日本旅行：３日・４日

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1日7月２０１９年・２日７月２０１９年

旅行の3日・4日

こんにちは皆さん、(Konnichiwa minasan,)
It’s been a bit busy going to new places every day! I’ve been busy from when I wake up to around 9-10PM going places, speaking Japanese with friends, or just working on homework together. One of the assignments is actually to keep a diary in Japanese, so I’ll end up having a log of my travels in both Japanese and English!
Because I was very tired last night, I am going to record my travels for yesterday and today in one post.
Yesterday, it truly hit me that I was in Japan. Walking to 参宮橋駅 (Sangubashi-eki), I looked around and really felt like I was in Japan. This feeling intensified more as we waited on the platform for our train to arrive and started our way towards Shibuya. I never thought walking through a train station could be so exciting, but it almost felt like I was in an underground city. Once we resurfaced, a canopy of tropical-looking trees and suspended roads sheltered us from the non-existent sun; but I wasn’t as worried about the weather as I looked up at the tall 東京都庁 (Tokyo-tochou, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office) towering above us. Its base was like a mall, filled with escalators and granite floors, and we took momentary refuge in the visitor guidance area. After, we rode an elevator up plenty of floors (I forgot the actual number) to the top- fast enough that my ears popped! I wished there were windows so I could see our ascent, but in hindsight, that might’ve been a little too intimidating.
At the top of 東京都庁 lies a wide observation deck similar to the Space Needle’s, but without any openings. In the middle tourist-y merchandise and some interesting drinks (vinegar soda, which I also saw later in Asakusa… I’ve got to try it sometime) can be bought if you’re willing to spend a little extra, but this is only our first excursion- I had to save for the rest! After, we rode the subway back to the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center (NYC for short), ate dinner, and talked about the trip.
My first full day in Japan was a lot of fun- more fun than I expected! Picking out what to eat at the NYC convenience store, riding a train, and a cloudy-and-otherwise-boring-overlook ended up being exciting and exhausting, so I fell asleep quickly upon returning to my dorm.
~~~
Today was even more exciting, however! Not only are we now allowed to leave the campus during free time and for lunch, but we went to Asakusa- the bustling center of Tokyo’s traditional downtown, flooded with foreign tourists and showing off an impressive 門前町（Monzen Machi）- literally meaning “town in front of a gate”, these are towns built surrounding the gate of a famous temple or shrine. Asakusa’s first gate is called the 雷門 (Kaminarimon: Thunder Gate), the first entrance to Sensoji Temple. Asakusa’s kanji is 浅草, and Sensoji Temple’s is 浅草寺- the first two kanji are pronounced differently when combined with the kanji for “shrine”. I thought this relation was pretty cool! After this gate lies 仲見世通り (Nakamise doori), a 250 meter (820 foot) stretch of snack, candy, and souvenir shops. After lies 宝蔵門 (Hozomon: Treasure House Gate) marking the start of the main temple. Here we washed our hands, spread smoke over ourselves for good luck, and cast coins for good luck. After, we walked out and got our omikuji- fortune slips- and recorded our luck. I had regular good luck, which is worse than great luck, but better than a little luck or any kind of bad luck. The Buddha thinks my travels will be safe, so I hope my parents can trust in him!
Fortune-telling aside, we had 1 hour and 30 minutes of free time before heading back to NYC. I got some メロンパンアイス (ice cream melon bread) which was quite good! We then walked through Asakusa Public Mall, a covered mall filled with an abundance of shops and restaurants. I went inside of a 梟カフェ (Fukurou Café), which was pretty interesting- I didn’t wake up assuming I’d go inside of an “owl café” and get to pet some huge (and small) owls today! Japan has a lot of themed cafes, some including animals (we also saw a hedgehog café, for example) and this one was just like an owl petting zoo with a drink vending machine, but I was there for the owls- not the Calpico. After, we returned to NYC, ate dinner, started preparing for volunteering at an elementary school Friday, and now I’m finishing up this entry! If you ever come to Tokyo, I think going to Asakusa would be a good experience.
又話してね～ (Mata hanashite ne~)

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