Lauren Blogs about Tokyo

Today was one of the coolest days we’ve had so far. We split up into groups of three (I happened to be with Gabs and Jake) and began a scavenger hunt that spanned across the rather large city of Tokyo. Our scavenger hunt had us searching far and wide for items and photo opportunities and forced us to interact with native Japanese speakers. It was an incredible experience to ride subways and navigate Tokyo on our own. There were twenty items on the scavenger hunt to find and all of the groups tied for first place, although Wes, Mads, and Elizabeth got the prizes (only because they found an elusive Japanese ambulance). My group and I went all over Tokyo—Akihabara, Shibuya, Tokyo Tower—and by the time we went to our meeting place, we were fairly exhausted.
We exited our station and headed to the Tokyo Dome where we watched part of a Tokyo Giants baseball game! The stadium was pretty cool and I noticed that the baseball diamond didn’t have dirt between the bases, only surrounding them. The game was a little hard to watch because it was standing room only, but it was an excellent experience! The biggest downside to watching a baseball game was it made me miss my Dad and Cubs baseball (I wonder how they’re doing…).
Elizabeth, Gabs, and I left the game around the third inning to go ride a roller coaster. Sensei told us that it was “maybe worth the money”. What a liar. The roller coaster was one of the coolest things I’ve done in Tokyo! It was called the “Thunder Dolphin” and was right in the middle of Tokyo. The wait was long but worth every second. The first thing you do on the ride is climb 240ft and then you rocket almost straight down. The ride speeds up (as expected) and you barrel through the buildings and streets of Tokyo. You even go through a big hole in a building and go through a Ferris wheel (that has no middle—weird!). The adrenaline rush you get going on the roller coaster was unlike anything you’d get from an American roller coaster. It’s hard to compare a roller coaster in a theme park to a roller coaster in Tokyo that takes you through buildings and towards streets.
Today’s experiences were incredible and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I take pride in the fact that my group (and the other groups) navigated a massive city on our own with no guidance from Sensei. It was incredible to see a truly American sport (one of the few) played in a foreign country (not to mention the crowds!!) and it was amazing to ride a roller coaster in Tokyo.