#teamtourist, pt. 1: Pittsburgh

Once again, this is way overdue, but I went on an excellent vacation to New York City in August with some very good, old friends. A perfect way to end summer break.

We left on a Wednesday morning and headed to Pittsburgh to stay a night, so we could cut the driving time in half. Well, not totally in half, but close enough. So we got to the Red Roof Inn just outside the city, and got settled in.



We went into the city, and decided to stop at this park sort of near downtown. We went on a short hike in the woods and got to see a brief bit of Pennsylvania.







Afterwards we went into the city, with the intentions of taking the cable car up the Duquesne Incline. But... the directions took us to the top the incline, so we just stolled along the hillside overlooking the city.







We had a long day ahead of us the next day, so we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel. The next morning we proceeded to finish our drive to New York City, but first... make a stop at a Pennsylvania Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives location! After doing some research with Lauren, we decided for Dor Stop Restaurant, about 15 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. And it was delicious.





New York City is next.

Spring Break on the East Coast! Part Two

Unfortunately, although I spent two-and-a-half days in DC, I only have photo documentation of the first one. But that was the day we actually went out and did things, so I suppose it works out.

So on that Saturday we woke up oddly early and made breakfast. Well, Lauren made breakfast for me and Mike. Eventually Mike left to go back to New Jersey for, if I remember correctly, his mom's birthday (in addition to it being Georgetown's spring break). Lauren and I cleaned up and showered, and then proceeded to do the Washington, D.C., tourist-y things. So we hopped on the subway and went to the White House.









And of course it wouldn't be a legitimate visit to DC without seeing a protest outside of the White House. And to be honest, I don't even remember what they were protesting. I think it had to do with Iraq, guessing by the flag. But I'm not sure what exactly the reason for the protest. Hm...





There was another protest going on too, for something in Yemen that I have also since forgotten.



Then we went on to the National Mall/Memorial Parks area and visited all the monuments and memorials.





If there's ever a phallic symbol...















Unfortunately the reflecting pool was being renovated or something, so this is my typical picture of the pool from the Lincoln memorial... minus the water or looking nice at all.



Eventually we headed to Union Station and got Taco Bell, then went back to Lauren's apartment. We kind of bummed around for a few hours and watched a movie, then went to this really cool Harlem renaissance style bar for a drink.

Sunday was super rainy all day, so Lauren and I kind of stuck around her place for the majority of the day. We went out in search of shamrock shakes from McDonald's, but the closest one to Georgetown had an out of order shake machine. So we went to the one in Chinatown, and this one ran out of the shamrock flavor. So we accepted defeat and settled for strawberry (or at least I did). Then we walked back to Georgetown and watched Garden State. Or Little Miss Sunshine. I forget--we watched 3 movies that day. We also ordered pizza and bummed around some more.

Monday was my last day in DC (I had to catch a train to Baltimore and fly out of BWI at like 6:30), so we figured we'd go out and do some shopping in the city. So we went to the three story Forever 21 and shopped around there for an hour or so, and then gave up on shopping. We walked through the city some more, went back to Georgetown, got something to eat, and then I headed back to Baltimore, and then Detroit.

I'd never taken a spring break trip really, so this was fun. I missed Lauren a lot and I'm glad I took the opportunity to go see her.

Spring Break on the East Coast! Part One

This is long overdue, but I went on a spring break trip for the first time, like, ever this past March. It had been a while since I'd seen Lauren, and around Christmas I started planning a trip to go see her at grad school in DC. It was significantly cheaper to fly into Baltimore and take the train than to fly into Dulles in DC. So that's what I did! Lauren met me in Baltimore and we spent the day there. We stopped by the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, and it was pretty interesting. We mostly went there because I had my carry-on bag from the flight and there were no lockers to put it in. So I thought I could find a coin locker at the museum... I was wrong.

Afterwards we went to the Blue Moon Cafe (as seen on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives) and at the most delicious French toast I've ever encountered. Well worth the hype and wait.





Then we walked down to the Inner Harbor and enjoyed the brisk morning and afternoon. Well, we grabbed a beer at a restaurant on the water first. Then we walked around and found some weird art installations.














Afterwards, we went shopping and got ice cream... accidentally found a mall, and decided to check out what the water taxi was. It's basically just this boat that took you to the different parts of the harbor area. It was pretty cool... though the times were not the greatest, especially since it was March.







It was starting to get late so we caught the train back to DC.

The last few weeks and Tokyo

After Nara, I didn't do much travelling for a two reasons. The first being that I was trying to save my money for going to Tokyo the last four days of my trip. The second being it was VERY hot all day, every day. Generally, it was around 90-95 degrees, heat index of 105-110, and like upwards of 80% humidity. So yeah, walking around in crowded cities wasn't entirely appealing when it wasn't necessary.

Then the last two weeks hit. I had to write an essay entirely in Japanese, and then deliver a four-minute presentation on the topic about which my essay was written, also entirely in Japanese. It was really nerve-wrecking, but I managed, and got a high grade. Then the last week came, and it was crunch time for final exams. So I got through the first few days, took my exam, and got to relax. That night we all went to dinner at a kaiten-zushi restaurant (rotating sushi bar), and then headed back to JCMU to drink.

Friday was the closing ceremony, where I got to say bye to my teachers and get my final grade for the term. I received a really good grade, which was a definite relief.

After playing with Jackie's host family for what seemed like hours, Jackie and I hopped on the train bound for Shizuoka. Well, we took a train to Maibara, then Ogaki, then Toyohashi, then Hamamatsu, and THEN Shizuoka... but still, we got there. After staying the night in Mishima, we headed back to Shizuoka to meet Niki and Tisch. There, we saw a life-size GUNDAM. Even though I'm not really that into anime anymore, it was really impressive.

Then we headed to Tokyo. We got there a little late, so we dropped our stuff at the hotel, and went to Yoshinoya to grab some cheap donburi. Then we got further acquainted with our somewhat unusual sleeping arrangements...

...because we stayed in a capsule hotel! It was nice. I slept really well, and it wasn't really all that cramped or claustrophobic at all.

The next day, we headed to Otemachi so that I could use an ATM (there was a Citibank there, and my ATM card wouldn't work at anything except post office ATMs , or Citibank), and then went to the Imperial Palace area to be tourists. We ran into these college students that showed us around for free. They told us that they usually wait around for Americans or other English-speaking tourists to come, then they give them a free "tour" so that they can practice their English. It amazes me the lengths that foreigners go to to learn English, but Americans tend to speak English, and don't understand the value of learning a foreign language. It just gives me a little perspective.

But back to Tokyo. They showed us around. It was really a beautiful place, even if we didn't get to see the Palace.

Afterwards, we went to Akihabara. For those who don't know, Akihabara is a Japan nerd's heaven. I mean, we went to a GUNDAM CAFE. And that's just start of it.

There were six-story arcades, costume shops, etc. I bought a My Neighbor Totoro bento box. I like it.

After Akihabara, we headed back to Asakusa to switch to our new hotel, which was in Ueno. It was... a hotel. Nothing special, but definitely sleep-able. We all showered and called it a night early (ish).

The next day, which was our last day in Tokyo (and Japan really, for that matter), we started with lunch in Harajuku. We went to this place called Sweets Paradise, which was ridiculous. For 90 minutes, it was all-you-can-eat sweets and other odd things like curry and spaghetti. It was dangerous, but so, so good. After wanting to die, Tisch and I walked around Harajuku while Niki and Jackie freaked out about the four-story Forever 21 that they had found. We eventually found a random English-style pub and grabbed a beer, then found the girls again.

And then we made our way over to Roppongi to go to Tokyo Tower. I went to Tokyo Tower the last time I was in Japan, but I didn't remember it being as impressive as it was. I can't really put into words how cool it was to look out onto one of the biggest cities in the world.

Then we headed back to our hotel, showered and cleaned up, and headed out for karaoke. We got back to our hotel around 4 in the morning, and since Tisch and I had to leave Ueno around 7 to catch our shinkansen (bullet train) to Nagoya, I decided to just... not go to sleep.

So we got to Tokyo station, hopped on a shinkansen, and arrived in Nagoya a few hours later. Then we took the Nagoya meisetsu (just another subway/train line) to the airport, and did the typical pre-flight business. Then we took our 12 hour flight back to Detroit, during which I only managed to sleep for about two hours.

It's weird being back.