Japan Day 1: Marathon Expo

Konnichiwa! After breakfast, we made our way to Tokyo Big Sight (convention center) to meet up with our friends Kim and Steve and to pick up our race packets. After accidentally going the wrong way on the subway, we finally got to our destination. It was chilly where we were waiting so we decided to try a can of coffee from one of the many vending machines that are all over the city. Not only was the coffee tasty, it was hot. Mmmm mmm.

The race expo wasn't anything spectacular.

Came across my first "squat toilet". Lets just say it's not my first choice. I'll definitely be avoiding these after the marathon since my legs may not let me stand back up.

The highlight our day was probably the "sushi go-round" restaurant we went to for lunch. Basically, you sit around a bar that has a conveyor belt of different kinds of sushi going around. You grab what you want - the sushi is priced based on the plate color it's on - then they tally up your plates when you're done eating. Steve and I paid about $25 for about 24 pieces of sushi. BTW, they're not chintzy on the fish here; they put about 2-3 times more fish on their sushi than we get at home.

Tonight Steve and I strolled around Takashiyama Times Square which is an 8-floor shopping center. One part of the building was like going to Macy's, the other side called Tokyu Hands reminded me of Wal-mart/Target in that it had a little bit of everything. Our favorite floor was the 8th where they had the biggest selection paper clips, pens, and pencils I've ever seen.

Besides not understanding a word of Japanese (ok, I know a few words), the hardest thing to get used to is how polite everyone is. No pushing and shoving to get on the subway; they actually wait for people to get off the train before they get in. Every store we went into the employees greet you; I'm not sure what they're saying but they all say something. Tonight while walking through the department store, each employee that we passed bowed and greeted us.

Okay, that's it for tonight. My roomie has been sound asleep for the last hour and I should probably be doing the same since I have a marathon to run tomorrow.