Goodbye Tokyo.

Thank you to everyone who followed along me on my journey here.  It was a great experience and I know I grew as a person from it.  I learned a lot about myself and learned about a profession I was not sure if I wanted to pursue.  I want to thank Illinois Wesleyan University for gifting me with this opportunity as well as So Easy For having me for these past six weeks.  And thank you IES for arranging everything.  I will miss Tokyo and the people I have met along my journey.  Goodbye… for now;)

Last Week in Japan!

Monday: This is my last week in Japan! It has been a great experience and I learned a lot about the things I want to do with my life and more importantly the things I do not want to do with my life.

Tuesday: We decided to take our host mom out to dinner to thank her for everything.  We went to a sushi place, it was a good way to thank her for having has for these past six weeks.  She was incredible and I cannot thank her enough for opening her home to us.

Wednesday: I went to work and finished my remaining assignments (which there were not many of).  They had a party for the interns. We had pizza, it was funny to have such an American meal before we head home.  Even though the pizza had odd toppings such as shrimp and Mayo. I also finished my paper and finished my online class.  It was a productive day.

Thursday: Last day at So Easy! It was a great experience but I am pretty happy to be headed home soon.  It took a while for me to get a little homesick but it happened four days before I leave, it could have ben worse!

Friday: We had a free day today and spent it at another beach! It was a fun relaxing day and a good way to wind down from our time here! We also went to see some fireworks that was near where we live! I think the fireworks in the US are better!

Saturday: It was kind of a weird feeling day because we go home soon and did not know whether to go out and see as much as we could on our last free day or spend it with our host families at home. We went out for a little and went to the Ferris wheel which allows you to see a lot of Tokyo!

Sunday: Last day in Japan! Today I just packed and got all my things in order.  I am very thankful for this experience but I am very excited to head home and see my friends and family again! Thank you So Easy, IES and IWU for this opportunity!

5th Week in Tokyo!

Monday: It’s a holiday in Japan so I did not have work today and we spent the day driving back from Mt. Fuji.  It was a very cool experience one I will never forget! But I am exhausted and ready to sleep!

Tuesday: Went to an Onsen again, not sure why I did that but it was probably a good idea because I was pretty sore from climbing Mt. Fuji.

Wednesday: Today we went to a bar that was famous for their darts and billiards.  They had entire floors filled with pool tables and dart boards.  It was fun to have a nice relaxed night throwing some darts.  Work continues to be a toss-up whether they have work for me or if I have to just try and keep myself busy with the minimal amount of work they are willing to give me.  The work experience has been pretty frustrating.

Thursday: Running a little low on money so I am taking it easy during the week so that I am able to do things on the weekends.  Only have two more weekends left in Japan I have to make them count!

Friday: Today was my last Friday of work!  It is odd that I only have one more week left here.  It has gone very fast.  Today we actually went to driving range today and hit some golf balls and had a few drinks.  It was a fun night.

Saturday: We went to the anime part of Tokyo, it really was not my thing.  It was kind of cool to see the art work on all of the buildings and to people watch, there were some characters! And I mean that literally, people were actually dressed up as the anime characters.

Sunday: We went to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo! It was very interesting to see.  You are not allowed to go in but seeing it is very neat.  It is very large and holds a lot of the traditions that are expected of traditional Japanese culture. We also got served sushi off of a conveyor belt, it was weird but good.

My Mt. Fuji Experience!

Mt. Fuji was the most incredible view I have ever seen.  It looked fake, like nothing could actually be that beautiful.  At 4 a.m. when the sun was just rising there was a moment of complete silence.  There were probably 400+ people on top of this mountain and there was absolute silence.  Everyone was in complete shock by what they were seeing.  I could not believe what I was seeing and the intensity of the hike and the freezing temperatures were all forgotten when the sun came up.  Everything stood still when the sun came up and there was nothing other than this incredible view.  Nothing else mattered except seeing the immensity of the view.  It was like God gave me a snapshot of what this earth has to offer and all there is to see.

3rd Week In Tokyo!

Monday: We went to Tokyo Disney Sea! It was incredible to see the differences between the Disney places in the States and in Tokyo.  There were a lot of differences but there were also a lot of similarities.  It was funny to see all the main characters speaking Japanese.

Tuesday: Just had work and shot a couple of videos helping with life hacks mostly focusing around Instagram.  Also helped market the company on Facebook today.

Wednesday: Just had work today.

Thursday: We went to a bar downtown for Chris’s Birthday.  We also went to a karaoke place again, but I refrained from singing as much as last time but it was still a lot of fun! This will probably be the last time that we get to see everyone here in Tokyo all together.

Friday: Last day of work for the week! We went to happy hour at hub and just talked and played card games for a little and then called it an early night.

Saturday: This is my first day where I don’t have work or something planned.  It was kind of nice to relax a little and catch up on some sleep and work.  I will explore a little bit of Tokyo on my own today but it’s going to be a pretty relaxing day.

Sunday: It is Chris’s birthday today.  I told him we can do whatever he wants.  I think he wants to go to an Onsen again and maybe go see Shibuya, which is the famous crossing in Tokyo.  There is a game you can play and that is probably what we will do.

Tokyo Boats, Beaches and Disney!

We did a lot this past weekend! We started off on Friday going on a cruise ship and seeing Tokyo Bay at night.  We are so use to seeing the city up close and personal that we forget the skyline that Tokyo has.  It is truly aw inspiring to see Tokyo Tower, Skytree and the Rainbow bridge all lit up and spread out throughout the city. We also went to the beach on Sunday where it was very hot but very nice. The water was the perfect temperature but now I look like a ripe tomato! But aside from being burnt it was a very fun day! On Monday we went to Tokyo Disney Sea.  It was very cool to compare the two Disney’s and see the different characters speaking a completely different language then what we’re used too.  They did a great job with everything and it was truly a blast from the past to visit there!

First Week In Tokyo

Monday: We landed on Monday and I was pretty jet lagged but seeing the city from the plane was beautiful! We played card games in the hotel for the night and tried to catch up on some sleep.

Tuesday: We went though orientation on Tuesday and were learning the ins and outs of Tokyo.  After our orientation we met our host families.  Her name is Aoki san.  She is 74 years old and very kind, her English is fantastic.

Wednesday: I started work on Wednesday and the company is very cool.  It is in the heart of Tokyo.  The building is actually in a neighborhood and they redid a house to accommodate their needs.  I am in charge of their social media and marketing on their English channels.  On Wednesday night we explored Chiba.  Chiba is the area where we are living and it is a very cool area.  The only problem is it is very far away from my work and the train is pretty expensive.

Thursday and Friday: On Thursday and Friday I was focused on getting the hang of the public transportation and getting the hang of work.  We explored the heart of Tokyo for a a while and went to a traditional isakaya and karaoke bar.  It was a good night!

Saturday: We went to Ropongi and visited the Tokyo tower.  The tower was crazy and and you can see everything even Mt. Fuji. On Saturday night we went to a standing bar where we met up with some other people who are also in the Freeman program.

Sunday: Sunday we visited the Ueno zoo and the markets in Tokyo.   We walked a lot in this weekend, over 20 miles in two days but that is the best way to see a city!