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So, apart from a few rough times in Tokyo and Narita Hotels, and some defying death on Mt. Fuji, Japan was a blast. ...Ok, maybe Fuji was fun too.

Today we left Asakusa and brought our baggage to Tokyo station. The plan is to catch the last express train to Tokyo/Narita airport, and even though our plane doesn't leave til noon tomorrow, we just want to be there early. Also, since our rail passes for free train rides end today, we wanted to save the money for the train ride, and also a hotel. Hopefully we'll just be so tired that we'll sleep the whole plane ride, and be back on America time when we get back.

Tonight is the last night we're spending in Tokyo before heading to the airport. In the morning, I went to Starbucks, and then to Ginza one more time. At Ginza, I went to the music store we visited the first time we were in Tokyo before the KIT program. Then I went to the Apple store. They have about 14 or 15 iPhones on display, but they actually don't sell them at the Apple store because I think you need to buy a plan from SoftBank, the cell phone service company that Apple partnered with in Japan.

Today, I got up pretty early, and finished my souvenir shopping in Asakusa. Then I came back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. For lunch, I went back to the Indian restaurant we found.

Today I wanted to look for a shop that sold Japanese baseball merchandise, so I asked the front desk where I might find that sort of thing. They recommended either shops outside the Tokyo Dome where I think the Giants play, or a department store called Keio in Shinjuku. I went to Shinjuku since it seemed a little easier.

Today we left the Yokohama hostel and went to Asakusa. This will be the last place we stay before we fly home to America on Friday. The hotel we're staying at is pretty nice, but it was a little more expensive than the other ones we've stayed at. The most important part is that the neighborhood is much better.

The sleeper train from Sapporo was delayed by a few hours again, they might have said it was due to the earthquake a few days ago. We did travel through the area where it happened. We checked back into the hostel in Yokohama for tonight, but tomorrow we're going to a Japanese-style inn in Tokyo.

The next day, Maru-sensei's mother served us a western-style breakfast. It included fried eggs and bacon, but they were served mixed in with vegetables as well, so it had a little bit of a Japanese twist. It was very delicious of course, like everything Maru-sensei's mother served us.

After breakfast, we went to Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium, which was built for the Olympics that were held in Sapporo in the 1970s. It's not really the size of a mountain, but it has a ski-lift and the view from the top is pretty nice.

This morning we woke up to go out with Maru-sensei. First, her mother served us a Japanese style breakfast complete with fish and rice, and Japanese style eggs. Then we took the subway to Otaru, which is northwest of Sapporo, and close to the Sea of Japan. For a lot of the ride there, the train goes right along the sea.

When we woke up in the morning, the train was stopped for awhile, and then we realized it was raining pretty good. It turned into a 4 hr train delay, so we used the time to take showers on the train. When I had gone out into the lounge earlier to have a water, some ladies offered me some of their food. I must have been looking pitiful or something. And then the train conductors served us some onigiri as well, so at least we didn't have to buy expensive food in the dining car.