Back in Tokyo

I'm back from my whirlwind travels of Hawaii and San Francisco... More on those places later. I awoke Sunday morning at the time of 4:30am and begin with the same few questions I have started asking myself:
1. What country am I in? Answer: Japan
2. What city am I in? Answer: Tokyo
3. What time zone am I in and what day is it? Answer: way too early; Sunday (Happy Father's Day, but oh wait it's still Saturday in the states so calling now would be too early)

After settling the basics I started the day with a battle between me and the washer/dryer. Have I mentioned that the washer/dryer is literally ONE machine - you put the clothes in and they are washed and dried without human intervention. Since I like to dry some clothes for just a few minutes and others all the way, I selected the wash only cycle and would follow up with the dry only cycle. The wash only went fine (clothes seemed clean). The dry only cycle started fine however when I wanted to pull some of the my clothes out the machine would not open. Mind you the instructions/buttons are in Japanese so they make no sense and the "cheat sheet" that the apartment gave me doesn't help that much either so I'm flying blind. I started hitting random buttons, closing and opening lids and finally success! Score: Julie =1, Tempermental Washer/Dryer = 0

I had found a yoga studio online and decided that would be my adventure outside the apartment for the. Monica and I decided to stop by the Starbucks for a pick-me-up before we headed down to the subway. I ordered a frappacino and a banana, which was right on the counter near the register, so I went to pick one up when all of a sudden the Starbucks employee slapped my hand! I'm not kidding; I was astonished and completely taken a back by the reaction (Monica was in utter shock). He informed me (in Japanese) that I should wait by the drink counter for my banana and coffee. I mean I love service as much as the next person but I think I am capable of choosing my own banana!

Yoga was a huge win - 75 minutes with an instructor from America made me forget I was in Tokyo. We asked one of the ladies where we could grab brunch around the studio and she suggested this great place as well as a proper grocery store with American brands and magazines!! Monica and I were sold! We spent the afternoon pursuing the streets near Roppongi Hills. The grocery store was awesome - I never thought I'd be so excited to see Tide, Skippy peanut butter, and People magazine in English. However victory was spoiled when we learned how much the maganizes were - $10-20 yikes! We had to make some smart selections and ensure the biggest bang for the buck.

After Roppongi Hills we headed to the Grand Hyatt to check out where Lost in Translation (btw - I have a new found respect for that movie!) was filmed. Realizing we were very under-dressed for the restaurant/bar we opted for the street level cafe. I ordered a diet coke (whatelse) and was pleasantly surprised when a very large glass appeared however was unpleasantly surprised to learn this large glass of dc was going to cost me $8. For an $8 dc and Monica's $8 tea we decided to make camp for a while and enjoy our newly purchased magazines!

Dinner was another adventure... we met David (head of the KSA Japan office and basically a native) at a subway stop near Roppongi Hills (our new favorite place in Tokyo). We went to a very authentic place where we did have to take off our shoes (note to self - must remember to take socks when going out!) The floor was covered in bamboo type rugs so it felt nice. We had a variety of food for dinner - ceaser salad, crab cakes, some sausage thing, sashimi, etc all were good. After dinner Monica and I were ready to head home when we saw the streets where filled with people all wearing Japan's world cup jerseys. The game started at 10:30pm and folks were beginning the celebrations at 8pm - crazy.



One more thing... it's rainy season here which means it is 85 degrees and drizzles all day long. So you are hot and sticky not to mention damp all day however no one else seems to look as disheveled as I do - must be something you just get used to; wonder how long that will take??