February 24, 2016 – February 27, 2016
We flew out of Washington DC, Dulles International Airport on Tuesday, February 23 and arrived at Tokyo Narita airport on Wednesday, February 24. The flight ended up being a great flight. My friend and I sat in the same row and had a seat between us, so lots of space. We arrived at our hotel in Ikebukuro around dinnertime. All groups ate dinner (I believe sukiyaki) together, but afterwards, we did whatever we wanted. Since I was quite jetlagged, I walked around Ikebukuro for a bit and then returned to the hotel to go to bed.
I woke up early the next morning (yay jetlag) and decided to take advantage of the little free time available. I walked around Ikebukuro when the streets were empty. I must say, seeing Tokyo, the largest city in the world, completely empty actually surprised me. Maybe after living in Seoul, a city that is active 24/7, I expected Tokyo to be the same. However, Tokyo seemed dead at 4 or 5 in the morning, except for the few workers delivering goods.
During the first day, we mostly attended meetings in Ikebukuro. However, we had some free time at lunch to explore around Ikebukuro. With a couple of others in my group, I walked down streets that I had visited two years prior. I recognized the mall where J-World is located. We passed by the same maid shop I remember walking by with my friend. Yet, I explored more of Ikebukuro than I had the opportunity to do so previously.
I woke up even earlier on the third day. One place that I did not have the chance to visit previously, but really wanted to do so, was Tokyo Tower. Since the metro had not opened yet, I took a taxi (yes, I know it is expensive) from Ikebukuro to Tokyo Tower. The weather was not to bad for a winter day, so I decided to walk back, plus I spent so much on the taxi to Tokyo Tower that I didn’t want to waste my money. It took much longer than expected. I walked halfway then took the metro so that I could make it back to the hotel in time for our first activity. I must say, this solo trip was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. I had the opportunity to walk through a deserted Tokyo, stumble upon Akasaka Palace (the guesthouse for visiting heads of states), and watch the sun rise behind the skyscrapers. I have always loved getting “lost” in a city when I travel, so this solo trip fulfilled that desire.
The meetings organized on the third day, February 24, were much more engaging than on the previous day. First, we visited the US Embassy in Tokyo and met with current Foreign Service Officers. They spoke on the work that they do to further US-Japan relations, commented on the 2016 election, and provided connections for some members of our group. We then moved to visit the Japanese National Diet Building, which became the highlight of the trip. Afterwards, our group did not have to attend dinner, so I went off on my own to explore a place I could not previously, Akihabara. Akihabara felt like I imagined Tokyo should feel like. People mingling, lights flashing, a vibrant city. After taking some pictures and doing some window-shopping, I ate rotary sushi. One odd thing about the meals that Kakehashi organized, they never took us to a sushi restaurant. They provided us with a variety of traditional Japanese dishes, but never sushi. Instead, they once took us out to a ‘western’ buffet (more like Westernized pan-Asian food) and a Chinese buffet. I would have preferred if we just stuck to Japanese food.
We left Tokyo on the fourth day to head to Hiroshima. We took the Shinkansen (high-speed railway) and passed by Mt. Fuji. I had a perfect view of it for a good 15-20 minutes, but not enough time to really appreciate an iconic mountain. Sometime, I will have to properly visit Mt. Fuji. I think I just need to travel all throughout Japan before I can become satisfied to some degree. There are just so many beautiful sceneries and mountains.
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