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A Golden Birthday in Tokyo


I've never spent a birthday away from my family, let alone in an entirely new country. They've always been something that I love celebrating for other people, but I get embarrassed when people celebrate for me. However, I'd been looking forward to this one ever since I signed up and saw the dates. Now, drinking is a large part of the Japanese social and business culture. They are often times anxious around others and operate in high context, so drinking is the natural solution most Japanese find to loosen themselves up. The drinking age here is 20, and Saturday, May 20th was my 20th birthday. A golden birthday in Tokyo.

 

The guided section of the day was filled with sight-seeing, starting with the Tsukiji Fish Market. It was the busiest time of the week for the market: 10 a.m. on a Saturday. The streets and tiny alleyways connecting them were stuffed with locals and tourists alike. Though we moved at a crawling pace,  we could only see so much in the hour we were there. Next up was the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world. We had seen it looming in the distance throughout the whole  trip and were excited to finally see it up close. We went up to the first observation level at 350 meters (1150 feet) but would have had to pay extra money to go any higher. It was a rainy and cloudy morning so we could not see past the city limits, but still it was an amazing view of everything below us. I saw on the brochure that they had a birthday perk for visitors so I went up to a worker and exclaimed "It's my birthday!" Then she got super excited and left to go grab something. I was hoping they'd sneak me up to the next level but when she returned she had with her just a cute little sticker. Then we found a picture service for a section of glass flooring. I went up and again exclaimed it was my birthday, hoping for more perks. They got all excited again, gave me a birthday sign, and we took the cover photo for this blog (They still made us pay for the photo).

 

At the base of the tower was a gigantic mall that opened up 5 years ago. They had outlet stores ranging from Pokémon to Harry Potter and even a Kirby Café. Safe to say we got extremely lost and aimlessly wandered until our time was up and we had to head back to the bus. Along the way I got some good dumplings and a new shirt and was satisfied with the stop. Our final guided visit was at the Meiji Shrine. The shrine sits within a large, lush forest and is a spiritual place for the ancient Shintu religion in Japan. We paid our respects (and some loose change) and were rewarded with a poem of good fortune. Right before we headed back to the bus, a Shintu wedding procession made its way through the main part of the shrine and they drifted by head-to-toe in ancient-styled clothing. Everyone crowded around and took pictures of them. I don't know if I would want that many strangers watching my wedding.

 

After the shrine, we all got dropped off at Yoyogi Park and were free for the rest of the night. A small group of us made our way over to the Harajuku shopping district and found a side street with some cool thrift shops and record stores. We shopped around and then found our way to Red Rocks and had some raw egg over noodles that was amazing. After shopping a little more we headed back to the hotel and I took a much needed nap since I'd been up since 6 a.m. 

 

I woke up to a birthday surprise by all my friends. They were all dressed and ready for the rest of the night so I quickly got ready and headed out. It was a long and fun night and a perfect close to a perfect birthday. I'm grateful for all the opportunities Professor Lee's trip has given me thus far, and this special day is one I will never forget.

 

 

 

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