HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It's the year of the OX! May the new year bring all of you good luck, fortune and just the best of everything!! New year, new start, new country, new everything... Lets not let anything hold us back in '09. Cheers!

So, tomorrow, we go back to work and I'm totally not looking forward to it. The last two weeks have been stressful but have also been a lot of fun. Being a tour guide when you dont know the area too well is pretty tough and tiring. All in all, I'm glad my visitors came and they were able to share some experiences of Japan with me.

In the last two weeks, I've been to Disney Sea, snowboarding @ Mt. Naeba, Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Harajuku, etc), Hakone, Kamakura, Yokohama.

Disney sea was alright, I feel like it was a little bit boring but maybe because I have been to Disney World. It just seemed too touristy for me and seemed like it was all a show. Regardless, it was nice to see all the lights up for the holiday season.

Snowboarding was amazing. Took the night bus to Niigata but had no idea that it was still pretty far from Echigo-Yuzawa where Mt. Naeba is so then I ended up taking the JR for another 2.5 hours to Echigo-Yuzawa. Then a local bus took about 30-40 min to get to the base of the mountain. Finally arrived at Mt Naeba at 11am, after 12 hours of travel!!! Boarded until 4pm. The base was pretty slushy but the snow up at the peak was pretty good for early season. Unfortunately, I didnt get to take the Dragondola over to the other side of the mountain but next time I go, I'll make sure to take it. Rentals were pretty cheap and its cool how they rent gear (jacket, pants etc) also. Just for equipment, rental was only 3,000 yen ($30). Definitely an experience, haha next time i'll jst make sure to take the Shinkansen from Tokyo. saves so much time.

My family visited for a little less than a week and we all ended up stayin at a hotel in Shinjuku. Trust me, its pretty funny to walk through the red light district with your parents in an attempt to look for a place to eat. New Years here is almost like a national holiday. So many stores and restaurants are closed. Too bad I had no idea or I would have told them to come later! Didnt even get to take them to the Funabashi 6 story Diaso (dollar store)! The best thing about New Years were the Fukuburo aka Fortune bags. These are pretty much grab bags that each store puts together for a set amount of price. The items in the bag vary and its a surprise. Pretty exciting and people line up for hours, even up to 2 days for these bags at the big department stores. My sister, bro in law and I bought some. Some stuff were cool but half the stuff dont even fit!! These Japanese people are so tiny! Taking the risk is always fun :) We also went to Kamakura to see the Big Bronze Buddha (Diabustu) and walked around the area and visited some temples. Kamakura has a New England feel to it. Its a small surf town and has small surf shops, restuarants and just a lot of touristy stuff. I'm def going to go back when it gets warmer. Yokohama is really pretty. Not so much a fan of the Chinatown... but perhaps thats because I am from New York where the real Chinatown is. Walking along the water in Yokohama is pretty relaxing and just a nice area to walk around.

Yesterday, one of my friends rented a car and 5 of us went on a roadtrip. We aimlessly drove along the coast and back up to Katsutadai. We had the car for 12 hours so we drove down to Kujukuri. There were so many surfers! It boggles my mind since its freezing out and they're all out there sitting in the water on their boards. The last stop of the trip before heading home was an Under the sea Observatory. We hung out there for a while and watched the sun set over the Pacific. Pretty awesome I'd have to say.

You can see the photos to the left or visit my Picasa.