone through most of customs I was walking down the stairs toward baggage claim and I heard Mary call my name. Phew. Pressure was off me now because let's be honest, I didn't know what the heck I was doing. Anyway, we finally found Scottie and my Dad, who unbeknown to us landed in a different wing, and drove to the Murray's home.

Day 2: March 29

One Monday, Mary, who was our awesome tour guide throughout the trip, took us to Harajuku and Shibuya. I loved just driving around and seeing all the people and different cars, and not being able to understand or read most things. We walked down Harajuku Street (well that is what I am going to call it since most streets in Tokyo don't have names). Let's just say I have never seen clothes and styles like that in my life. People actually dress like 'Little Bo Peep' just because. Seriously any style goes. It was crazy seeing the outfits girls were putting together. I couldn't believe it. Then we went to Shibuya to walk around and eat at and Indian Restaurant. I had never had authentic Indian food before. It was really good. On our way back to the car, Mary took us to the basement of a department store where there was a little grocery store. She showed us the produce section. Pretty sure one cantaloupe was priced as $94. No joke. 

Day 3: March 30

Tuesday was supposed to be the clearest day we were going to be in Japan so we headed out of the city toward Kamakura (which is like a resort town) hoping we could get a good view of Mt. Fuji as we headed toward some temples and the Big Buddha. We lucked out and were able to see Mt. Fuji so we got off the train to look at it. It is beautiful. Just sticks out and stands alone with its snow-capped peak. We continued on the train further up and saw the "Big Buddha." I'm not kidding. It was huge! But really really cool. Mary knows a lot about the culture of Japan, their traditions, religions and history. It was so interesting learning about Buddhism and Shintoism and everything Japanese. We went to another temple in Kamakura with amazing gardens. It was beautiful.

Day 3: March 31

Wednesday we took a ferry boat ride up the Sumida River to Asakusa. It was fun seeing the city from that view. You can see just how many buildings and high rises and apartments are in that city. And we only were seeing a very small part of it. Once we got off the ferry and walked to the temple there. It is a more popular temple to visit than the ones we went to on Tuesday. There were so many people! There are a couple of walking streets leading up to the temple with a whole bunch of shopping. Very touristy, but it was fun looking at everything and people watching. Later that night we had the opportunity to go to the LDS Temple in Tokyo with the young men and women in the Murray's ward. I was probably 10 years older than most of the kids, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to turn down an opportunity like that. 

Day 4: April 1

Thursday Mary took us to the Meijing Shrine, which is pretty much a shrine built for the emperor, in the middle of the city. In a city where land is at a premium, it was amazing how much land was set aside for the shrine. It felt like you were out of the city (except the fact that you still could hear cars in the distance). Then we went to the Emperors Palace. You can't see the palace itself, but you can walk around the grounds and see the Samurai Quarters and the gates, stone walls and motes which were built to keep enemies out. It was another place where I was amazed how big and how much land the Emperors Palace was set on. 

Day 5: April 2

Friday was a pampering day for Mary and myself. Scottie went to school with Kurtis so Mary and I decided to go to the Spa. But before the Spa we went to a Yoga class. I hadn't done Yoga in over a year. I had forgotten how much I enjoy Yoga. We then headed to the Odaiba Onsen, which is a real Japanese Spa. It was so crazy there. To see how the Japanese people relax. Everyone wears these kimono-looking bathrobes and you can choose which services you wanted.

Day 6: April 3

On Saturday, Brad and Mary took me and my dad around. We first started at Yoyogi Park hoping to find some crazy Elvis impersonators (no joke). But it was the official Cherry Blossom Week in Japan so we got a different treat there. We saw how the Japanese celebrate the Cherry Blossoms. They all get huge blue tarps out and sit under the Cherry Blossom trees. They pretty much picnic and get drunk all day. Seriously I don't think I have ever seen that much alcohol in my life. We were there at like 11 a.m. and people were already having themselves a good time! I was completely amazed and almost overwhelmed by all of the people in the park. Later that day we stopped off at Shinjuku Station, which is the busiest train station in the world. According to Wikipedia, on average there are 3.4 million people who go through that station every day! It was pure chaos there. We then went to this government building that had an observation deck so I could look at the city from above. Seriously that city doesn't end! It puts in perspective just how big that city is! Saturday night we went to Sukiyaki, which was probably my favorite authentic Japanese food I tried. You cook the food in these pans that are right on your table. It was so good! The restaurant was in Shibuya where we crossed the famous Shibuya Crossing  (click to see video) where at least one thousand people cross each time (I think that is what I was told).

Day 7: April 4

On Easter Sunday we pretty much just relaxed. We went to church with the Murrays and Mary made us a nice dinner!

Day 8:  April 5

Monday was super rainy so activities were limited. I really wanted to buy some serving bowls and plates for souvenirs. We drove to this place called China Petes, where they have some really cool china-ware made in Japan. It was a bit of a drive out there, but it was cool seeing the "suburbs" of Tokyo. Later, after dinner I wanted to go see some more lights on buildings so Mary drove me and my dad to Shinjuku. It looked like Time Square but bigger...well that is what I am guessing since I have personally never been to New York City. They love their lights and their signs. One thing I learned is the brighter and cheesy-er the sign, the better! 

Day 9: April 6

Tuesday we had the opportunity to go to a sumo stable and watch a sumo wrestling practice. It is crazy how serious they take that sport. For the wrestlers, sumo is their life. When we went we had to agree to follow the rules. We couldn't talk (well we could whisper), we had to sit cross-legged on pillows and no flash photography. They are huge and so strong! After that we went to the Edo museum. We learned about ancient Tokyo (which was called Edo) and saw ancient artifacts. We then headed back to Harajuku again to go to H&M. Sad that I had to go all the way to Japan to go to an H&M. Even sadder that I didn't end up buying anything. But it was fun walking down the Harajuku street again and seeing the little-bo peeps.

Day 10; April 7

On Wednesday, it was time to say goodbye. Mary took us to the Hilton where we caught our shuttle to head back to America. I lucked out and had the entire row to myself on my flight back. When I landed in SLC, my trip seemed almost like a dream, like I never left. Luckily I had my 300 + photos to remind me. So I got back and had to go to work to the next day. I thought it would be hard with jet-lag, but thankfully I didn't feel it until Saturday morning...and I could sleep.

Other interesting things I learned or observed while I was there:

• The Japanese people love them some McDonald's and Baskin Robbins. It seemed like everywhere we went they were everywhere. Oh and 7-Elevens too.
• The city is so clean. You never see trash (though trash cans were few and far between). Everything is so neat and organized. The subways and trains even seemed clean. The taxi's are on a different playing field than the ones in America. The drivers have white gloves and the seats are covered with these white cloths. It is just all so orderly.
• There is no Diet Coke in the country. I know, tragic. They do have Coke Zero, but it's not the same.
• Japanese take everything so serious and are so hard-working. No matter if they are a businessman or a construction worker, they make sure they do their job and they do it well. Education is so so so important to them. Oh and costumer service...amazing! Servers don't even get tips.
• They walk everywhere! No wonder they are all so tiny. Some of the girls, though, I don't know how they walk so much in the shoes they were wearing. Holy cow. I couldn't walk in heels as far as they do.
• The streets don't have names, except for the really major ones. Crazy. Giving directions would be a nightmare.
• It is amazing how much America has influenced the world, even a country like Japan with such history and and culture.

So that was my trip. I had such a fun time. The Murray's were so nice to let us come, host us and show us around Tokyo. It was a trip I will never forget!!!!!