Last Full Day in Japan!

As we were extremely intent on packing everything safely back into our luggage, Devon and I refrained from writing our blog post on the proper day. Reflecting back on our last full day in Japan, I think we can both say that it was a great end to a truly once-in-a-lifetime trip.

We woke up a little later than usual and made our way to a busy shopping district in Kyoto to buy some last minute presents for the people back home. After eating lunch at Mos Burger (a delicious combination of onion rings, french fries, and teriyaki chicken rice burgers), we made our way through the seemingly endless alleyways of clothing, accessory, music, ceramic, and food stores.

While we shopped, part of the group went off to see nearby temples and shrines, and we reunited around 5:00 to make our way to karaoke. Karaoke was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the trip. Upon entering the karaoke building, we knew the place was serious about their line of work. Among hundreds of rooms in the building, we rented one for three hours. According to the language of the song, there were video montages playing in the background of the words (for English songs, there were stereotypical images of the U.S., for Chinese songs, there were images of streams and wildlife). With unlimited drinks and fried food to satiate us, we sang to our hearts' content.

A few songs (and their singers) included:

Any Ke$ha song: sung by Floriaan

Carly Simon ("You're So Vain"): sung by Earle

The Vapors ("Turning Japanese"): sung by Devon and I

Whitney Houston ("I Will Always Love You"): sung by Kayla

Lil Mama ("Lip Gloss"): sung by Kayla, Lyndsey, and Lorenzo

The whole group got to sing a few songs including:

"All Star"-Smash Mouth

"Party in the U.S.A."-Miley Cyrus

"Don't Speak"-No Doubt

"Leave (Get Out)"-Jojo

"With A Little Help From My Friends" & "Let It Be"-The Beatles

and Amanda even treated us to a Chinese song or two!

After spending our allotted 3 hours karaoke-ing, we went into an arcade by our bus stop. Mami gave us each 200 yen to spend on a coin machine of our choosing. Although, as most of those claw games typically go, most of us got cheated out of our money, but both Camille and Abby managed to score prizes (including the sought after gloomy bear). After the long day, we took the bus back to the hostel, giving our bodies and voices a well-needed rest before the long trip back.