Konichiwa!

I have been making somewhat of an effort to learn Japanese. It will take me years and years of learning this language and I still can't understand people 98% of the time, BUT, I can say more than just Konichiwa! 

Japanese words phrases that I actually know well:

Hello; Good Afternoon; Good Evening; Goodbye

Yes; No

Excuse me; Sorry (used a lot)

Thank you (used ALL the time)

Where is ______?

Kiss me (to Alex of course)

My name is Kayla

Cute 

Poop (Alex taught me this like 4 yrs ago)

Water

A phrase said before eating a meal (I don't know how to translate it in English)

I don't speak Japanese (used a fair amount, haha)

Card (like visa card)

Numbers 1-10

Ya, I know...super impressive. But honestly, it gets me by pretty well! I'm sure I'll get more technical as life goes on ;)

Japanese Quirks #2

1. A lot of restaurants don't have napkins but they give you a wet towel to wipe your hands before the meal

2. Restaurants are not like in America where they keep the water coming. Most restaurants give you a tiny water cup if you ask for it and never fill it up again

3. People j-walk all the time, but crossing before you're suppose to at a crosswalk is a no-no

4. Little kids ride the trains by themselves all the time. Like 5-year-olds.

5. People smoke everywhere, including restaurants and on the street

6. People bring their dogs everywhere, including restaurants

7. People dress nice here. Like really nice. Even if they're casual, their outfit still looks very put together. 

Here's another picture dump!

^^Literally every type of ice cream, including black sesame and green tea

 ^^Yakisoba

Asakusa might be the most touristy place in Tokyo. It is famous for the Buddhist Senso-ji temple and big outdoor market. This is the place to try classic Japanese fair-food and get souvenirs. They have the cutest little finger foods like their character chocolate-covered bananas. We tried some Yakisoba which was really good, and always get mochi that's covered with something that taste like peanut butter dust. Hard to explain haha. There were also these guys balancing huge bamboo sticks on their backs, foreheads, chins, etc. It's definitely a fun place. The Skytree (tallest building in Tokyo) is right across the river. The gold structure next to it is known as "the golden poop" by Japanese people. Very classy. After Asakusa, we took a boat ride to Odaiba. (Also some pictures on this blog will feature Jordan and Kayla since they came and stayed with us for a few days!)

So many pretty gardens around here! I visited the grounds of the imperial palace where the Emperor lives. You can't actually go to the palace, but there's beautiful nature around it to walk around.

Some cute buildings in the big financial district--Marunouchi. These streets kind of remind me of New York. 

 Within the same area of Marunouchi is a huge train station--THE Tokyo Station. Unfortunately, it was under construction so I didn't get the full effect. But it's pretty awesome. The inside is equally as cool. Large train stations like this have shopping malls and restaurants. It's like a whole city under ground. This train station has a "ramen street" with a bunch of ramen shops and a "character street" with about 30 character stores. Who knew that Tomagotchi was still a thing?! In Japan it is.

I still go to a new place almost every day and seriously love discovering all things new and different. I am constantly finding something that I would never find in America. So many gems here!

xoxo,

kay