Sayonara from Tokyo

Well, our trip has come to an end. We are just about to leave for the Tokyo Narita Airport to fly home.

Thanks for following our Asian adventure of a lifetime!

Last Tango in Tokyo

Today marks our last day in Asia, as we leave for home tomorrow morning. Yesterday we had a great lecture by one of the Japanese professors at Rikkyo University in the morning. In the afternoon we were supposed to go and visit IBM, but we never found the Rikkyo students who were supposed to meet us at the subway station and take us there. So we had an unplanned free afternoon, which most of us took advantage of by doing a little more exploring. That's also what we are doing today. Tonight we have the big farewell dinner, and then it's off to the airport early in the morning to come home.

Arrival: Tokyo

We made it to our last stop on the trip yesterday afternoon on the bullet train from Kyoto. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel here in Tokyo, so we really know how to finish the trip on a high note. Today we spent the day touring the city in small groups with students from Rikkyo University, and in the afternoon student groups from each made presentations on three topics: campus life, career aspirations, and sustainable business development. After the presentations we had dinner with three-time Duquesne alum, Joe DeVito, who is a partner in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Tokyo office. Tomorrow we have a lecture at the university in the morning and then a visit to IBM in the afternoon.

The Imperial City

Yesterday we had a whirlwind tour of five or six of the most famous sites in Kyoto. We definitely made the most of our one day here. The only disappointing thing is that, unlike in China, we weren't allowed to enter too many of these buildings. We could only look at them from the outside. And if we were allowed to enter, we couldn't take any pictures inside. The first picture is of the Golden Pavilion, the first stop on our tour, and one of the best.

The second picture was taken in front of the Heian Shrine, a Shinto shrine near our hotel. This shrine was built in the 19th Century to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto.

The last stop on our tour was at a famous rock garden comprised of only 15 rocks. Apparently this garden is kept exactly the same way as it was when it was built in the 16th Century. When we got back to the hotel last night, we all dressed in our traditional kimonos for a Japanese dinner, which had some of the strangest food that we've had so far. (And that's saying something after what we had in China!) It was topped off by a "delicious" square of tomato-flavored gelatin, so how could you go wrong? This afternoon we're off to our last stop in Tokyo, so look for more updates from the new capital of Japan!

Arrival: Kyoto

We arrived in Kyoto late last night after a 2-hour bus ride from the airport in Osaka. Right now we are in the middle of our whirlwind tour of Kyoto since we are leaving tomorrow afternoon on the bullet train bound for Tokyo. Our hotel, a Ryokan, is very traditional with bamboo mats and beds on the floor. Most of us also have pictures of the bathroom, which is little more than a glorified airplane bathroom with a tub. The highlight of the afternoon is a visit to the Imperial Palace; I thought that was a Vegas original!

Panda-Monium on the Green Mile

I think the above picture says everything you need to know about the Beijing Zoo. Patrick's guidebook had this to say about it: "All zoos are prisons for animals, but the Beijing Zoo is like death row." This place was pretty rough. The "habitats" were little more than dirt holes surrounded by concrete walls. Well, what more do you expect from a zoo that charges you $2.75 to get in?

In the morning we went to the Summer Palace, which most of us agree was the best thing that we've seen in Beijing. The place was gigantic, and most of us were exhausted after wandering around and scaling staircase after staircase to see the different parts of the palace.

Today is our last day in Beijing, and it's a free day for everyone until 5:30. Most people are going shopping. Dr. Marlin is going to the museum of the revolution, and I'm going to visit another logistics company with one of the Chinese professors. Tonight we are having our big farewell dinner feast at a revolving rooftop restaurant, and tomorrow we leave for the airport around 11am.

Look for more posts from Japan!

Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City

After class in the morning yesterday, we spent the afternoon in Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City. You may recall the famous footage of protests in Tiannamen Square from 1989; we saw the exact location where that single student stood in front of the tank. This is also the area where Chairman Mao's mausoleum can be found, but we had a "Wally World" moment when we found out that it was closed for renovations until September.

In the evening we all succumbed to our desire for American food and took a trip out to the Hard Rock Cafe. It happened to be "Retro Night," and there was a live band that belted out "classics" all night. Any band that starts the evening with "I'm All out of Love" by Air Supply is all right in my book!