Saturday, July 7, 2012

Put Me In Coach... I'm Ready To Play

July 7, 2012
Shin Fuji - Tokyo
Coco Grand Hotel Ueno

The morning began with another nice run through the neighborhood of the Scruggs Family. It wasn't quite as humid as yesterday, however it didn't take long to get the muscles warmed up. Following the jog it was time for breakfast, an American - Japanese hybrid of an English muffin with cream cheese and jalapenos. Not too Japanese I'm afraid... but delicious nonetheless. Clouds continued to cover the Japanese sky and at 11:00am we departed for the train station to catch the bullet train back to Tokyo.

Arriving in Tokyo at about 1:00pm, I made my way to my hotel, dodging rain drops every step of the way. Finally arriving about 1:30pm, I was told that check-in wasn't until 2pm and thus I had to hang out (or go get lunch) until then. Luckily, the golden arches were right around the corner and one can never go wrong with McD's.

I made my way back to my hotel a bit past two, and checked into my very nice, but very tiny hotel room. The room was outfitted with every amenity, but in miniature size. I'd say the room measured less than 150 square feet, with the bathroom being the smallest bathroom that I'd ever been in, it was nearly impossible to turn around, but it was indeed very nice, had a great shower and the lovely Japanese toilet that is everywhere... (look it up!).

After drying off from the day dodging rain drops it was time to make my way to the Tokyo Dome for the baseball game between the Giants and the Swallows. Baseball in Japan is CRAZY!! The fans are out of control, the majority are drunk, and the gear they wear should be illegal. But as a Gaijin, it is something that all of us must see. The syncronized cheering, trumpets, thundersticks, and beer girls all add to the ambiance. Unfortunately, I only had a standing room ticket ($13) as everything else was sold out, so I only lasted 5 innings before I was tired of the madness. It was fun while it lasted though and the Beer Girls were kept busy all night long!

It was back to the hotel and a night of slumber... heading to China in the morning for the first time so that should be interesting to see how I do with 2 days sans Facebook... hopefully they haven't blocked blogging sites!

Goodbye Japan... Hello China!

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