Most of the drama of my travel home was covered here.This post will just fill in stuff I didn't cover there. If it wasn't obvious before, I had waited pretty late to seriously do any souvenir shopping. Today was my absolute last chance to get souvenirs literally from Japan. I mostly tried to pre-pack as best as I could so that I could leave straight for Tokyo Station and to the events described above. Today's last minute neighborhoods included Shijuku/Kabuki-cho and Akiba (Akihabara). I don't know what this movie is about, but it looks like it could be interesting!
Oh, and Eden of the East! Maybe I can watch those final few episodes and find out how it all ends now!
After flirting various times with trying McDonald's or Freshness Burger, I finally talked myself into trying Mos Burger.
It's fast food, but made to order, and actually brought out to you.
How was it? Well, it was ok, but nothing memorable. As I like to jokingly say "it didn't change my life."Well after some minor failed attempts to get something interesting for my parents, who much like any nice parent that says things like "anything is okay", I checked out and took a taxi to Tokyo Station and began the chain of events that I described above. Once I made it to Narita Airport, converted my excess yen back into dollars, and checked my luggage in. I was about to enter the boarding area, when I noticed that there was an area of shops and restaurants that were above the departure gates. So I decided to check it out. Was it any different than the duty-free shops around the departure gates? *shock*It was basically a one-stop shop area for the procrastinating traveler. Looking for food treats to bring back? They had that. Looking for books or magazines to read on the plane? They had that. Looking for cultural souvenirs? They had that. In fact, if you were hungry, they had decent coverage of different restaurants for that one last taste of your favorite cuisine. Guess what they didn't have?That's right. Visa or Mastercard. Much like a sizable portion of Japan, cash was once again king.Guess who just converted his excess yen back into dollars?Well, guess who had to march back down and convert his dollars back into yen? Hopefully you don't need the answer to those last two questions.Anyway, I happily gobbled up a number of items that I had trouble finding which worked out pretty well including some additional specialty Kit Kat that I had not seen at any of the convenience stores I visited during the trip. I did skip out on buying the wasabi flavor! I also picked up some Mochicream for the travel home. Mochicream is a gourmet version of mochi. It's unfortunate that the only store in the US is in Hawaii. I suppose it's just another thing to look forward to having when I go back. I did sneak one final meal at the airport. Tempura and soba which at least crosses that off the list. 
Curry? I'm sorry I never tried a single bowl during the entire trip.And so, that's it! I had a really wonderful time. I feel like I've only experienced a small taste of what I wanted to see. Not to mention the fact that there is a whole world yet to explore once I actually have the necessary language skills to communicate with people AS I explore. I feel quite fortunate and blessed to have had a chance to go. I hope that if you've been reading up to this point you enjoyed the pictures, the words, or any combination of the both. If you ever want to hear more about it, definitely let me know since I'm sure there are portions of my experience I haven't adequately captured here. What's next for the blog? Well it's back to the other stuff. Local Chicago stuff. Food. Technology. Sports. Life. Stuff. Games. Anime.I will be circling back to more general impressions that I had of Japan during the trip, but I'll likely spread those posts out over the next couple of weeks or months. Thanks for reading and see you again soon!
-- day 14 end, trip end --
Oh, and Eden of the East! Maybe I can watch those final few episodes and find out how it all ends now! After flirting various times with trying McDonald's or Freshness Burger, I finally talked myself into trying Mos Burger. It's fast food, but made to order, and actually brought out to you. How was it? Well, it was ok, but nothing memorable. As I like to jokingly say "it didn't change my life."Well after some minor failed attempts to get something interesting for my parents, who much like any nice parent that says things like "anything is okay", I checked out and took a taxi to Tokyo Station and began the chain of events that I described above. Once I made it to Narita Airport, converted my excess yen back into dollars, and checked my luggage in. I was about to enter the boarding area, when I noticed that there was an area of shops and restaurants that were above the departure gates. So I decided to check it out. Was it any different than the duty-free shops around the departure gates? *shock*It was basically a one-stop shop area for the procrastinating traveler. Looking for food treats to bring back? They had that. Looking for books or magazines to read on the plane? They had that. Looking for cultural souvenirs? They had that. In fact, if you were hungry, they had decent coverage of different restaurants for that one last taste of your favorite cuisine. Guess what they didn't have?That's right. Visa or Mastercard. Much like a sizable portion of Japan, cash was once again king.Guess who just converted his excess yen back into dollars?Well, guess who had to march back down and convert his dollars back into yen? Hopefully you don't need the answer to those last two questions.Anyway, I happily gobbled up a number of items that I had trouble finding which worked out pretty well including some additional specialty Kit Kat that I had not seen at any of the convenience stores I visited during the trip. I did skip out on buying the wasabi flavor! I also picked up some Mochicream for the travel home. Mochicream is a gourmet version of mochi. It's unfortunate that the only store in the US is in Hawaii. I suppose it's just another thing to look forward to having when I go back. I did sneak one final meal at the airport. Tempura and soba which at least crosses that off the list. Curry? I'm sorry I never tried a single bowl during the entire trip.And so, that's it! I had a really wonderful time. I feel like I've only experienced a small taste of what I wanted to see. Not to mention the fact that there is a whole world yet to explore once I actually have the necessary language skills to communicate with people AS I explore. I feel quite fortunate and blessed to have had a chance to go. I hope that if you've been reading up to this point you enjoyed the pictures, the words, or any combination of the both. If you ever want to hear more about it, definitely let me know since I'm sure there are portions of my experience I haven't adequately captured here. What's next for the blog? Well it's back to the other stuff. Local Chicago stuff. Food. Technology. Sports. Life. Stuff. Games. Anime.I will be circling back to more general impressions that I had of Japan during the trip, but I'll likely spread those posts out over the next couple of weeks or months. Thanks for reading and see you again soon!-- day 14 end, trip end --