To Tokyo We Go

"So, let me see, Japan will have been the ... one. two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.. yep! This will be the 10th country I've been in." I counted to myself as I gazed out the airplane window. The sky was full of billowing white clouds. I looked around me and noticed my family and our friends who came with us were all sleeping. Being a light sleeper, I knew I wasn't going to fall asleep so I let my mind wander to all the exiting things we did in Tokyo, Japan.
My mom decided that during Thanksgiving break we were going to go to Japan. And why not? So, Wednesday night we arrived. Our trip turned out to be exciting right from the start.
 After we landed in Tokyo, we  had to walk all the way to the other side of the airport to catch the Metro. We had to hurry so we wouldn't be late. Problem was, Melissa, a teacher at TAAS who joined us, was currently on crunches. It was a little bit difficult and painful to go at such a fast rate, but it looked like we could still make it.
My dad rushed ahead to buy our metro passes but we were close behind. After much confusion of paying at the wrong station, going to the wrong exit, and so forth, we realized we had just missed our train. Thankfully, someone helped us decide which alternative to take. We all took a deep breath as we sat down in the right train. Then, my mom sat back up.
"We still have to figure out which train to transfer to and where we get off."
 I was glad that we hadn't passed our stop before they figured it out about fifteen minutes later.
As I looked at the map of all the metros I was amazed.
"That is SO complicated. Taipei's metro system is way easier!"
Eventually we arrived and found our hotel with no other mishaps.
I remember seeing a haze of orange in he sky behind a tall building and commenting, "Why is the sky orange over there?!"

I found out right after we finished checking in. It was the Tokyo Tower! It was really close to our hotel so we walked over and took some pictures. It's like Japan's version of the Eiffel Tower. We went up to the observatory. They had this kind of majestic music playing and it matched the amazing scene out the glass walls. We could look down on the huge city of Tokyo. You couldn't really see how big it was, but you could see hundreds and thousands of lights twinkling all over the place. It was beautiful. Afterwards, we hurried to the hotel because it was freezing outside! I think I almost forgot what winter felt like! lol!
The next morning, we joined a tour to see Mt. Fuji (or Fujisan). The group we were with was pretty small so we had a lot of room in the tour bus. I remember being so surprised as I looked out the window in the beginning of the ride. The reason was, for a split second I forgot that they drive on the ride side of the car there. So, I see a car drive right next to us and all I see in the 'driver's seat is a box!
"How is the car driving!? There's only a box! Oh..." haha! I realized my mistake before I had even finished my thought, but it was pretty funny.
As we left the city, the scenery was just beautiful. There were rolling hills and mountains covered with dense forest. I could almost smell the fresh greenery in the cool air. We weren't able to see the peak of Mt. Fuji though (until later) as it was covered with thick, dark clouds.
We road over the only 'singing road' in the world too. There's a certain part of the road as you approach the Mt. Fuji that you hear singing coming from the road as you drive over it.
When our leader first told us we were going to drive over ad singing road I was like, "a what?!" But it's true! It sang! Apparently, they strategically place little bumps and lines on the road so that when you drive over it, and you listen carefully, you can hear a song. I didn't know the Japanese song, but it was really cool to hear!

When we reached the highest point you could drive to, we took some pictures (even though we couldn't see the top) and turned around. After lunch, we drove away from the mountain to go on a gondola ride. As we turned away from the mountain, the tour guide shouted, "Oh look behind us! Mt. Fuji is coming out!" All heads immediately turned and we were able to see the peak of the tallest mountain in Japan.
"That is a rare treat." the tour guide explained. "Mt. Fuji is usually very shy."
We got a great view from the gondola, and after that we took a ferry ride on one of lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji. The water was so graceful and peaceful. It was a nice, relaxing ride.

By the time we arrived back in Tokyo, it was dark and we were starving! We decided to go and try to find an Indian restaurant. One of the ladies on our tour decided to join us for dinner as well. The only problem was, we couldn't find it! People kept giving us different directions and we ended up walking a big circle. It took us a while, but we finally found it and the food was amazing. :)
On Friday, we met up with the Smiths (friends we had previously met on their visit to Taipei) and went to the Sky Tree. It is a super tall tower and the has the highest look-out in the world! It has only been there three years. The view was absolutely spectacular! There was great weather and you see the entire city. Its so big, it's beyond words in my opinion.
"Wow," I said to myself, "And I thought Taipei was huge..." It just went on forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and... okay, I think you get my point.

On our way back to the hotel, we took the wrong train three times. See, that just shows how complicated the Tokyo metro is. Even the locals get lost! There was like a sea of people, too. I haven't seen very many places so packed with people. At rush hour, they have what they call 'train pushers.' They will literally shove and push the people so tight into the cars so they can all fit when the doors close. Thankfully we didn't have to experience that.
Anyways, we finally got on the right train. We had fun trying all the drinks in the vending machines though. Japan is actually known for their vending machines. They have very unique ones and their absolutely everywhere. You can get cold or hot drinks, hot soup, ramen, some have ice-cream, french fries, and all sorts of stuff! They have really good Japanese drinks too.
The next day was sabbath and we went to a church there. It was nice. The potluck was a little different. They had us sit down, and then they served us the food! We took a walk in the park afterwards and saw some fall colored trees.
That night we went to Shibuya Crossing. Probably one of the busiest crosswalks in the world. It's kind of like New York's Time Square or something. After we crossed the road my mom asked me what I thought.
"I felt like I was swimming in a sea of people! Haha!"
We did some souvenir shopping, grabbed a bite to eat and then quickly went to our hotel. We had to take a taxi for a short distance but it was absolutely ridiculously expensive! I have never seen a taxi ride cost so much, and it wasn't a very long a drive at all!
Anyways, before even the crack of dawn, we had to jump out of our cozy beds and rush to the airport.
In summary, we had a great, fun-filled, exciting trip and I have now been to 10 countries! I wonder which one will be next... :)