What a Way to Wrap Things Up

Today we visited Mt. Fuji and Hakone, which is a National park with views of Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji (Fujisan) is 3776 meters high and is Japan's highest mountain. Mount Fuji is a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708. After waiting patiently, we were able to see the peak of the mountain, and it was most spectacular! Clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and we have to consider ourselves lucky to get a clear view of the mountain.

After seeing the peak of Mt. Fuji, we visited Hakone, a nearby hot spring resort. The mountains in Hakone are beautiful, but we couldn't see Mt. Fuji because it was overcast. We took a 15-minute boat cruise on Lake Ashinoko, then took a 20-minute gondola ride up the mountain. Even though the weather wasn't as cooperative as we would have liked, we enjoyed our last day together.

Tomorrow we have to leave the hotel at 6:30 AM to head home. It has truly been a pleasure to have had these students on our trip. They are a great group and Dr. Spangler and I will miss them!

Kyoko is here!

Today we are with Kyoko, our Japanese guide. She was our guide last year, so I am excited to have her again as our guide--she's adorable and very knowledgeable.


Today we did a lot of sightseeing. Tokyo is such a great city! Today we visited a town called Kamakura and went to two temples (Hase Cannon and Kotokuin), one of which was right by the ocean. There were dozens of hawks flying around and quite low and the sights at the Hase Cannon Temple were beautiful. The open-air Kotokuin Temple had a giant bronze Buddha. The Buddha was hollow and some of the students went inside for a view.




After visiting the temples and having lunch, we drove past the Imperial Palace. We didn't stop as it is not like the White House is, where you can see it even if you aren't permitted inside. The Imperial Palace is protected by a moat and has tall foliage surrounding it. We were lucky enough to see the rooftops of the Palace. From there we went to Tokyo Tower, which is still very tall, but considerably shorter than the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai. The sky was pretty clear, but unfortunately it wasn't clear enough to see Mt. Fuji from the observation deck.





The last place we visited before dinner was Ueno Park, which is like the Tokyo version of Central Park. We walked around for about an hour and took in the sites as well as browsed through local shops.



Tomorrow we wrap up our Asia 2010 Tour with a visit to Mt. Fuji. It is hard to believe that we will be home on Sunday. Leaving is bittersweet; we are all VERY excited to see our loved ones, but we want to stay and play longer. :)

We Don't Need a Guide After All

Just a note before I begin today's posting...I am still having problems uploading our photos to Snapfish. I'll keep trying, but I might have to wait until we return home.

Today was our first full day in Tokyo and Dr. Spangler and I conducted our own walking/sightseeing tour and we actually didn't get lost or lose anyone. :) We were originally going to participate in a one-day program with Rikkyo University, but since the SMBA group was just here and had a program with them, it was difficult for them to coordinate a program with us within such a short period of time. So, we decided to take a tour of Tokyo and began our tour with a visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market, which is located in Ginza. Tsukiji fish market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. It was interesting to see the variety of fish sold and we even watched as a couple workers slaughtered some fish--wasn't some of our most favorable moment on the trip. However, it is interesting to see how this business functions and watch the 100's of workers coordinate efforts like a synchronized swim team. Don't worry...I won't post any pictures that are too disgusting. I didn't take any but I think our students did. Yikes!

After our trip to the fish market, we took a tour of Panasonic. I have to say that it was one of the coolest things that I've done while in Asia. The technology was tremendous and you will not believe the items that will be on the market within the next 5 years. Of course we couldn't take photos so your son/daughter will have to tell you about the Life Wall, the 153" 3D HDTV, and massage chair to name a few.

After our Panasonic visit, we just went to a couple different areas via the metro and train. We had lunch and came back to the hotel to get ready for our special dinner at Gonpachi in Roppongi, one of the busiest and foreign friendly parts of Tokyo. This is the restaurant where Quentin Tarrentino got his idea for Kill Bill. On our way to the restaurant, we went to Shibuya, which is like the Times Square of Tokyo (except it is very orderly). It is another shopping and entertainment district situated in the west of Tokyo and is a fantastic place to people-watch.