Shibuya

We spent all of Thursday in lectures at our hotel, which worked out perfectly because it rained all day. Presenters from the Diet discussed the current political situation, an economist discussed Japan's economy and the keynote speech was about the educational sytem. I learned alot but teachers are the worst students and after 8 hours of sitting, you can imagine how unattentive we became by the end. It was interesting to see the world and see how the world sees us, especially since 70% of Americans do not even have a passport!!!

Japan has more resturants per capita than anywhere else in the world, so there has definitely not been a lack of food during our visit. Lori came over last night and we went on a sightseeing tour of Shibuya, which is where the young cheerful crowd hangs out. It has excellent shopping and entertainment and we went to a grocery store and saw the most expensive fruit ever. Fruit is sometimes given as gifts, and one mango that I saw was 15000 yen ($150!!) and wrapped so eloquently in a box. I bought some Pokemon cards for my nephew, Benton, and collected some menus for my follow-on plan. We went to an all-you-can eat (for 90 minutes) shabu-shabu restaurant, which is kind of like fondue. They bring out thin slices of beef and vegetables and then you cook it at your table in a boiling broth. It was so delicious and was my first piece of red meat since I have been here, so it was a nice change. We were there during rush hour and were able to see the busiest intersection in the world in action.