Tokyo - Candy and Cuteness

Thursday the 22nd was our last day in Tokyo and the end of our summer traveling. :( We started out the day by going to Tokyo Station to put our luggage in a coin locker. First Jonathan got a drink from a fancy vending machine. There were a lot of Star Trek ads all over Tokyo that week.

Tokyo - Shibuya, Shinjuku, and a Storm in Ikebukuro

We started the next day, the 21st, off in Shibuya. After stopping in Starbucks so that Jonathan could eat some breakfast (he slept too late for the hotel breakfast) we spent some time in Loft where I bought some more cute stickers. I'm not sure but it seemed like they had fewer cute stickers than they used to have. They still had some really cute ones though!

Tokyo - Odaiba Part Two - Trick Art Museum and Oedo Onsen

After lunch we finally made it to the Trick Art Museum. We had to wait maybe about 5-10 minutes to enter because they limit the number of people so that there aren't too many people trying to take pictures at the same time.

I love taking random pictures so this was a great place for me. So much fun! There's not too much to say so I'll just let you enjoy the pictures.

Tokyo - Odaiba Part One - Vintage Arcade

 

We spent Tuesday the 20th in Odaiba. I took a ton of pictures so I'm going to split this into two parts. I probably should have done that with Miyajima as well. That post had about 100 photos!

To get to Odaiba we took the Yurikamome monorail. The escalator railing in the station was decorated.

Tokyo - Ikebukuro, Ueno Park, Ginza, and a Cute Parfait

The next day we went to Tokyo which is only about two hours (by slow local trains) from Atami. We arrived around lunch time so we first went to Namja Town because I wanted to eat gyoza there.

A Day at Shirahama Beach in Shimoda

 

After spending Friday and Saturday in Iwata and Hamamatsu, we headed back out for more traveling. On Saturday we went to Shimoda which is in the southeastern part of the Izu peninsula. I used to live in Izu, but I only visited Shimoda once because even though it wasn't far, there wasn't very direct transportation there because of the mountains. I either had to take an indirect bus route that didn't run very often or take a bus east, a train north, and then a train back south. It just wasn't convenient at all from Toi.

First we arrived in Atami a little before noon. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and headed back towards the station to find somewhere to eat. We decided to just eat at McDonald's because we didn't want to waste time finding another place and well, it just sounded good!

Miyajima

 

On the 14th we went to Miyajima, a small island near Hiroshima. From Hiroshima station it takes about 30 minutes by train and then a ten minute ferry ride.

Hiroshima

 

The next day, on the 13th, we headed to Hiroshima. We used our Seishun Juuhachi Kippu again so it took almost seven hours. It wasn't too bad though and it didn't really seem quite that long.

Osaka - Universal Studios

 

We spent our second day in Osaka at Universal Studios. I originally wanted to arrive at opening, but we arrived about an hour later because we stayed up late the night before. We took a train to Universal City Station. I thought we had to transfer, but we didn't really have to, so we got off the train for no reason. We had to wait about ten minutes for the next train but it ended up being a good thing because the next train was decorated with Harry Potter!!!

Osaka Aquarium and Umeda Sky Building

On the 11th, the day after the fireworks, Jonathan and I headed to Osaka. We took local trains instead of the shinkansen because we used seishun juuhachi kippu. That ticket gives you five days of unlimited travel on local and rapid JR lines. It's only 11,500 yen so that's only 2,300 yen a day. It's a really good deal if you have the time to take slower trains.

Fukuroi Enshu Fireworks

 

Last Saturday (August 10th) I went to the Fukuroi Enshu Fireworks festival. Fukuroi is a town to the east of Iwata and it's only a five minute train ride away. The fireworks show took place in a park about a half hour walk from Fukuroi station.

Biking and the Beach

Last Friday Jonathan and I too a bike ride in the late afternoon/evening. Before setting out I bought some snacks at a konbini. I got peach mango gummies, tea, and Cheeza crackers (So good! Better than Cheez-its!) The tea came with a Rilakkuma bottle cover! :)

I Climbed Mt. Fuji Again!

On Monday night, Jonathan and I climbed Mt. Fuji. It was his first time, but my second time (here's the post about my first time: Fujisan! I Climbed a Volcano!).

The forecast I saw for Mt. Fuji was constantly changing, but it consistently said that Monday night would be clear. It showed PM rain, night clear, and AM rain, but the rain was only supposed to be a few millimeters. As we rode the train from Iwata to Fujinomiya station it got cloudier and cloudier. It was raining in Fujinomiya when we arrived and started raining even harder while we waited for the bus. Shortly before the bus arrived it started to clear up a bit.

The bus took about an hour and a half to reach the 5th station of the Fujinomiya trail. It winds up the mountain through a really pretty forest. It got really really foggy and creepy looking (I guess the bus driver knows that route pretty well because visibility was sooooo low!). It was cool looking, but my outlook for the climb wasn't good.

We arrived at the 5th station and waited for a while to adjust to the altitude. The bus had taken us to 2,400 meters. While we waited, we looked in the gift shop and bought our walking sticks and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we had packed.

The weather at the 5th station wasn't good. It wasn't raining hard, but it was misty and there weren't any good views. I was hoping the forecast was right and that it would eventually clear up.

My Summer So Far

I have been on summer break since July 18th. I haven't done too much yet though. I'm saving my money for when I go to Osaka, Miyajima, and Tokyo. So I haven't done any traveling, but I've done a few things around here. I've been to the malls a couple times. At Ichino in Hamamatsu I saw Pon de Lion, Mister Donut's mascot! So cute! Jonathan thought this was embarrassing, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity, haha.