No one sleeps in Tokyo

Day 7 (Jan. 12)

My morning in Sendai began with a diverse selection of Western, Chinese and Japanese food.
With a line-up of Shumai, meatballs, onsen tamago, tako wasabi, and more, who would say no to refills and seconds? After a filling and hearty meal, I satisfied my cravings for sweets and desserts with cakes, cakes and cakes XD
































I checked out of the ryokan after treating my tired and exhausted body to a dip in the onsen. Knowing that there will be a lot to miss, our pack hit the road back to Yokohama.
During the long car ride, I got a chance to catch up on some J-POP trends. It seemed like J-pop duo, Love Psychedelico released their 5th original album, "Abbot Kinney".
Known for their hit single, "Last Smile", the band made their major debut back in the year, 2000. With members Kumi on vocal/guitar and Naoki on guitar, the duo has produced tracks oriented on guitar. For their new album, it seemed like they were rediscovering the acoustic guitar in particular. Personally, I found the track, "Here I am" to stand out the most.
This song is definitely worth a listen so check it out next time you get your hands on their CD.
To be honest, I liked the bridge more than the chorus... but this is coming from a guy that writes a piece from the bridge so... I recommend just following your ears =P

Day 8 (Jan. 13)
















Now that I've marked down Kyoto, Sendai and Yokohama on my travel map, there is one location that I still haven't visited. If you haven't guessed already, it's Tokyo!
I hope this is what you were waiting for because Tokyo is the city of entertainment, exotic culture and absolute randomness.
Nothing is really predictable here, because you can be in the middle of a concrete jungle, and still find things like a stone lantern.






















In Shibuya, I came across a Taiyaki store (a fish shaped pancake filled with red beans) that sells different variations, such as matcha, chocolate and strawberry cream.
I wasn't adventurous enough to taste the strawberry cream so I selected matcha (green tea).
The taiyaki actually had a soft mochi-like texture (rice cake) and the fillings were hot, so it was perfect for a cold day.































I also made a trip to Akihabara, the so-called electric town.
Known as an area full of electronic appliances, video games, and anime, the city is full of tourists, maids and otakus (Japanese term for nerds).
While drinking cans of Evangelion (robot anime) coffee, I stopped by at numerous video game shops to watch the Final Fantasy XIII trailer being repeatedly played on the monitors (a role-playing game out for the video game console, PlayStation 3). I actually purchased the game myself, but I guess I will talk about that some other time.





































After re-discovering the fact that I'm actually an otaku myself, I made stops at Shinjuku and Harajuku to "research" the current fashion trend in Japan.
I really enjoyed looking around the clothing stores in Harajuku because they sold clothes for cheap, and they sell various styles depending on the store.
I personally find my style slightly different from the stores in Harajuku, but I enjoyed looking and trying out different styles. It's never too old to explore... right?































I have a strong image of Shinjuku being a city active at night, so there wasn't much to see in the day. I will talk about Shinjuku in my future blog entry, since I made a visit there once again in the night time. That entry will probably explain why it is more interesting to visit there at night than the day as well.... =)

I ended my day in the city shadowed and towered by the great wall of skyscrapers.

The Next Destination - Sendai

Day 5 (Jan. 10)































It was my last day in Kyoto.
2 nights and 3 days swung by at the speed of a bullet train.
While looking back at my memories, we concluded our trip in Kyoto by visiting the Arashiyama area, which is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Kyoto, with its many souvenir shops and beautiful scenery. Although the tables of the shops were nicely decorated with loads of snacks and food, we had one objective in mind, and this was to visit the Geinou Jinja.
Geinou Jinja is a shrine or temple that brings good luck to those seeking to succeed as a celebrity, musician, or artist.
Call me superstitious but I'd rather give it a chance than to just say that I don't believe in these things.































As you can see in the picture, the shrine is full of red wood blocks that have names engraved on them. The names that are on the blocks are names of celebrities who have sponsored the shrine.
If you look close enough, you can see names of many successful individuals... famous actors and actresses, artists, celebrities and musicians (I was able to spot some members of EXILE, the Japanese dance group).
I'm pretty sure this is expected but I made another wish at the shrine.
Again, the wish is a secret =)
















After a long and productive tour around Arashiyama, we headed back to Yokohama.
On the way to Yokohama, we stopped by at a delicious unagi (broiled eel) restaurant that served only unagi dons (eel on rice) and nothing else.
In other words, their reputation and their life is dependent on unagi.
I'm sure you would say that's crazy, but after a bite of this, I'm sure you would understand.
This unagi don.... is simply the best bowl I've had in my life.
Undoubtedly, it was a taste I would never forget.


Day 6 (Jan. 11)

Continuing with our reckless tour of non-stop entertainment, our next destination was Sendai.
To seek a relaxing stay, we headed towards a ryokan (traditional Japanese-style hotel), that was located in the middle of mountains and lakes. It seemed like it was snowing at Sendai for a while, but fortunately, on the day of our arrival, the snow took mercy on our poor souls with no jackets.




































For our stay, we selected a package with dinner, free access to the onsen (hot springs), and a breakfast buffet.
To be honest, I wasn't really expecting much when I first heard the package deal.
8000 yen (approx. $94 CDN) for all this!? It sounded too good to be true.
However, my presumptions were clearly mistaken.
















When I first saw the dinner tray, I thought it was for the two of us.
Pork sukiyaki, sashimi, and a few small dishes. Sounded reasonable.
But no, this was actually for one individual.
Although I couldn't fit the other dishes and the dessert in the frame, this was actually only part of it! What a deal!

What surprised me the most was actually the onsen.
The ryokan actually had one big indoor onsen (like the one from Harrison Hot Springs in Canada), as well as a big outdoor onsen with four different types of springs.
I found the outdoor one to be a really good experience because I was able to look at the mountains topped with snow, while relaxing in the warm and cozy onsen.
This is something you can't really experience in Canada, and surely something you can't really experience in big cities like Tokyo.
With all my stress and pain flowing out of my body, my sleep that night was the most comfortable and relaxing one yet.
With high expectations for a delicious and filling breakfast, I called it a day.