Tokyo and Iwate trip December 28 to January 4 - Part 1

I was lucky to be able to make a New Year's vacation trip up north this year. The two friends I visited during Tokyo orientation, JR and K, both live in Tokyo. K's family lives in Iwate, a bit farther north than Tokyo, and they had invited me to stay for a Japanese-style New Year. So, back in November, I booked a flight through JetStar, an LCC (low-cost carrier) that flies from Fukuoka to Tokyo Narita.

I embarked on my journey around 9 a.m. from Nakatsu on Wednesday, December 28th, 2016. It took me nearly a full day of travel to get to JR's place in Roppongi, Tokyo! First, I had to take an hour-and-a-half Sonic limited express train from Nakatsu to Fukuoka. Then, I took the subway from Fukuoka's Hakata train station to Fukuoka airport. Luckily, Fukuoka airport is located very centrally within the city, and the subway ride took about 5 minutes. From there, after checking in two hours early, my flight of about two more hours took me to Tokyo Narita, which is another hour and a half away from Roppongi. So I arrived at Roppongi station around 5:45 p.m.!!! JR wasn't finished with work at that time, so I stored my duffel bag in a coin locker at the station, grabbed a snack at the convenience store (which I ate standing, not walking, as the latter is seen as rude in Japan) and headed five minutes on foot to the Snoopy museum in the neighborhood.

I had booked my tickets for the Snoopy museum beforehand, at a Lawson convenience store, but there was really no need, as the museum wasn't crowded at this time. When you enter, there's an introduction room with a statue of Snoopy and Woodstock on the doghouse, plus a wall covered in years' worth of comic strips that combine to form a silhouette of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. I think the museum changes the comic strip wall occasionally to make new silhouettes. On the other wall are pictures from Charles Schulz's life, from his childhood to later in his career.

Every four minutes or so, the door to the next room is opened, where you sit to watch a short film about the current exhibition. This time, it's Hello Again, Snoopy. From the viewing room, you exit into another room with a maze of exhibits on Snoopy and the Peanuts gang. Strangely enough, I don't think Japan knows them by the name of Peanuts. Snoopy being the main character, they just call the phenomenon "Snoopy."

In the exhibit room, where no photos are allowed, you can read all about Snoopy's evolution, from a puppy on four legs to one that walks on two; you can see different strips depicting his various quirks like disguising himself as other animals; and you can watch cute little projected silhouette animations on the wall of Snoopy dancing or climbing onto a piano. There are also lots of Snoopy artifacts, like an international figurine collection, early sketches, and a set of figurines featuring Snoopy and his siblings.

After perusing the museum for about an hour, I headed into the gift shop, where there were tons of cute things to purchase. I debated buying a mug, or a tenugui (thin cloth for wrapping things) but figured I wouldn't use them. But then I found the perfect toiletry bag with Snoopy dressed up in different costumes, and knew I would use it every day. So my trip to the museum was a success!

After that, I headed back to grab my stuff from Roppongi station and made my way to JR's apartment. Another friend once commented that he must be super rich to live in Roppongi (an expensive neighborhood), and JR replied that, given his initials, we must certainly realize that he is in fact the JR from Japan Railways and thus is indeed super rich. What a joker...

We went to get groceries, although we didn't actually eat anything because JR took a nap and I Skyped with my mom for a bit. While JR was napping, there was an earthquake! He slept right through it... but it lasted a while, maybe 45 seconds. I was seriously debating going under the desk to protect myself, but then it passed. By then it was time for bed, to get ready for the next adventure!