Day Nineteen of Travel to ? 6-18-09

DAY NINETEEN- TOKYO Cityrama Tour

Today I took a guided tour of Tokyo! First is the TOKYO TOWER meant to be a modern representation of the famous tower in France. We drove by Roppongi known for the bars and night life and the Roppongi Hills shopping tower in midtown Tokyo. It had 54 floors of shopping! Next was the Meiji Shrine (Shinto) where we learned the purifying customs before entering the shrine. Walking under the torii (gateway) meant mental purification. Water washing signifies the physical purifying (Body and Mouth). 70% of Japanese are Shinto and 60% are Buddhist (If those numbers don't add up for you, it is because many Japanese are BOTH) There are 180,000 trees designated as "sacred" near and around the shrine complex. The lanterns and stores of royal/sacred sake were impressive.
Soon we were off and driving by Takashita district which is a HUGE shopping area in Harajuko for teenage-ish shoppers. Then we stopped at the Royal Palace. It is 284 acres in the center of Tokyo. The gardens there were breathtaking and I loved taking pictures there.
Finally we headed to Asakusa 628 A.D. the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Also the oldest Geisha district...I guess there are still 45 actively working Geishas there today. ?? Who knew?? At the end of the day I bought my plane ticket home and within 24 hours I flew through Taiwan to Anchorage! THE END.

Day Eighteen of Travel to ? 6-17-09

YOKOTA (Rest Day)

I liked the massage from yesterday morning so much that I had another one this morning! TALK about spoiled! I can't believe how reasonable, wonderful, and convenient it is to have a massage here! The flights for today were cancelled, so I just wallowed in a long hot bubble bath, walked to the Air Mobility Command (AMC) to confirm that I am signed up for travel Space-A, took a nap, watched TV, wandered into ITT (Information Tickets and Travel) and booked a tour of Tokyo, and relaxed in my room. Much needed day of rest!

Day Seventeen of Travel to ? 6-16-09

TOKYO
Since the Flight to Elmendorf was cancelled today, I started the day off with an hour long massage! WOW! I needed that after hauling my body weight around in luggage! What a way to start the day! That's right...you have now seen the inside of a woman's toilet stall in Fussa Station- Tokyo, Japan. Not all together unexpected, I was taken aback for a moment when faced with this novelty. (Big Smile) That is why they say "squat" I'm sure...

I ventured into downtown Tokyo

You think it's just another water fountain? Turn that little knob and see what it does! I myself, and many other tourists got water shot into the face by this sneaky little public perk. I laughed really hard when someone got the water shot straight up into their nose!

Guards at the Imperial Palace. This reminds me of the Royals in England.

Shogun (I think).

I wandered my way around town and through the train system today and accomplished some simple, but key things. I figured out how to order sushi (even though no one spoke English and the Japanese I can speak is pitifully little) I shopped at the grocery store and found some great ingredients to take home for sushi! I could spend years here and just barely scratch the surface of all there is to experience. Tokyo is overwhelmingly AMAZING!

Day Sixteen of Travel to ? 6-15-09

OKINAWA JAPAN TO MAINLAND JAPAN Here I am sipping green tea on the flight form the Naha airport, Okinawa Japan to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan

What's the first thing I see when I step off the gruelling 2.5 hour train ride? Mickey-D's. ???Where am I?

This shot puts my location into better perspective.

I finally made it to the base and checked into a great situation!

Day Fifteen of Travel to ? 6-14-09

OKINAWA (Above- Stacy)
So I met some people through my flight on the C17 to Kadena and we all went out Saturday and Sunday nights! 6 different stops and ended up on Saturday night/Sunday morning at a REALLY neat Karaoke place with all you can drink, eat, and sing until 7:00am! Wow! Talk about amazing fun!

(Joe, Me, Mark, Stacy)

I'm sure I'll have to go back to Okinawa to capture the rest of the experiences there, but I enjoyed the night life and all the fun I had in the short time I was there.

Day Fourteen of Travel to ? 6-13-09

OKINAWAWoke up bright and early and went to breakfast at a local restaraunt and captured some early morning beauty on my walk.Caught a shuttle down to the "American Villiage" to get my naviating started in Japan. American Villiage is Okinawa's take on American culture, food, and shopping. Interesting and not really close to the reality I know back home. I did order Saki Soba for lunch and was impressed! Near the sea wall downtown.

I rode the ferris wheel and got a great glimpse of the city. Here's a rare moment where is wasn't sprinkling rain.

Day Thirteen of Travel to ? 6-12-09

OKINAWA JAPAN (Camp Foster)So "technically" I got into Japan tonight at 7:30 pm and I sort of skipped a day. After Immigration and Customs, the Marines drove us back to Kadena where we signed up for travel from Kadena and then a nice couple (who were in the group with me on the plane) drove me to Camp Foster to find lodging since Kadena was full. I camped out on the couch in the lobby for an hour or two until they "found" a room available for me. hahah! Cute little rooms with a KING size bed and all the amenities you could need. I was SOO happy to have a bed to sleep in!