Golden Week In Tokyo

This year's Golden Week was probably the best vacation I have ever had. I didn't realize at the time of Fiona's invitation to accompany her that I would be in for such a good time. I had already been to Tokyo before so my expectations were not so high. I mostly wanted to go so that I could hang out with Fiona. I also knew that whatever we did would be fun so it didn't matter where we were at. With these thought I embarked upon my journey with the illustrious night bus! The night bus was not so bad. I slept pretty well and arrived in Shibuya excited to see the city. Fiona and I were also lucky because Maddy happened to be taking the same bus to Tokyo and decided to spend the first few days of her trip with us. A very happy coincidence. Also, Fiona's friends in Tokyo came to the bus station to pick us up and that is when all the goodness began to happen. Fiona's Japanese friends used to live in Oda (where she met them) but recently they moved to Tokyo. I have always said Fiona is a great judge of character and she has probably met the best two people in Japan! They destroyed all the stereotypes I had held about Japanese people. First of all, Yuko is strong, outspoken, intelligent, and is so friendly. Her husband, Shu, is kind, caring, likes to cook, and looks after Yuko at every turn. They spend a lot of time together and love to drink. Perhaps this is not a surprise to other people but it was a breath of fresh air for me. Yuko and Shu let us stay with them for a whole week. They showed us all the interesting sites in Tokyo and even drove us to see Mt. Fuji in busy Golden Week traffic. It was fantastic.

Not only did Yuko and Shu make this holiday great but it was also the first girl's vacation I have been on. Fiona and I shopped, drank good coffee, slept in, and just did whatever we wanted. In the past I went to a place and did as much as I could everyday until I was exhausted. This time it was completely different because there was no pressure to see everything. Thank you so much Fiona, Yuko, Shu, and Maddy for such a wonderful vacation!