Anikka Lallier
Tokyo
Total Riding Time
First thing first, is the airplane ride. Rachel and I are going from Denver to Seattle,then Seattle to Korea,then to our destination, Tokyo. The total round trip cost will be $ 1,164.84 for both of us, on the korean airlines. Thats a really good price, comparing it to the $3,000 dallor tickets for one person! The only down side is that it is a 23 hour ride including each stop. So, we will have to buy food at the airports which means less money for souviners, but thats ok. Less stuff to pack into a suitcase to bring home!
Where to Stay
We are staying at Lungwood hotel at a 1-minute walk from the train station, so easy transportation! The hotel is also very close to the Airport, so there is an easy way home too! The actual room has free wifi and 3 restraunts in the hotel.
The rooms also are air conditioned, a flat screen television, and a refrigerator to keep all of the new foods I try in! The bathroom has a shower and bathtub with shampoo conditioner, hairbrush and a a shaving kit . This hotel costs $1,446 for all two weeks, so its a pretty good deal also! I mean, in America, our 5 star hotels is just a room and maybe some breakfeast in the morning. but here, there is everything! I've never had my own new hairbrush from a hotel!
Activities
The first tourist site we are going to is disneyland! They have alot of the same rides as our disney land, including, space mountain, star tours, and some I've never heard of, like monster's INC. hide and seek! Disneyland in Tokyo also has the characters we do, but have different clothing than we would. Like shirts and stuff like that. they are slightly different, but just as good! http://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/tdl/atrc/tomorrow/space/index.html
Another place that isn't as common that is still lots of excitement, is the food market. Modern Japanese food markets are like organized like ours, but with completely different fruits and vegetables than what we have in America, the foods are usually represented well, an. Also the cashier system is well organized and efficient. They have cultural foods just to japan, for a fairly cheap price compared to buying American foods! I mean, when I am in a completely different ecosystem of people and culture, I want to explore the new world! not eat the same boring foods as usual.
It seems to be a very unique and fun experience for anyone who goes! http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2073.html To wrap the vacation, the last place I want to go to is the Tokyo tower. Ever since the Tokyo tower opened in 1958, it seems to amaze people who come to it. In the first room, the observatory, you can see everything surrounding Tokyo, including smaller, older towns of Tokyo. It is one of the tallest buildings in japan! There even is a small glass part called the look down window! In the second level, the special observatory, there is an even better view and it is made to make you feel like you are in space. I found this entire attraction absolutely amazing!
Problems/Solutions
One problem I ran into was transferring my money into yen. I didn't know if I should do it there, or some where out in japan. I found that the easiest way is to bring your money to the airport, and there will be a money exchange there. Plus if you don't want to change all of it into yen, you can just put down the money you want to convert, and they will give you what you need! But what I chose to do, was change all $20,000 to 2038999.70 yen. Another option is to just bring a credit or debit card to use with all the money you want to spend.
Another problem I ran into was the language there. It is completely different from English. So what I decided to do was to download a translator to change my words for waiters, local people, etc. so I can ask people for help. One thing not to do is use google translator. DO NOT use it. It is un accerate sometimes and not as helpful as others are.
History and culture
Japan has a very rich culture and a very long back round of religion and customs. Like, how it has some of the oldest religions, and some of the oldest history. Like, they were one of the few first places with humans, and had some of the best early inventions, like silk, and paper. They also were the first people to discover gunpowder, and create the first guns. To add on, they also celebrate the tradition to have a huge new years party and have dragons dancing and fireworks exploding. Another tradition is the Takayama Matsuri which is the festival of spring to fall,and they bring highly decorated floats to Takayama, a small town in the mountains, to celebrate the changing of spring to fall. Some of the religions include Buddhism and Confucianism were the two of the first two religions to go to japan. A belief for Buddhists is if you have a simple life, you will life your next life better. That is why there are a lot of people in japan who do not have much and are ok with it, because they will live their next life even better. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Japan