Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Photos and Blog

Hey everybody,

So we have had a pretty awesome week so far. We were surprised on Tuesday night when Keiko-san told us that we were going to make a trip into Tokyo on Wednesday to see the very famous Kabuki-za Theater in Tokyo. I was incredibly pumped. (That was one of the remaining places left on my list to visit.) Plus, we got Hump-Day off from work!!! If that's not enough, the kindergarten paid for it... Boo-ya.

Anyways, we hopped on the train @ 8:00 a.m. and headed for Tokyo. We made it to the theatre just fine and waited in line for tickets. It's a serious deal! We planned to meet Keiko-san's niece Satoko and her friend Mai at the theatre.

After the hour long act, the five of us headed to Asakusa, the oldest region of Tokyo. Very famous, very historical, very cool. We ate some lunch at this ridiculously cool restaurant and then strolled in Asakusa, shopped, and snapped a few photos:

Five-Storied Pagoda.

We had a wonderful time with the girls. They were super fun and want to teach us how to make some Japanese dishes later on this summer. In exchange, I vowed to teach them how to make some Hot N' Ready style pizzas. Well, maybe not HNRs, but pizza nonetheless...
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me, krista, sarah, mai, satoko.

Satoko and Mai headed back to Chiba New Town and we spent the afternoon/evening in Tokyo's Odaiba area. It is one of the "newest" parts of Tokyo as it is literally constructed on some reclaimed land right on Tokyo Bay. We got there and visited a Toyota Showroom, rode a big Ferris wheel, and then headed for the waterfront. I knew a replica of Lady Liberty was somewhere along beach and we found her.

I touched my heart for her...

We really liked the beach in front of Rainbow Bridge. On the way over to Odaiba, our train (see vids) came over beside and then under the cars! It was cool. Here is me rockin with Rainbow Bridge in the background:

Loving life at Rainbow Bridge.

Then, I thought that it would probably be an awesome idea to have an "Awkward Senior Picture" photo shoot along the water. We made up some fresh, new poses and also abused the classics...


Fresh New Pose. Name is still in the works. Maybe you have one?


Classic Awkward Rock Pose.

We worked our way to "The Best Burger Place in Tokyo" called Kua' Aina. Most of the tour books I have concur on the issue... It's a Hawaiian restaurant with only four in the World; 2 in Hawaii, 1 in Santa Montica, 1 in Tokyo! I coaxed the girls into going and we definitely didn't regret it.

The view was awesome. (See night pics below)
Burgers, tasty as can be.
Hawaiian radio station playing through the speakers.
Obama's been there. (Pic of him paying on the wall)


Avocado burger, rings, fries, Coke. Delectable won't even work to describe...


I read about this area and mentioned that it would probably a nice place to see the night view...Thanks Small Planet Tour Book...

Lady Lib and Rainbow Bridge at night...


Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower, and party boats at night.


Yeah, so we had a pretty complete day. Very very fun. This weekend, I am hoping to visit a sento somewhere around Inzai Shi or Makinohara. I'll fill you in on that later on...

bye bye. see ya.

mike

So So So So So!

First update!

Konbanwa.
Hey everybody!
We made it to Japan just fine and have had quite an amazing time so far. I would have updated sooner but we did not have Internet access until Friday night. Here is a quick update:
Because of Swine Flu, we are not going to be allowed to enter the kindergarten until next Monday. The people here are much more worried and cautious about the flu than Americans. In fact, the picture shows some of the Japanese health workers who came onboard the plane before we were allowed to leave the plane! It was a very serious operation and took almost an hour! After we were finally cleared and deemed “clean” by the officials, we grabbed our luggage and got through customs with little problem. We were met by Mr. Kei Nishimura at the airport. He informed us that we were going to stay at a hotel for 5 nights because of the Swine Flu. The parents at the kindergarten are understandably nervous that we might infect their children. So, they came up with new plan for us for the week. It sounds like so much fun!
Goodnight.


Ohio Gozaimas.
I am writing this on a bus headed to Tokyo Train Station.
Okay so the first few days in Japan have been…wow. We have been absolutely taken care of. Mr. Kei Nishimura, uncle to Keiko and Minako (the sisters who run the kindergarten) has been our liaison thus far. He is a retired music executive of EMI. He has seen and met almost any famous musician. We stayed four nights in the beautiful Fountain Terrace Hotel. There are many hotels in this area that get 95% of their business from people who travel to Tokyo Disney Land and Disney Sea. We were part of that 95%...
The first day in Japan, we woke up @ about 5 because of jet lag. I took a shower and took a walk outside of our hotel. It is only about 200 meters from Tokyo Bay. It was awesome. The Bay is used for so much industry and is full of barges, ships, and fishing boats.
We grabbed some breakfast in the hotel and then got on the shuttle for Tokyo Disney Land. I have never been to Disney, even in the states. You can imagine how PUMPED I was to go! The four of us got our 2-day passes and were with the first (10,000) in line. Tokyo Disney Land was fantastic. There were so many people there and we were apart of the vast minority. We visited so many attractions during our first day at Disney. Here are some of the pictures!


Disney Sea was our Tuesday. Mr. Kei decided to stay back at his condo to get some work done. He helped the three of us get onto the shuttle and then we were off! We all felt fairly comfortable maneuvering around the park. Although most of the staff doesn’t speak English, they are amazing at directing people. They use so many hand gestures and communicate in so many alternate ways. We spent the entire day at Disney Sea (9-9). We started with a Dream Cruise Show, then hit various attractions like Indiana Jones, Ariel’s Underwater Castle, Aladdin’s Theatre, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, etc…I really can’t even explain how amazing that place was. They really know how to take care of the guest. Everyone is smiling there. Literally. It was really interesting. At night we caught an amazing fire/water display that blew my mind.

On Thursday, we grabbed some doughnuts, yogurt, and orange juice from the convenience store in our hotel and ate it in the park on Tokyo Bay. Then, we boarded the subway for Midtown Tokyo. Kei wanted to show us around the “biggest city in the world.” With over 30,000 million people, this city didn’t really seem to stop. We visited the very famous are of Ginza. It was similar to 5th avenue in New York or the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. However, Ginza is one of 5 “downtown” areas that Tokyo has. We went up the Roppongi Tower and saw an amazing view of the city. After much walking, food, and coffee, we got back on the train. Mr. Kei was getting some work done on his BMW in the garage and it was ready to be picked up. That meant that we all had to cruise in his Beemer, top down, through the streets of Tokyo…I was a bit reluctant but decided to take one for the team…(sarcasm)

Here are some things that I can now check off my list.

1. Picture with the real Jasmine from Aladdin.
2. Japanese woman sleeping on my shoulder on bus. (Currently happening and making it difficult to type with my left hand!)
3. Cruised in BMW convertible, in Tokyo, while listening to Southern Gospel music. (Music wasn’t my choice.)
4. Four espressos from the hotel buffet in one breakfast. (They are tiny and delicious.)
5. Re: #2. She woke up and gave me a glazed over look of confusion.
6. One word: Mask.
7. Feeling not “trendy or hip” enough.
8. Another word: Minority.

Awesome.
Bye.

Excitemike

Hey Everybody,
As this Christmas/New Years break is wrapping up for me here in the Thumb (the stay here has been great and much needed), I can't help but feeling ultra-excited for the final semester of school and then...(pause for drum-roll)...my cross cultural to Japan!!! (I thought about throwing 4 exclamation marks in there, but three should suffice.) For those who might be wondering, I am spending the summer of 2009 in the Chiba Prefecture of Japan. It is an 11 week program in which I will be studying the language and primarily teaching in a Kindergarten. On the weekends, we will have the opportunity to travel, see the sights, and really soak in more of the Japanese history and culture. What an opportunity, right!!?

I feel like this break might be the final long-stretch of time that I spend living with my parents. I'm sure that they will welcome me back to stay if I need a place but it just might never be quite the same. No more summers at home wake boarding and fishing. No more runnin the streets with Mitch and Jackson. Actually, we never really ran any streets...No more Little Caesars!? I can only hope and pray for that one...

All in all, folks, consider me extremely blessed and grateful to have such an awesome opportunity. I can't wait to share my thoughts, pictures, and stories about the trip right here on this blog. In the meantime, I will fill you in on my last semester at SAU!

HollerBack.Mike.

P.ost S.cript.

So does anyone remember that sweet game for Nintendo called Excitebike? I sure do. That is why I've titled this blog "Exitemike." I am excited for Japan. And life? Sure. Here's a pic to help you remember and reminisce. If anyone still has a working NES, I'll take you on in a game.