Slow Saturday

It has been an awfully long time since my last blog, but nothing has really happened to me this week. This week was Ocean Week at camp which was a lot of fun, and the field trip we took to the Tokyo Sea Life Park was nice as well. I have discovered that I really love water, I have no idea why I haven't moved by the sea yet. Every day I spend near the ocean here in Japan INSTANTLY becomes a better day! In fact, on Tuesday I met Rie and Euma in Odaiba--and I have NEVER been more excited to see the Pacific Ocean! In Odaiba you can go right up to the edge of Tokyo Bay (YES I put my feet in!!) and you can even see the Statue of Liberty (well...Tokyo's statue of Liberty)!!

On Wednesday I met Rie in Harajuku and we visisted the Meiji Shrine. What I noticed the most about the Meiji Shrine was how it combined both Japanese and Western cultures into one. In many ways the Meiji Shrine is the embodiment of the Meiji Emperor himself--a young man fascinated by the culture and technology of the west while simultaneously fully embedded in his own country's history and customs. If the Meiji Emperor could see his city today I am sure he would be very pleased.
After the Meiji Shrine Rie and I strolled around Yoyoji Park where I inexplicably met one of my favourite campers, William! He was with his family and was sweet as always (he went right up and gave me a huge hug!). Yoyoji Park is very pretty--though not as exciting on a Wednesday night as I hear it is on Sunday. On Sunday, I am told, all of the harajuku girls, the Ska kids and all of the other major sub-cultures in Japan come out to display their work, dance and have fun! I am going to try to go to Tsukiji Fish Market tomorrow morning and may stop by Harajuku to see the party for myself.
On Thursday Euma, his friends Christine and Kosuke and I all went to Shibuya for a shopping adventure to Tokyuu hands (imagine an Ikea+Target with nicer stuff and waaaaaaay more inventory...everything you could possibly need and more!) and karaoke!
Yesterday I stayed at the club to relax a bit before going home. I went for a swim and discovered a roomy massage chair in the lady's locker room. I spent about 2 hours in the massage chair watching CNN World News Report.
Today I got a rather late start to the day because I was uploading photos...so my plans to go to Hakone have been called off. I was looking around in my guide book and found another cool city that is closer to me called Kawagoe...except that by the time I showered and got something to eat it was already too late in the day to go (since everything closes by 5:00 in Japan...). So, I have decided to stay home and catch up on my homework--it is the responsible thing to do , but not the funnest thing in the least bit. I may also go to Kawasaki and have a look around there...maybe.

So, I know that I have been awfully bad about posting photos, but I am about to make it up to you all! I have discovered that Facebook is actually the fastest way to upload pictures, and I can share my albums with ANYONE now! So, here we go, a massive photo update:

KAMAKURA
My Day With Rie
The Imperial Gardens and Inside the Imperial Gardens
Ueno Park and Tokyo Tower
ASAKUSA
KYOTO part 1 and KYOTO part 2
ODAIBA
Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Hachiko Crossing at Night