day 9

[day 9] hope

We had packed up all our things, said goodbye to new friends and we ate our last Japanese style breakfast in Tsumagoi. While my breakfast was somewhat predictable and perhaps not much of a

culture shock, my friend Alice decided to try new things every morning. This particular day she had scooped a pile of small fish onto her plate to accompany her steamed veggies, mizo soup granola, and fruit. I really enjoy breakfast and I don't think that I would have much of an appetite if my breakfast was staring back at me. But Alice didn't seem to mind so Wanda and I had fun taking pictures with her breakfast.

We started our journey back to Toyko in our 3 Toyota vans around 9:00 a.m. We drove for about an hour along the coast with the Pacific Ocean in direct view. About 2 hours into our drive back we stopped at a rest area by Mt. Fuji. Mt. Fuji is one of those places that you see and you are so mesmerized by it that you continue to take pictures in the hopes that perhaps one photo will capture the grandness of it all. Pictures can capture a lot of special moments, but it is nothing like experiencing the moment. So, to the left is my sad attempt at capturing Fuji from our rest stop. After a short break we loaded back into our vans to finish our travel to Tokyo. Karol [see previous post for Karol reference] drove us back, so we spent the next hour or so listening

to her stories about Japan and asking her questions about the field. We dropped off our luggage and headed back into the city. I loved loved

loved walking around Tokyo. I could have spent the entire 10 days just

exploring the endless jungle of buildings. Whenever I visit a new city I enjoy getting lost, just for the sake of being able to find my way back

to wherever I started. I know it may sound irrational, but the idea of being able to spend days in a new place without an agenda, just exploring and experiencing the city for whatever it has to offer with each step. I always seem to feel more acquainted with a city that way.

Before we headed back into the Harajuku area we stopped to eat lunch. There was a small block that had a great selection of restaurants and cafes so our team split up and decided to meet back in about an hour. Wanda, Rachael and I were sitting on the porch of this cafe that was situated on a small intersection, just watching people and talking about our week in Tsumagoi and then this older man walked up to smoke a cigarette near an ash tray-yep, they are that considerate. I was trying to be sneaky and take a picture of his outfit from behind when we heard a loud traditional Japanese music begin to play around the corner. The man smoking suddenly put out his cigarette and walked briskly

out of our line of vision. We quickly cleaned off our table and followed the sound of the music. As we rounded the corner, we discovered this group of students performing traditional style Japanese song and dance on the corner. I was mesmerized. Their performance continued as our team slowly started to gather together and they were still singing after we left. Here is a little video to help explain what my words fall so short of:

We walked around the city for the remainder of the afternoon and finished our night with a team dinner. The dinner was a great way to finish our day. We got to laugh and talk through our favorite moments on the trip. As we walked back to the Mets I tried desperately to soak up all the lights and the faces that passed by.

But before we got back to our hotel I got to walk through the biggest intersection in the world. Literally.