Ginza and other Tokyo adventures...

And under "other Tokyo Adventures", I mean the agony of farewell and the awesomeness of Japanese baseball!

Our Seattle-based crew got up this morning and ventured to the heart of the Japanese economy: Ginza! Known for high-end department stores and fashion boutiques, we meandered up & down the streets of Ginza and enjoyed handbags and stationery and $1.2M watches! We enjoyed them within touching distance, but really enjoyed getting hands-on with the pastries we sat in the middle of the then-closed street to eat!

Sadly, our morning quickly turned to afternoon, and we had to say farewell to one of our own: Hillary Greene. Hillary's adventure in Japan came to a sad end today as she was whisked to the airport in an orange cruiser bus. BUT, Avid Reader, not before a killer PRINT CLUB-like photo shoot in the Tokyo subway! Hillary Greene, you were a Tokyo RockStar this week! Thank you for steering the finance ship in Japan and for being such a willing partner in PCC*!!

After we gathered ourselves from the loss of one of the members of our quartet, Justin, Gloria and I put on our rally caps -- literally -- by heading to Tokyo Dome City to catch the season finale of the Yomiuri Giants and the Chunichi Dragons in the Tokyo Dome. Since the finale was sold out, we were able to buy Standing Room Only tickets -- can you imagine that at Safeco Field?!

Similar to the last time I saw a game there, I was fascinated by the completely engaged, chanting, dancing crowd, and the beer girls. This time, I was even more impressed by the former as the place was PACKED; we were three & four deep in Standing Room Only. It was pleasing to have Justin & Gloria experience it as well, though I'm unsure if the beer girls drew as much fascination from those two as it has with me each time (I mean, seriously, flourescent uniforms, beer kegs and bobby-pinned baseball caps? COME ON, you two! That just CrAzY!).

A new work week starts tomorrow; I'm excited to get into/through my email and to follow up from last week's awesome training with the gang. It's amazing that I've already been in Tokyo a week, having arrived last Monday. Time flies when you're in training all day and having adventures with friends evenings and weekends!

* PRINT CLUB Crime