Tokyo - Lili on the Loose

6 11, 2017

Travel Missteps: Flooding the Bathroom

By Lili|November 6th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, bathroom, bidet, Japan, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, toilet, Tokyo|0 Comments

Source Japan was fascinating to us. I mean, how could it not be? We were a group of 10 high school students, some away from home for the first time, as part of an Exchange Group with the Sister Cities Program. And as students, we were joking and horsing around taking it all in. I remember just after checking in, we all raced to one room (thankfully not mine) and were checking out all the buttons on the space age toilet the hotel had. It could play music and sounds. It could warm the seat. And it had buttons

15 10, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Japanese Wooden Dolls

By Lili|October 15th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2004, Asia, doll, Japan, japanese wooden doll, Kokeshi, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tokyo, wood doll, wooden doll|0 Comments

A common souvenir from Japan is the Japanese Wooden Doll, or Kokeshi. There are two types, the traditional kokeshi, which is made in two parts and all details are usually painted on. Or the Creative Kokeshi which may have other elements. This Kokeshi below I got in Tokyo and is a Creative Kokeshi. I picked it out as its wearing a kimono with a sakura blossom design. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

26 09, 2016

Travel Missteps: Earthquake in Japan

By Lili|September 26th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, Chino, Earthquake, Japan, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tokyo|0 Comments

As a high school student going to Japan I wasn't really worried about natural disasters. Sure I had known about earthquakes, and this was years before the horrific earthquake and tsunami of 2011. I was mainly worried if I had enough spending money, and was just so excited about the trip in general. Being from Colorado, we rarely get earthquakes, and when we do they are so minor it hardly registers beyond a few pictures on the walls rattling. Thankfully, for me, the earthquake I experienced in Japan was very minor. On our last night in Tokyo, my roommate and

17 02, 2016

30 at 30: Best Experiences So Far

By Lili|February 17th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: Abu Simbel, Africa, Anaheim, Antigua, Asia, Aswan, Bath, Belize, Belize Barrier Reef, Bent Pyramid, birthday, Bostan, California, camping, Canyon Ranch Spa, castle, Caye Caulker, Cenote, Central America, Champ de Elysee, Chino, chocolate, Christmas Market, CIE, Concert, concert photography, Costa Rica, Dahshur, Dashur, DC, Disneyland, Egypt, England, Epiphany Night, Europe, Ewok, fireworks, Florida, France, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Germany, golf carts, Great Britan, Guatemala, Harry Potter, haunted, Ik Kil, Ik Kill cenote, Ireland, Island of Adventure, Italy, Japan, Karnak, Lake Placid, Las Vegas, Latin America, lightsaber, Luxor, Massachusetts, memories, Mexico, Middle East, Munich, museum, Nagano Prefecture, Nevada, New York, North America, Orlando, Paris, photography, Playa Del Carmen, Pyramids, racing, Red Pyramid, reef, Rome, San Francisco, sharks, sheep, Sister Cities, snorkeling, Spa, St. John, Star Wars, Suwa, swimming, temples, The Vatican, Tokyo, tombs, tour, Trafalgar, Trajan's Column, travel experiences, trolly, Tucson, UK, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Universal Studios, USA, USVI, Vatican, Vatican City, Washington DC, white water rafting, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, yukata|1 Comment

Today is my birthday, and I've hit the "Big 3-0". I wanted to look back at 30 of my favorite travel memories in my life, in no particular order: Fulfilling my dream of going to Egypt, seeing so many amazing tombs and temples Sitting alone in the temples of Abu Simbel and Karnak Climbing into and on top of a pyramid Wandering the Christmas Markets of Munich Seeing the castles of Germany Taking a haunted trolly/walking tour of Boston graveyards. Seeing as many museums as I could in Washington, DC Swimming with sharks in Belize Racing golf-carts on Caye Caulker Making

14 01, 2016

Omikuji: Fortune Telling at Japanese Temples & Shrines

By Lili|January 14th, 2016|Categories: Activities, Travel|Tags: 2004, Asakusa, Asakusa Temple, Asia, Buddhist, curse, fate, fortune, fortune telling, good luck, Harajuku, Japan, lottery, Omikuji, sccared lot, Sensō-ji, Shinto, Shrine, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Temple, Tokyo, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

If you find yourself at a Japanese temple or shrine make sure to have your fortune told! Called Omikuji are essentially a sacred lot, where you randomly draw a stick that will tell you your fortune. But beware, these fortunes can foretell a bad fate! After you have paid, you will shake, spin, or rotate a container full of numbered sticks. It is important to make sure you wish for a good fortune at this point! Once you pull the stick out, find the corresponding fortune in the numbered drawers. Then return your stick. Now it is time to read your

4 01, 2016

Travel Missteps: Like a Turtle

By Lili|January 4th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, airport, Asia, baggage, bags, Chino, exchange program, fall, Japan, manga, Nagano, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir, Tokyo, turtle|0 Comments

Saying goodbyes to the friends you’ve made while traveling is one of the hardest things to do. In 2004 I was part of the Sister Cities exchange program and stayed in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. I made great friends and had a great time. But getting up early to say our goodbyes before heading out on a 37 hour travel day was hard. There were lots of hugs, tears, and photos. And then...there were a lot of times I just keeled over. Farewell to Kana, note the 3 bags on my person and the 4 bags on the ground.

12 10, 2015

Travel Missteps: Clearing out Starbucks

By Lili|October 12th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, 7-11, 7/11, Asia, Breakfast, caffeine, coffee, exchange program, Frappuccino, Japan, Japanese, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Starbucks, Tokyo|0 Comments

I had never been to a Starbucks prior to my trip to Japan. Crazy right!? The key reason was that I didn't drink coffee, as I'm highly sensitive to caffeine. I also was a bit intimidated by ordering, as I had no idea what to order (or in fact what I would be ordering.) That hesitation was thrown out the window when the other students in my exchange group insisted they get their morning coffee. It was much easier to ask questions when the entire group had no idea how to order what they wanted in Japanese. So I could

5 09, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Omamori

By Lili|September 5th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2004, Ai, Amelia Earhart, amulet, Anime, Asakusa, Asakusa Temple, Asia, Buddhist, charm, college, deity, en-musubi, evil, exchange program, Final Destination, gakugyō-jōju, good luck, Harajuku, Japan, kōtsū-anzen, Love, Love Charm, luck, manga, Meiji Jingu, Meiji Shrine, Movie, Nagano, omamori, prayer, protect, protection, Rei Hino, Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon, Sensō-ji, Shinto, Shrine, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, studying, Suwa, Suwa Grand Shrine, Suwa Shrine, Suwa Taisha, talisman, Temple, Tokyo, travel, TV Show|0 Comments

In Sailor Moon, one of the main characters Rei Hino (Sailor Mars), is a Shrine Maiden, and in some of the episodes she sells amulets. I remember watching this episode when I was young and I was very excited to go to Japan and purchase one of these charms! The Hikawa Shrine in Sailor Moon Called Omamori, these talismans are sold at Shinto and Buddhist shrines and temples and provide different protection or luck. They contain a prayer written on paper or wood and are contained within a cloth bag. The shrine or temple sell these in return

17 08, 2015

Travel Missteps: Lost in Japan

By Lili|August 17th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, exchange program, Girl Scout, Japan, lost, shopping, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tokyo|0 Comments

View of Tokyo from the observation deck. As I've written before, in the summer of 2004 I went to Japan through a Sister Cities student exchange. We first spent a couple of days in Tokyo before heading over to Chino in Nagano prefecture. On our first day in Tokyo we decided to take a tour of various parts of Tokyo. While on the tour we met a young Japanese guy who said he wanted to work on his English with native speakers, so he got a ticket for this tour and said he would be happy to work

6 07, 2015

Travel Missteps: The Fish Bet

By Lili|July 6th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, baywatch, bet, fish, Japan, koi fish, koi pond, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tokyo|0 Comments

When you have 10 high schoolers on a trip abroad, things can get weird. Clicks form, arguments occur, and silly childish bets occur. While we were still in Tokyo, one of our chaperones bet us that no one would stick our head in the hotel's massive lake, filled with Koi fish. The idea was that once you put your hair in, you'd need to flip it back "baywatch style" and stroll back into the hotel like nothing happened. Like all bets, it involved money and for high schoolers who had already blew a lot of money shopping Tokyo, earning extra