Tokyo, Day 1!

Whew! We finally got back from Tokyo, and it was a trip! We are all worn out, but it was worth it. Before I get to far ahead, I am going to post two blogs, but of course this one will be posted and then the other one, so by the time you get to read this, you probably will have already read the first one. Oh well, I think that I will put a disclaimer on the Day 2 part. Anyways, were was I....oh yes-Tokyo.
First of all, Tyler and I woke up very early and got to the train station and took the 7:40 train. The guys are staying just one stop away, so we agreed to meet somewhere on the train and leave the train together when we got to Tokyo. Tyler and I got on the train, and it was so packed! We got to the stop where the guys were and did not see then, so we figured they were on there somewhere. We went a bit further and still we did not see the guys. I decided to go look for them. I told Tyler to stay there so I would know where she was. I went to the front cars and got stuck there for a while. There was a mass of bodies, so I could not move. Finally, the train stopped in Mito, which is about 30 minutes from Taga. I was able to move back to see Tyler, and still no sign of the guys. We started to move to the back cars. The trains are huge people! Finally, we see them. They are just sitting there listening to their music. They were surprised to see us. They had been at the last car and moved all the way to about the top 5 and thought that we were not on there. We all got situated and rode on for another 2 hours. We reached our stop at Ueno station, which just happens to be the biggest station in all of Tokyo. It is crazy crowded! We got off the train, went on the subway to get our hotel. We were all very hungry so we went to McDonalds for lunch. Their McDonalds is so much better than in America. I dont know what it is. Anyways, we walked around for a while and finally found our hotel. It was nearing 1 so we went ahead and checked in. The hotel only had singles, so we got 4 rooms and it was 3200 yen a person (30 bucks). Not bad. We unloaded some of our stuff and headed back to the subway. Our first destination was Ueno park. It is just a huge park full of all sorts of things. Some of our readers told us about a Louvre exhibit on display at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. There was suppose to be all these statues built in Greece that are held at the Lourve. We got to the museum and it was not taking visitors!! Bummer, man! We walked back outside and decided to go the National Science Museum. It was alot of fun. It is like 6 floors jam packed with cool and interesting stuff. A lot of the stuff was in English too. We spent a good 3 hours there and decided to go to Tokyo Tower. Again, we got on the subway and rode for a while until we got to the tower. We had to then walk quite a way in order to get there. We finally saw it and it was beautiful! It was about 5:30 by now. We went inside and once in there it is full of all sorts of stuff! Stores, restaurants, gift shops...etc. There is even an amusement park and a huge aquarium. Wow. We all wanted to go to this trick art museum. It was so cool! We took a ton of pics and the art work was amazing! All sorts of stuff to look at. We spent quite a while in there. We left and went to buy our tickets for the observation deck of the tower. It was about 15 bucks to see both decks. The first deck is about 250 meters up and the next is like 400 or something. Not really sure. We got to the first deck and it was really cool. It is indoors and surrounded by glass. Pictures were a little difficult, but I just turned off the flash. We were dissapointed because we could not see Mt. Fuji, because it was pretty foggy (big surprise). We then took the elevator to the top deck, which was an even smaller space. When we went to the Empire State Building in New York City a couple of summers ago, you were outside surrounded by huge barriers. Pictures turned out very clear though. Again, here, we were indoors and surrounded by glass. It was so beautiful to see Tokyo and all its glory. We could see everything, even the Emporer`s Palace. We went back to the lower level and visited the gift shop. We got a few souvenirs and made our way to the ground. We visited some little shops before they closed, which was 8, and bought some souvenirs. We then passed a Baskin Robbins. I just stood there, debating to get ice cream or not. I did and it was amazing. We left the tower and were starving. We hopped back onto the subway and got off at Roppongi and ate at a TGI Fridays. I got a huge hamburger and big ol` greasy fries. It was delicious. Exactly American. No Japanese added flavor. Wonderful. It was nearing 10 so we made our way back to the hotel. It was about 10:20 when we finally got there. I took a quick shower (I was pretty nasty, and brought no soap or anything. Basically I only brought a toothbrush, deodorant, and a shirt for the next day.) Before I get off and tell you about the next day, let me describe to you my hotel room. You of course take off your shoes and place them on a mat in front of the door in your room. Once in the room there is bed. It is like a futon cushion and just lays there. No frame or anything. Of course, a twin size. There is a little shelf with an icebox and a tv. That is it. The sink is down the hall, the bathroom down the hall, and the shower downstairs. Crazy. They also give you a towel and a Yukata (Kimon) to wear. I slept in it and it was so comfortable. So, that was my first day. You are now allowed to read day 2!!