So, last weekend I went to Tokyo for just the weekend. It`s something that`s way too expensive to do all the time (bus back and forth and hostel for the night cost me about ï¿¥16,800). But it was for a good cause.
TELL, (according to their website), is a non-profit organization who want to provide support and counseling to “Japan’s international community as well as helping to address the country’s growing mental health care needs.” So a decent cause. On September 10th, world suicide prevention day, they organized a Tokyo Tower Climb, with all profits going to them.
I spent 6 hours on the bus Saturday morning to get to Tokyo for Saturday afternoon. I got to meet up with a friend there, which along with the climb totally made the trip worth it. We ate dinner at Tokyo Tower, since there`s a pizza place and a waffle place and a burger place inside, and even ran into someone dressed as one of the mascots! (Tokyo tower has two mascots…big pink things that are brothers).
The hostel I had found was in walking distance of Tokyo Tower, which was nice. And yes, I totally picked it both because of price and because of the name. 😉
Sunday morning, early, it was off to Tokyo Tower! The climb went about as climbs usually go…it was 600 steps, so around 150 or so I started losing momentum. But wanting to take pictures of Ilya climbing (the doll I brought with me this time), I kept going. The people running it seemed to think it was pretty funny that I had brought the doll. If I`m still here next year at this time (I hope!) and they do it again, I`ll bring one of the bigger dolls 😛 They kept joking that I should have registered the doll as an official climber, and if he had been one of the big ones, I would have!
After the climb was over, I still had about 4 or so hours to kill while waiting for the bus back. Since it was nearby, I headed to the Snoopy Museum. It was kind of cool, though it was pretty crowded, and my backpack was heavy, so I went through a little quicker than I might have otherwise. I did buy a phone strap at the end…they had a different strap for every day of the year, and I thought the comic for my birthday was funny–or at least suits me. Â I read in their information that every so often they change what comic strips are out on display, so I wouldn`t mind going again at some point. Especially since I learned after that there`s supposedly a “kite eating tree” outside that I somehow missed.
It was a very quick, tiring trip, but overall fun, and, I think, worth the cost. It wouldn`t have been worth the cost if I had taken the train down (that was ï¿¥23,000 each way!) but although 12 hours on a bus, to only spend about the same there is rather long, it was ok. I definitely won`t be doing this all the time though!