Day 6, Tokyo, Imperial Palace, Odaiba

Blog Post by Isabel:

Yesterday was our last night with our first host families. I helped my family make dinner (miso soup, salad, and fried pork) and spent time with them. 

At 9 am, everyone met at the Kasukabe station to head to the city. 

It was tough saying goodbye to our first host families that have been so generous and kind to us. I’m glad that we’ll be able to spend time with them again in a week. 

The train ride was super crowded, but overall peaceful. It gave us a chance to rest our heavy backpacks. We passed by Akihabara, then transferred to Iidabashi where our youth hostel is. 

After dropping our big backpacks off at the youth hostel, sensei allowed us an hour and a half of free time in the vicinity. 

Hostel is on 18th floor. What a view we get!

I had lunch at Mos Burger with Jocelyn, Luna, Fynn, Clay, and Damaris. These weren’t just any burgers; Damaris and I ordered a rice burger, where the patty was made of fried rice and contained vegetables and fried shrimp. Fynn and Clay also bought taiyaki (fish snack). Other members of the group got ramen or rice bowls. 

After lunch, we visited the SEGA arcade. There were tons of games and crane machines where you could win cute stuffed animals or anime figures. Clay and I tried really hard to win an anime figure, but no luck... :( We bought some snacks and drinks at the local drug store as consolation. Cassie and Patience won a few stuffed animals. 

Next, the group walked many miles towards the Imperial Palace. On the way, we took a stop at the WWII Memorial and took some nice pictures together. 

There were many HUGE gates that lined the palace. The gates led to various walkways. We explored the historical monuments, giant stone walls, and admired the view from the old palace ruins. 

My favorite part was when we visited a garden. The iris flowers were in full bloom and looked stunning with the water reflections. 

After the Imperial Palace, we walked back to the hostel to rest. Our next destination was Odaiba. We rode a driverless train above the city, and people had fun pretending to be the station driver in the front. The view was amazing. We could see Tokyo Tower and the Rainbow Bridge. 

Once we arrived in Odaiba, everyone had a few hours of free time to do whatever they wanted. There were a few giant malls, a car museum, and the Gundam (a giant robot statue). I was most excited for the Gundam and watched the light shows with Jocelyn, Damaris, Payton, and Chenoa. We also went to the Hello Kitty Store and bought ice cream together. Clay and Calvin enjoyed looking at the Toyotas in the car museum, while Luna and Finn went to the LEGO Store and explored the mall. Patience and Cassie visited the Studio Ghibli store inside the mall and also went shopping. 

At a quarter to 9, the group came together at the Statue of Liberty and took a group photo. The view of the Rainbow Bridge at night was just as awesome as the daytime. We then headed back to the hostel by train. Although we are a little tired from walking so much today, the adventures and memories we made were well worth the trip.