Tokyo and Yokohama...

Hey all. Remember to be following along as well on WWW.STOCKWORLDTOUR.SHUTTERFLY.COM for all of our pictures. (click the link to see them)

Sorry for the delay. We are really behind on our blogging. We have been having a ton of fun, though, so let me catch you up to speed. Let's see...where did we leave off?

Val and I pulled into Tokyo at 6 or 7 am after the long overnight bus ride from Kyoto which had begun 8 hours prior. Tokyo, as some of you know is a HUUUUGE city. It has sprawled so wide that it is a sort of city in a city in a city...similar maybe to New York City, but with skylines upon skylines. We pulled into Shinjuku station, which is one of the busier parts of Tokyo. We had booked a room a few train stops away in another busy part of the city called Ikebukuro. Ikebukuro is the second busiest train station, only behind Shinjuku.

We arrived, rubbing the sleep from our eyes, still struggling with the abuse of poor sleeping conditions on the bus, although we had booked the nicer bus, which was equipped with air conditioning, seat backs that reclined to 140 degrees and these hysterical little bubble capsules that pulled down over your head to filter most of the exterior light and sound. Leave it to the Japanese to come up with something like that. We hopped a train for Ikebukuro station, and navigated our way in the early morning heat to our hostel. On the way, our directions mentioned walking past a DENNY`S, and Val`s American food cravings led us in the door. The selection of breakfast foods made us laugh out loud. Denny`s serves steaks, an array of salads, and curry and rice for breakfast. There were one or two options for eggs or American style food and we couldn`t help but indulge as we tried to wake up. We probably overstayed our welcome as we sat for a while milking the air conditioned environ, then made our way to the hostel. Despite not being able to check into our room until 3pm, we were allowed to leave our heavy packs in a storage room and sat in the AC and used the internet. We were so tired that after an hour of internet-ing, we realized we had 5 more hours until we were allowed to check in, so we almost literally had to lift eachother out of our seats to get motivated enough to head out on the town. We walked around Ikebukuro a bit, visited a soccer store, sat in the free trial massage chairs in a 8 story electronics store (Japanese technology boggles my noodle) and read some funny japanese t-shirts. There is a humorous phenomenon in Japan, where they adorn all of their clothing with English words, and despite Japanese technology being as incredible as it is, they can`t seem to translate to save their lives. We actually resolved between Val and I that the process for deciding which words to print on a piece of clothing looked something like this: a few guys grab an English dictionary, pick out the words they like and throw them in a hat and pick `em. It is impossible that the process is any more complicated or strategic than that. It is so funny. Check out some of our pictures...and if you find any of them hilarious, you can visit www.engrish.com and see the discoveries of others.

We returned to our hostel to check in and take a shower, before making plans to sightsee for the evening. We grabbed some food on the run, Val spotted a KFC and had some french fries and I made it a habit of grabbing meals on the run; some rice balls which are covered in seaweed paper and filled with something (it`s always a mystery until you bite into it since we can`t read Japanese) or sushi or some noodles or something from a convenience store. I enjoy it that way because that`s what the busy Japanese do as the hurry around like little worker bees. That first night in Tokyo we decided to go back to the indoor ski resort that I had been to a year and a half ago when me and the Colorado boys were in Japan to film our video. We wanted to take the employees there a few copies of the video we made. We met Hiro, a guy that I had met in passing last time I was there. He was very excited to see the video and he immediately put it in and started watching it. I decided not to snowboard while we were there as it was very busy and expensive and we`ll be in New Zealand soon where I can get my fix. We said goodbye to our renewed friend Hiro, took a photo and headed for our next destination. On our way we stopped at a grocery store and bought Val some sore throat drops as she had been developing a sore throat since the air conditioned bus ride the night before. The staff was very friendly in helping us find what we needed and we sped off on our way, again navigating the busy and efficient Japanese trains to Harajuku. 

Harajuku is a part of Tokyo that I`ve been to once before and it`s a very trendy and very fashionable district of Tokyo. You can visit a lot of very fashionable name brand stores: Dolce and Gabbana or Versace or whatever, but the street we liked is more interesting. You see some people dressed in some pretty crazy styles; Strawberry Shortcake or Rainbow Bright or Punky Brewster or goth or punk - anything you can think of, it`s crazy! The street is lined with shops selling some of the most bizarre clothes and accessories. The street is bumping and an adventurous, curious young person`s fantasy. I told Val all these things while on the train and we were both very excited to experience it together. We arrived at 9 o`clock and found nothing of the sort. All of the shops were closed. The streets were pretty much empty. I was soooo bummed.  We had decided to leave the ski place early so that we could see Harajuku and we even decided to see Harajuku over some other cool sites. A little disappointed, we hopped back on the train and headed home. We thought about stopping at another stop on the way home, but the cost of our train travels for the day was starting to compound, so we called it a night and went back to our room, and a wonderful thing it is to feel the cool air conditioned room after sweating all day in the hot humid Japanese summer.

The next morning, we woke up and I took Val back to Denny`s for breakfast. Unfortunately, Japanese Denny`s stop serving breakfast at 10am. So, we had Japanese style brunch, which is salad and curry. Yeah, strange, huh?

That day in Tokyo was busy and very productive. After the Denny's disappointment, we headed to do some laundry and internet-ing before the heat hit. Val also enjoyed visiting the HUNDRED YEN SHOP (which is like a dollar store) while the laundry was in and sending some postcards. That afternoon, we headed into Tokyo to ride the Thunder Dolphin, a roller coaster at the Tokyo Dome that goes through a hole in a building. It's hysterical because it's right there in the downtown area and businessmen on their lunch breaks are enjoying a thrilling roller coaster ride before heading back to the office. Val ate some Subway and I had some sushi and riceballs, as we made our way to our next stop, Harajuku to do some shopping. We were excited to get there when all the stores were open and the crowds were out. Val bought some clothes; a very cool grey hoodie, some black legging things to wear with a dress and a Rubik's cube T-shirt. We enjoyed the atmosphere, ogling humorously clad locals and hopped back on the train for our next stop. We were relieved when someone recommended we buy a "day pass" for the trains, which turned out to be an incredible relief on the wallet, as it allowed us to travel all day on one $7 ticket. Our next stop was Shinjuku, the busiest train station in Tokyo. You've probably seen movies that have scenes taking place in this mega intersection. We arrived to thousands of people on the streets, and lights galore. It is a very charged atmosphere with everyone in a rush. What a crazy experience. We grabbed a drink from Starbucks and Val bought a Japanese children's book for her classroom. We took a few photos of the huddling masses and sped off to the Tokyo Tower, which is very similar in design to the Eiffel Tower (where we had just been two weeks earlier), but BIGGER and Red. Why they decided to make it larger than the original...is beyond me. We were navigating again with Japanese maps, so we had to walk about a mile from the station, but we could see it from far off and it was amazing to see it grow and grow as we came closer. Since it was nighttime, the tower was all lit up. It was very romantic and we talked a lot about how we really enjoyed our time in Paris under the Eiffel Tower. We were hot and tired from a long day, so we caught a taxi back to the station and headed back to our hostel and the lovely air conditioning that we had been missing all day. 

We slept well and packed up in the morning to head for Yokohama to meet Nathan Johnson, a friend of a friend of a business partner of a guy I met once in Colorado. Yeah, I know. It was a long shot. We didn't know what to expect, but when you consider that equation mixed with the fact that you're overseas in Japan, you're expecting it all to be a real adventure. As it turns out, it was.

We checked out of our hostel and headed for Yokohama, a suburb south of Tokyo where we were to meet up with Nathan Johnson and some kids from his youth group for a YOKOHAMA BAYSTARS baseball game. The Japanese love baseball, maybe even more than Americans, and so we had been looking forward to taking part in America's (used to be) favorite pasttime in this new Japanese setting. After looking long and hard for an ATM, we met Nate and the crew and headed into the stadium. We were surprised that when buying a ticket, you must decide which team you want to cheer for, as they section off the fans (according to the orderly, sometimes control freak-ish Japanese culture). We would come to be even more surprised when the game started. After being sectioned off by teams, each section of the stadium has its own designated "cheer meister", a guy who stands up to lead you in the appropriate cheer at the appropriate times. And trust me, you are meant to cheer the entire time your team is at bat, and sit quietly when your team is in the field. And if you're not cheering, the cheer screamer stands in front of your section, yelling louder, until you DO cheer. The whole event was so amusing. We had a great time, and laughed most of the time we were meant to be cheering, because we couldn't understand any of the cheers. Val had some popcorn, chicken nuggets and fries and I had octopus balls. No typical baseball game hot dogs here. Our team lost in the bottom of the 9th, but it was a great game. We hopped on the crowded subway after grabbing our heavy bags (that we had ditched earlier in the train station lockers) and headed for that night's "home." 

It turns out that Nathan and the kids live in Yokosuka, a smaller suburb on a US Naval Base. Val and I stayed off the base in an apartment of a girl's that we had met at the baseball game. It overlooked the ocean and it had air conditioning, so we were stoked. We got in really late and had a bit of a sleep-in, before meeting up again with Nathan to have the local tour. We ate at Pepper Steak or something like that, another small restaurant where you order from a vending machine, and then it cooks in front of you on a hot metal plate. We had steak and rice and had a good talk with Nate about the local culture and the kids that he works with. I got really nervous, because I was to speak to the youth group that night, and I knew nothing about the military base lifestyle, and I rarely work with middle schoolers either (cue butterflies). Nate took us onto the base next and we toured around looking at the naval ships and learning a fair bit about how these American navy families operate overseas. The restaurants and shops on base make it feel like little America: Subway, A&W, Cinnabon, a movie theatre, Taco Bell, Chilli's, etc.. It was remarkable. We were really impressed with how many people just live a narrow secluded life on the base in a country with such an interesting and amazing culture; so much to see and do and they're content living in their tiny version of America. Maybe something that we don't understand, however, is the fact that the military moves people around so much that over time, they may just be getting burnt out by being picked up and moved around so often unwillingly.

So that afternoon, we hung out with the middle school youth group first (about a dozen or so), and after playing some games, I shared my story of traveling and God and coming to faith with them...and fumbled my words all over the place. I was so nervous. I felt bad about it, but the kids seemed to respond a bit, so hopefully, maybe something may have struck a chord with one or two of them. It was just a testament to me of how God is continually calling me out of my shell to share my story with others even if I'm uncomfortable...and how I HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. After the middle school crew left, the high school kids rolled in and we played a bit of basketball and football before we got started. It was disgustingly sweaty hot that day, and we dunked our heads under the bathroom faucet before we got started. Ahhh... Some of the boys in the youth group had just started playing music together, and so after a really fun game of Play-Doh Pictionary (led by Val and I - using clues from our trip as items for the game) the boys led a few songs and I again shared my story, this time a little more comfortable, but still very nervous. I don't know why I am so nervous in front of people...I knew that all of these kids had varied backgrounds as far as their faith or denominations were concerned, so I was a little worried about stepping on toes or something. I don't know exactly, maybe I just care too much about others' opinions of me. Hmmm. After youth group, we went out to Chilli's with the youth staff and had a lot of laughs and some good old American food. It was great to get to know them a little better and put out the general invite for everyone to come and visit us in Colorado...as we have been doing the entire trip.

We said some goodbyes and retired for the night. Upon waking, we packed up and Nate took us to the train station and we were off again, this time headed for the mountains. We caught a train to the Yokohama main station, and did a bit of research on how to get where we wanted to go. We wanted to go to the mountains via Mt. Fuji, as I've never seen it up close. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a good plausible route to our final destination, so we nix-ed the idea, and instead headed on another train that would connect us to a high speed train that would then drop us off in Matsumoto, a city I have frequented before. It is the closest city to the mountains where I had lived five years ago. Once there, we hopped the last daily train out of the city to the Shinshimashima station up in the mountains. From there, we caught our last connection, a bus that dropped us off right in front of my old home...Northstar Outdoor Adventure Pension at the base of Norikura Kogen ski resort. Ahhh...the cool air and beautiful scenery...the memories came flooding back. But for the first time I would be sharing this experience with my wife.