There is so much to say about the last two weeks!! I'm settling in and learning the way of life on this new tour and I'm doing it in a place I have never been before. Can I just say how incredible it is to get paid to work and visit ASIA?! I've always been grateful for the opportunity to use my (expensive!) theatre degree. And coming to Asia has always been on my bucket list. So I'm pretty over the moon right now.
A lot of these pictures have been posted on Facebook, but here they are, stories attached.
For the crazy amount that I have traveled, I have never taken a plane over the ocean. So this was, by far, the biggest plane and longest journey I had ever been on. The best thing I have ever done was to upgrade to Economy Comfort. I wish I could afford to upgrade to Business Class, because those little pods made me super jealous, but having even the little amount of extra recline and extra leg room (I know I'm short, it doesn't matter) was completely worth it. I had a USB port at my seat, which was lovely, and all of the seats had TVs. They kept the plane dark and cool the whole time, which was made even better because it never got dark outside - we chased the sun the entire way. Thank you, Delta!
I don't remember the last time I had a hot meal on a plane. I'm fairly certain that I was a child. But we got 2 hot meals, a snack meal, and many many opportunities for water / soda / coffee. The coffee lover in me wanted it every time they passed but I held out until the last two hours, when it was clear that I was NOT GOING TO SLEEP AT ALL. This would prove to be tragic later... The flight attendants were so nice and so accommodating. The man on the aisle seat, however, was not. He wouldn't even get up to let me pass - I literally had to climb over him.
This flashed on my TV screen several times before I started to watch shows. It just reminded me that Laura Finson is a lucky duck and I'm super jealous.
My dinner! It wasn't bad!
This was waiting on my bed when I arrived at Hotel Okura. The crane symbolizes long life, happiness, peace, good luck. The turtle: longevity and protection. Even though we arrived at a decent hour, Tokyo time, my lack of plane sleep and my jet lag made me fall asleep around 9:00pm. Which was AWESOME... until I woke up at 3am. And never fell back asleep. There isn't much for English speakers to watch on hotel TV. And by much, I mean, there is one channel - I have been watching CNN for two weeks, straight. The good news is, even though you can't stream Netflix here, you CAN still buy shows from Amazon Prime and from iTunes!
TECH, day 1! Before the Idiots arrived. Our crew arrived one day earlier than the rest of us, so when we got to the theatre, the set was already in place.
These signs are all over Tokyo - this one is in the same complex as our theatre. Tokyo is a summer Olympics candidate, along with Istanbul and Madrid, for 2020. PS., Tokyo has the hottest summer I've ever been a part of. So if they win, athletes, get ready.
Lots of Idiots. Bless them - it was not an easy process with jet lag. But they made it!
Well, Tokyo has some...interesting... flavors of Cup Noodle. Even the "normal" flavor includes baby shrimp and something that resembles egg. But I just couldn't do these random flavors. I'm not brave enough. The good news for these two weeks: this picture was taken in the Family Mart (Japan's Kwik Shop), which is across the hall from the stage door at the Tokyo International Forum. We have made many, many trips to get goodies at the FM.
Hotel Okura breakfast buffet is. my. jam. Its pricey, but I can put on my glasses, throw on some sweats and stumble to the coffee. They have a great selection fruit, which isn't as easily accessible here as I thought it would be, and I've gone there almost every morning since we have gotten here.
My fancy Instagram of the program and my bio in Japanese. They put out a FULL COLOR, amazing, program here!! I wish we had one for the states.
Company Manager's worst nightmare: having to find a doctor in a foreign land. But I was VERY lucky here and found an amazing one who is English speaking. We have given him quite a bit of business, but his office is incredibly efficient. His office sits at the base of the Tokyo Tower, which is where this picture comes from.
Another picture from the Family Mart, to show that this convenience store has a SUSHI selection. That's right, folks. Sushi at the Kwik Shop.
This is from the press conference our leads and Michael Mayer did with the Korean press. It was pretty incredible that they all flew to Tokyo!! And they had the smartest questions I have ever heard.
My present from our presenter in Korea. They haven't even experienced my love of Starbucks yet - this was, literally, a lucky guess.
You. Are. Welcome. This is me in all of my sweaty, touristy glory when we went out for a birthday celebration. My fan has Japanese soccer players on it and is an advertisement for Kirin beer. Classy.
Gonpachi!! One of my favorite meals and favorite nights out. This restaurant was featured in the movie Kill Bill. These next few are all Gonpachi.
Bacon wrapped asparagus. Life changing.
I don't even remember the name... I should have written it down. It was plum wine, ginger and tonic. So so yummy.
We have been drinking a lot of sake here. This one was, by far, my favorite. Its sparkling sake - I didn't even know there was such a thing.
The boys picking food. Cory and I ordered a million things and shared - that was definitely the best way to enjoy this place because EVERYTHING was good. And, what you can't see, is that they are sitting on cushions on the floor. We've done that at a couple places since we have been here. I kinda love it - it allows me to sit criss-cross applesauce at dinner.
Our view of the main floor at Gonpachi.
Yen! The bills are way prettier than USD, but there is far too much coin usage. I don't like coins! I'm desperately trying to get rid of all of them before we head back to the states on Monday.
There came a point, after being here for about a week, that I couldn't possibly eat another meal of fish or noodles. Then we found a mexican restaurant in the same plaza as the theatre. And my life was complete with a chicken burrito and some guacamole.
I stole this from Cory because I forgot to take a photo. Chicken burrito. Red sauce = tomato sauce. Like you would put on spaghetti. Remember that. It will figure in here in a bit.
After the show on Sunday, we came out to wild animals. So confusing.
This was my Sunday night dinner. I'm obsessed with these veggie chips and the dried mango. I would ship them both home in bulk if I could. The franzia... I can't talk about it. Bought at the 7-11 next door to the hotel. Sometimes, after a really long week, you just need a ridiculous meal and about 5 episodes of Downton Abbey.
GOLDEN DAY #1! A golden day is a day where there is no travel and no show... and we got two in a row. The first day, we went to Kamakura, where I literally sweat more than I think I ever have in my entire life. And saw temples and Buddah. Casey and Cory doing some map studies - for tourists.
One of the little streets in Kamakura
The best plum I've ever had, bought at a street side vendor.
It was so incredibly hot that we stopped every 5 minutes to get something to cool us off. This was the very best stop - popsicles sold out of a bike basket. I had Yuzu Coconut Tea. 300 yen = about $3.00.
You can't see it very well but there was a HUGE hawk on top of this building. I said it was like Harry Potter, to which I was shot down, because apparently that is owls, not hawks. Whatever. #ihaveneverreadharrypotter #orseenthemovies
The temple and Big Buddah. We ended up running into several other people from our group - it was a popular destination for the Idiots. The picture with the water was a station to clean your hands when you entered.
I'm not sure how to be careful of a tsunami, but I'm really glad to not have to find out.
Spaghetti Bolognese at the hotel restaurant .... we have learned from our Mexican lunch that tomato sauce DOES happen here. So why did our spaghetti have CHILI on top of it? For fans of Skyline Chili - that is basically what this was.
GOLDEN DAY #2! It took a week before I could sleep past 8am - jet lag is NO JOKE. So why did I wait so long to plan a trip to the Tokyo Fish Market, which is an early morning activity?? Cory, Natalie and I met at 6:30am to start our adventure. This is a gigantic crab. HUGE.
More crab. These cost about $38.00
One of the streets at the Market
Everyone rides bikes here. They are EVERYWHERE. And very, very often, they aren't even locked up. Remember when I said the Japanese are super polite?? Yep - they don't steal.
I love fish. But I prefer to not see eyes.
Fish market coffee stop!! Most places in Tokyo offer simple syrup for your coffee that you can put in yourself. LOVE IT. Wish the states would do that.
I only wanted a couple of things from Tokyo. One was a sake set - even though I really don't drink sake when I'm NOT in Japan. This is the one I ended up buying.
Breakfast sushi at the market!! This was at 7:30am. Conveyor belt style. I had the best snow crab I have had in my entire life. I don't even like to think about eating at 7:30 in the morning, let alone eat sushi. But it was the most amazing experience and so, so yummy. If you are in Tokyo, its a must.
The outside of the actual market - which is one big, crazy, fast moving, fish slaughter house. This part doesn't open until 9:00am, so if you go to the market, walk around the shops, eat sushi breakfast, and then get ready to dodge the crazies on the fake zambonis shuttling fish.
I should have taken video, so you could see Cory, Nat and I nearly get run down about a million times. I also can't get used to walking on the LEFT side of everything. They drive on the left as well.
After the market, we went back to the hotel and took crazy long naps. The beginning of our fish market morning was pleasantly UN- hot as death. But by the time we left, it was just as insanely humid as it has been every day since we arrived. I have taken multiple showers per day, because its the only way to feel comfortable if you've been doing anything remotely outside. After nap time, we headed to Harajuku to shop, and with any hope, find American food for dinner.
Whhhhhat?! Our hotel is right next door to the US Embassy!! Why, hello there, Stars & Stripes! We took these on our walk to the train. Other people from our group have been asked to show their passports ... I was hoping they would ask us, but no dice.
Harajuku. What. A. Madhouse.
But there was also an amazing crepe shop (I swear, we walk off most of what we eat) and a thrift store that was selling lots of shirts with Obama's face on them?
Dinner in Harajuku - we found a pizza pub! They sold pizza by the quarter, 1/2 or full pie, which was so cool. And I had a REGULAR Coke, which I don't think I've had since I was in high school 8000 years ago. It was like forbidden fruit, since I gave Diet Coke up at the beginning of the summer, but I don't really have the desire to have it again any time soon. Bye bye, soda addiction!
Walking through Harajuku, we saw this building, which looked like a temple and was guarded by... these cats?!
All along the main street was AMAZING architecture (and fantastic shopping). This was my favorite building - super modern with an exposed elevator.
Shibuya Crossing. Look up pictures from Lost In Translation - this is that intersection. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. This area is the Times Square of Tokyo.
Look at this little face I found in a pet store in the middle of Shibuya. It almost got to come home and be Maddie Pugalicious' best friend.
My hotel room view
Two more full days before we head back to the States on Monday! I can't believe that our time here has gone so fast. Our performance schedule this week is really busy (matinees every day and 3 two show days) so there hasn't been as much time for exploring. Our crew went out a couple nights ago with the local crew which was really fun! They have been wonderful to us and it was great to spend time with them. We only had a matinee yesterday, so I spent the afternoon / evening holed up in my room with room service and American TV. Even in Tokyo, I needed a little time to decompress from going nonstop. Tonight we went to a ramen house - who knew that a 25 cent college dish was actually so amazing when made properly :) I should probably start to put things back into my suitcases... but we all know that tends to happen at the very last minute! So, so glad to have seen Tokyo. Can't wait to see what Seoul has to offer in September!
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