I went to the Statue of Liberty for the first time on Friday. No, no, not in New York. This is a replica statue they have in Odaiba. It’s not as big as the real one, of course. More on Odaiba later.

There’s just one more day left of Golden Week, the unofficial national spring break here in Japan. I’ve been doing a lot of relaxing and sleeping, which is pretty much what I always do, although this vacation has felt like the end of an era, since as soon as the break finishes I’m back to working pretty much everyday. I’m doing part-time hours until June, then I start the full-time regular job. I’m kind of looking forward to getting back to reality, but it’s going to be hard to give up all the freedom (and sleep) that I’ve come to enjoy over the past few months. I guess the party had to stop sometime. I’ll be working in an office in Shinjuku, which brings with it the added bonus of a daily morning commute into Tokyo. I’m sure this blog will reflect the inevitable frustrations and problems that come with being packed into nasty, crowded trains full of old Japanese salarymen who all wear the unmistakable scent of “old ass man.” And June is going to be the hot, humid rainy season too. Great.

OK so what else did I do during Golden Week? On Friday I headed to Odaiba, going to the area with Fuji TV and Palette Town and stuff. Surprisingly I had never been to that area, and it was pretty surprising walking around because I just kept thinking to myself “how did I not know this place existed!?” I’d been to Odaiba a few times, but usually the area with Tokyo Big Site, and never this other area. First stop was the Statue of Liberty, which was funny because it was so small and out of place. It has its back to the bay and Rainbow Bridge, with an elevated walkway close to it so you can take pictures. If you have your back to the water, you can see the space station-looking Fuji TV building. It’s easier for me to just show you a picture:

I really like that picture because it makes me think of one of those weird monster movies where aliens steal all the Earth’s monuments and throw them together. I guess here you have a space station, the Statue of Liberty, and a… jungle? Haha. Anyways. Had okonomiyaki for lunch at Odaiba Aqua City, a big mall and not an aquarium like I had always thought. Also checked out Sony Mediage and Palette Town. I got dragged to a “Picture Book Show” at the Fuji TV building, but it was cool because the rest of Fuji TV is way sweet. They had a few of the studios viewable, and also props and displays from past shows.

The other big event during Golden Week was a party we organized on Saturday, which was way fun and we had a pretty good turnout. 12 people for the first party at Amataro, then 8 remained for karaoke. I was quite impressed – usually over half the group will flake out when it comes time to the all nighter, but we were going (relatively) strong this time. Of course, all night karaoke is a grueling ordeal, with McDonald’s breakfast (朝マック) being the goal at the finish line. We made it, and Bryan ate the Mega Muffin. It was impressive…

…but it was even more impressive when he finished it, said he was still hungry, and got a Sausage McMuffin set too. We tried to convince him to just go for the “Mega Day,” but he decided not to.