Yokohama

Mike and I woke up with a plan today. We got out of bed at 730 and quickly went over the days' agenda. We had to go to Ikea ONE more time for two reasons. The first was to get our couch cause we couldn't fit it in the car we had last week and second was to get a second box to a dresser we'd bought the week before. You see, we only grabbed box 1 thinking there was only one box...however looking a little closer, we saw that box 1 meant box 1 of 2. Oooooh, now we got it! Anyway, I have a futon that is about the same size as the couch so Mike and I decided to load the futon in the back of his truck to make sure we would have a enough space to fit our couch in it when we got to Ikea. While we were loading the car (keep in mind I had not showered or even brushed my teeth at this point) we saw a cute little wiener dog charging at us and a petite little pregnant lady yelling at her dog to get inside. I politely said hi and so did she and she hurried back inside scolding her dog at the same time. We both looked pretty awkward being that it was no earlier than 8 in the morning and we were loading a futon in our car. 

While we were getting ready to go, we got a call from a friend that Mike works with. He invited us to go with a couple other people to the city called Yokohama, right next to the water and south of Tokyo. Even though we had already made plans, Mike and I were really excited to go out and explore Japan and hang out with some new friends. We all gathered at the ATM to make sure we had a enough yen to get us around for the day and coincidentally our pregnant neighbor was friends with our friends so she was coming to Yokohama for the day as well. We were formally introduced and she apologized for her dog and I turn apologized for being braless and in my pajamas. She's a great girl though and I'm excited that we'll be neighbors for the next three years!

Getting on the Japanese subway felt no different than riding the ones in New York but it sure did take a while to get to Yokohama. Almost two hours in fact! And we had to switch four times so that made our trip seem even longer. To sum up our FULL day in Yokohama, we started at an Asian buffet and I ate things that I was mostly aware of. Then we went to the Landmark Tower which is the tallest building in Japan. It was so cool to be up there and see the views. In fact, here are a few photos for you to enjoy as well!

This was a little coupon they gave us that read, "It becomes off 50 yen an item coupon of here." Okay...

Below the Landmark Tower, there are tons of amusement rides and stores. We got on a huge ferris wheel and then the guys rode a roller coaster. Afterwards, we took a stroll into a Japanese shopping center where there happened to be a Cold Stone Creamery. Now, if I were in the states, I'd drive by one of these places like it was no big deal, but being that we're in Japan, we had to get ice cream from there. The whole look of Cold Stone was exactly the same, except for the fact that Japanese serve you your ice cream and when you tip them, they sing some Japanese version of "It's a small world"...or more like "Eeets a smarr warrrd!" While Mike and I were standing in line, the guy that was making my ice cream asked me where I was from. Now most of you know that this is a hard question for me to answer because I've lived so many places, so I just made it simple and said I was from Philadelphia. He said "aaoooh, that is cooorr" and then he asked me, "Aw you twaveling heeere?" and I said we were here for the military. Without hesitation he said, "Awww, you so stwong!" (meaning that he thought I was strong ; ) I thought this was very funny because Mike was standing right next to me AND what does me being strong have anything to do with the military? Maybe he meant I was so brave??? Who knows. 

Enjoy the pics! And oh yes, that is Mike levitating off the ground. Believe it or not, he has developed these new super hero powers that give him the ability to float mid-air and make weird expressions simultaneously. It must be all the rice he's eating! 

I just saw this note and had to take a picture of it! 

Here are Kim (my neighbor) and Amanda pretending to pose for a picture while I took one of this crazy lady and her outfit!

Riding on the subway with Mike, Matt, and Anders. 

And lastly, here's a video of me waiting for the train.