What A Weekend!!

This weekend was fantastic!! It started with an evening walking around the Roppungi area (VERY huge party area) on Friday night - we didn't get wild, or even stop for a tea, but we did some good exploring and got a good idea of what to do Saturday.
We got up bright and early (9:00 we took off, but that's pretty early for a bunch of college kids/grads) and navigated the train station to the Imperial Gardens. We walked around the whole palace and had a blast walking the gardens and learning about the construction and history of the area. Most of the group got tired and wanted to head home, but a few of us (Hank, Alena, Lora, and myself) had to keep going.
After a few hours we came upon the boats Hank had read about, and decided to take them for a spin - at 5 yen per boat for a half hour we couldn't pass it up!
We enjoyed a relaxing paddle boat ride and headed back to Hero-o to get ready for the night.

Saturday night was not quite as calm as Friday. We checked out the party scene in Roppungi and did a little partying of our own. We were careful though to not miss the last train (12:14am) of the night, as we didn't want to buy a cab and needed to get up early to be on the road again Sunday!
Sunday we went to Harajuku. Girls dress up REALLY crazy and just walk around and pose on this bridge... I don't think there is really any rhyme or reason to it, but I guess Sundays that's just the thing to do. Harajuku is also a VERY huge shopping area - like hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people crowd onto one street and.... shop. I don't really know what all the hub-bub is about, but it was really cool to see (albeit a little clausterphobic).

Then tonight (Sunday) after we got back I went out to dinner with Toyoko (my second cousin once removed). I was SO excited to meet her, and we had a fantastic time! We went to a restaurant called Gonpachi. It was WAY swanky! I guess that is where the past prime minister took George W. Bush. If that doesn't tell you how nice it was, then maybe the fact that I sat next to Hinano Yoshikawa, a very big television and movie star in Japan, at the sushi bar will give you a hint. It was the most delicious food I think I have ever had, and I tried so many new things that I absolutely LOVED! The only thing better than the food and the atmousphere was the company! Toyoko was absolutely delightful!! She was so much fun, and I cannot wait to hook up with her again!

Ah! I need to get to bed! Tomorrow is the first day of camp with the kids. In case I don't make it, thanks for keeping up with me!