Day 6 in Tokyo: Imperial Palace, Iris Garden, Odaiba

Keith:

Today we said goodbye to our first host family and got on a series of trains in order to get to Shibuya, a district in Tokyo. 

However, me, Jack and Diane were kicked off one of the trains and consequently stranded in Nishi-Nippori. Five minutes in and Diane was already panicking whilst Jack and I were thinking of a way to resolve our little mishap. 

Being the responsible adults we are, we all tried to come up with a fool-proof plan to reunite with our comrades. Diane had suggested we try to get back to the last station. Jack suggested that we find WiFi in order to contact sensei/Mr. Zurn. I simply said, "Let's find a payphone." 

So, we called sensei and she told us where to go. From that point on we found our way back to sensei and made our way through Shibuya.

After we were done being lost, our group stopped to eat in Iidabashi district. Jack and I had tempura with soba. There was a very cozy pastry shop that sold macaroons, cake and various other creme filled pastries. 

After that we went to the Imperial Palace and took a whole bunch of photos. Although the palace itself was just ruins, the moat walls and iris garden was still cool.

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[There was construction at the station where we were catching our very crowded subway train, so the group thought the three students were still on the platform. But workers had got them in a different car on the same train! They didn't miss the train, they just couldn't get to the group. But they did a great job to call sensei!]

Zach with host brother

Bridge to enter Imperial Palace grounds

Whole crew at Imperial Palace Iris Garden (except Virginia)

Girl's Team

After we checked into the Youth Center hostel, then we went to Odaiba at Tokyo Bay. 

Keith:

Lastly, we had about four hours of free time in Odaiba. All of us rode the ferris wheel (minus Zach and Ryan because they dislike heights with a burning passion). 

After that we split because the girls went on their own little shopping escapade. 

Jack and I dropped about $140 each on clothes from ユニクロ (Uniqlo) and then walked around aimlessly trying not to think about the amount of money we spent of various stretchy pants and golf shirts. Cory, Dayne, Jack bought green tea KitKat and sake KitKat bars (only 0.8% alc. so don't worry parental units). We also visited a car show which was pretty okay. 

By the time we met up with the rest of the group everyone had bought something. Especially one Mr. Ryan Lemon. by the mini statue of liberty and took a group photo. 

Mini Statue of Liberty

The rest of the night didn't matter because everyone was extremely exhausted, but FYI I showered for about 30 minutes which was the equivalent of being sung to sleep by a chorus of angels that faintly resembled Danny Davito as they performed a soulful rendition of Old Man River conducted by Morgan Freeman whilst pouring the nectar of the gods from an artsy teapot made by Bob Ross on your body. In other words, it was very humid in Odaiba. We had tons of fun :)