2011年の日本の地震 分布図 Japan earthquakes 2011 Visualization map (2012-01-01)

This will show you how devastating the March disaster was in Japan. The video will take your breath away!

Food and Drinks in Tokyo!

Chirashi Donburi

Raw fish and bits of seaweed over rice. Topped with wasabi

500 yen ($6.50)

Hot Milk Tea

400 yen ($5)

Ten-don

Tempura Shrimp and vegetables over rice

500 yen ($6.50)

Mochi Soup

Very popular during the New Years season

(made by my friend's mom)

Black egg

Boiled from hot water from a hot spring!

500 Yen for 6 ($6.50)

Disneyland Tokyo

I had an amazing time at Tokyo Disneyland. I went on a holiday so the lines for the rides were extremely long! As the day went on and many of the little kids went home the lines started to shorten up.

Most of the rides are identical to Disneyland in Los Angeles (except for the fact thateverything is in Japanese.) I plan to go to Disney Sea very soon which is a different theme park and apparently offers more rides that are Japan-exclusive.


My most memorable part of the day was waiting 5 hours for my Fast Pass wait time to run out and then thirty minutes in line so I could get on Space Mountain. When in line for space mountain, one of the workers pulled me and my friend off to the side and told us to come with her because my legs might be too long to fit on the ride! So they took me to a back room where they had the spare Space Mountain carts and asked me to try and sit it one....surprisingly I could barely fit! The only way I could fit was if I crossed my legs! They then had me practice getting in and out of the cart. It was quite entertaining to say the least, and the staff was very polite and nice about the situation.

Tokyo Tower

This is my second post about Tokyo Tower, but since it is one of Tokyo's most iconic symbols I think it's fair enough to receive a second one. I went to Tokyo Tower right when the sun was starting to set and was able to get some pretty interesting photos!

 Mt. Fuji and Mori Tower

 Mt. Fuji

Tokyo Tower from the base

Sumo Wrestling

Sumo wrestling is an iconic symbol of Japan. A very honorable sport, thats origins come from legends. I got the chance to see a Sumo match and really learned about a different aspect of Japanese culture.

When walking around the Sumo town of Ryogoku you can spot sumo wrestlers everywhere. (My favorite moment was watching four sumo wrestlers pile into a small taxi cab and watch the car slowly sink down.)

Sumo, is a very slow sport. You will have about 5 minutes of ceremonial mannor in-between 5-15 second matches. The sumo wrestlers throw salt to purify the ring, and stomp to make the bad spirits go away. After a few repeats of this, they finally begin wrestling!

The rules in sumo wrestling are very simple: You lose if any part besides the bottom of your foot touches the ground or if you step or fall outside of the circle. (A lot more simple compared to American football which has over 350 rules!)

No Sleeping! This is a McDonalds!

Missing the last train is a real pain for everyone in Tokyo. Most trains' last departures are around 12:30, so if you don't catch that what do you do? You could call a taxi but that will cost you anywhere from $50-$100. You could walk, but that would take forever, and sometimes it's nearly impossible. So most people just camp it out, but where? Well, what business is everywhere, open late, safe, warm, and comfortable?

McDonalds! When you miss the last train, it's one of the best places to go hang out...but not so fast. The minute you rest your head on the table or close your eyes, get ready to be shoulder tapped by a McDonalds employee asking you kindly not to sleep.

I'm sure someday McDonalds will find a way to make money and still allow you to sleep, but until then keep your eyes open and enjoy your Big Mac.

Little Tokyo.mov

A video I created from my first week in Tokyo

Yoyogi Park

Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world, especially for foreigners. So it's really nice to find something free to do. The best thing I have found is to meet with some friends and relax on the grass in Yoyogi Park. It's beautiful at sun down and is one of the few places in the city where you can get back to nature.

Halloween in Japan

A lot of foreign holidays are picked up by Japan and Japanified. Halloween is a great example, it's an excuse for people to dress up and show their creativity. Most people will go to clubs or bars to celebrate with their friends.

Shibuya is already an interesting place, but on Halloween it was so crazy. On my left I saw Power Rangers running past Hachiko and on my right Japanese girl's dressed as witches crossing the scramble.

Don Quijote was packed with people buying last minute costumes.

I went to a brand new club, that opened up on Friday called Sound Vision Museum, where Verbal from M-flo performed.

The Land of the Rising Sun

From the top of my building at 6 a.m.

Want to see the sun rise, check this website for times:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=248