Japan -- the last day & Gorillas in the Mist

The Remainder of Friday

It was hard to sleep after the excitement of the fish market. I was back out on the streets at 9:30 armed with a plan and some true excitement to explore the city on my own.

I headed to Ueno, where I walked and walked and walked.I did a little shopping, and then headed into Ueno Park (someone compared it to Central Park, and I supposed they're right in a way). There were paddle boats, shrines, gardens, an amusement park, a zoo, and a wing of the park filled with museums. My goal was to hit a lot of those attractions.

Of course the zoo--ah! The zoo. The animals are VERY close up there, and they had some good ones (even a panda). Many of them were interactive. As I ate my ice cream cone and watched the gorillas, one of them who was chewing on a bamboo stick noticed me, threw down the stick, and marched right over to the glass and sat down.

Other little monkeys played hide and go seek with me behind branches. A lioness paced back and forth right behind the glass (this was a little scary, and I couldn't help but think of the SF Zoo incident from Christmas with the tiger). But it was really fun. I had a ride on the monorail, and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful day.

I also went to the Toyko National Museum, which houses the largest collection of Japanese art in the world. The most interesting artifacts being the scrolls, the weapons, and the armor.

I then headed over to Ginza, the upscale shopping district. I headed into two different malls (which is an experience in itself, as the service model there is VERY different), but was stunned at the high prices. Just as well--I was running a bit late.

Made it back to the hotel with 10 minutes to change and meet everyone in the lobby for dinner at the famous New York Grill at the top of the Park Hyatt (made famous by Lost in Translation). Dinner was good.

Afterwards, Patrick insisted we go "party." The concierge recommended a place, and we were whizzing off in a couple of cabs.

We had to laugh when we arrived at Grace when we realized it was a caucasian bar--they must have looked at us and determined it would be best. haha. We also had to laugh at the girl next to us drinking a Zima. It inspired us to all drink them the next round to relive the early 90's.

Gorillas in the Mist

Oh, I won't do this section justice. Saturday morning, Patrick, Todd, Carrie and I took the train to Hokone, near the base of Mt. Fuji. Here we checked into a Japanese Hot Springs Inn.

The Inn was amazing. Our suite looked a bit like something Mr. Migayi would live in, with hallways and rooms on rooms, sliding paper and wood doors, and soft matted flooring. We had a private garden that was simply lovely and serene. We left our shoes at the front door, and changed into our Japanese robes and "camel toe socks" for the rest of the weekend.

After we were served tea in our room by a kimono-clad, extremely friendly woman, Carrie and I got over our shyness and went to the ladies' hot springs. It was gorgeous. One of the best things about the weekend was that it rained or drizzled the whole time. This made everything really beautiful. The view of the mountains, the gardens, the mist rising off the water. That's the first bit to the name Gorillas in the Mist--it looked right out of a movie.

After the baths, Patrick was quick to start with the sake and beer. It kept coming and coming and coming. Todd and Patrick were the first to slip into one of the rooms and receive massages. After they were finished, Carrie and I went in. I had the man, who we dubbed "hardo" (as did Todd). Mainly stemming from his question at the beginning: "Hardo or Softo?" We both choose hardo, and he wasn't messing around.

Dinner was served in the room. It ended up being one of those marathons again--12 or so courses that made us feel sick by the 8th. Mr. Party Guy Patrick was still egging on a night of craziness ordering and reordering the sake and beer. But before the last course, he decided to go into the other room and lay down for a minute to rest. Within 5 minutes, he was snoring. We named him "FIFO," for First In First Out. It was only 8:00.

Carrie, Todd, and I went to the hot springs again after dinner. It really is so relaxing, and such a nice way to have a good conversation (you have to forget the fact you're naked, which I think we did).

Afterwards, the three of us returned to the room. Patrick made an appearance again for about 5 minutes before crashing again. Carrie also laid down, and Todd and I chatted for a couple of hours before turning in.

I had a pretty restless sleep, and it seemed like Carrie did, too. We were on our way to the Springs again at 7 am. There, we witnessed Gorilla in the Mist 2 (it was actually a woman au natural).

Breakfast was served again in our room--also big. By this time, I'm feeling a little tired of raw fish and strange squid, and unidentifable jiggly things. So, I eat what I can of it. Todd is the only one to see Gorilla in the Mist 3--a monkey run across our garden and leap over the wall to the other side.

The hot springs / Japanese Inn experience was SO pleasurable. It was good company, we had a lot of laughs, and a great time to get to know people. I think we all loved it.

It was finally time to head back, and we took a few trains to the airport. We all sat in the lounge until our flights were called. My flight was much shorter on the return. I watched a movie and slept for a bit.

For another take on the experience and more pictures (and for his continuing adventures), check out Todd's blog...

I'm now waiting for Ian to come home. He'll be here very soon! Hooray for that.

If I were an otter, my name would be Sal.