Konichiwa, Readers:

I just finished my March 11th-19th trip to Tokyo and have returned to LA to report on what went down. The University of Southern California Marshall School of Business' Learning about International Commerce ("LInC") Tokyo Program was truly unforgettable. We conducted company visits with the heads of the U.S. Embassy in Japan as well as the presidents of the U.S. Embassy in Japan and huge companies including Amway, Pasona, Coca-Cola, Sony, Dentsu, and Shiseido. This past semester, our class of about 40 freshmen split up into smaller, 5-person groups that reported/presented on one of the companies. Mine was Shiseido, and it was AWESOME- I personally was presented with the honor of ceremonially giving a gratitude gift to the head of Shiseido! Wow! Here are some photos of me at the various company/business visits (my outfits slayed):

In addition to our company visits, we had daily free time starting around 4 PM, as well as a free day on Saturday, which my friends and I of course took complete advantage of. The three rules to exploring all the best parts of Tokyo are as follows:

1. Make a Pinterest board before going...

You'll be glad you did. Figure out your bucket list ahead of time so you aren't stressing while you're out east.

2. Plan your outfits accordingly.

There's never a fun time when you're too cold/hot, uncomfortable, or worrying about your clothes. Make sure you bring the most appropriate clothing that you can find, and look at the country's weather before going on your trip.

3. Go with the flow.

Lines too long? Can't find that one ice cream shop that serves 20 cm tall vegan rainbow froyo (shoutout to Daily Chiko -_-)? Ran out of time to get to that one cat cafe? Please, do us all a favor, and don't freak out or get #fomo if it doesn't work out. Let life work out as it does, and adventure will be quick to follow.

Below, you can find the highlights of the bucket list of objectives that we managed to tackle (besides that rainbow froyo... Guess we'll just have to go back soon!) accompanied by the photographic evidence, in typical Amanda Rome West fashion, of course, darlings. We did loads more, but these are the best parts. Imagine... How the @$!* did we do even more than this when we were in business meetings all day almost every single day for only a week?! #goals. DISCLAIMER: these are basically all photos of us eating our way through the country. Enjoy!!!!

- Explored Shinjuku

- Ate fish for breakfast!

- Got the signature at the famous Keika Ramen Shop

- Got into our childhood memories vibes in Harajuku

- Ate at Heiroku Sushi Bar Restaurant

- Visited the Meiji Shrine

- Walked under the "blessed" Torii Gate

- Performed traditional Japanese rituals

- Listened to some dope K-pop

- Tried out the traditional sickness masks when we were feeling a bit ill...

- Took the subway all over the city.

- Got to see the Tokyo 2020 olympics/government building right out the window from the Keio Plaza Hotel workout room

- Mitsukoshi department store in the Ginza

- Akihabara District: the Anime District!

- Visited Ueno traditional shabu shabu Japanese restaurant (took shoes off and sat on tatami mats)

- Tried sakura/cherry blossom frappucino (and, yes, it did taste like flowers)

- Had a blast at the Kawaii Monster Cafe

- Tried giant cotton candy

- Went to the hotel rooftop pool

- Saw the entire Tokyo skyline at the Sky Circus

- Tried the Taiwanese boba tea

- Visited Uniqlo

- Did some Justin Bieber/Drake Karaoke

- Went to a pet shop and saw dogs that looked straight outta the dogz Nintendo DS game

- Went out to party in Shibuya.

- Had kobe beef!!!

- Visited the Tennoji Templ

- Closing dinner- 9 courses! Traditional tatami mats and floor seating. Wore slippers!

- Explored Ueno District

- Ate delicious panda-shaped pastries

- Had matcha/milk swirl froyo

- Experienced Senso-Ji Asakusa Temple and traditional ceremony/incense

- Obsessed over this make-your-own strawberry pocky strawberry fountain

- Kushiya Monogatari Ikebukuro- we had panko & curry

- Saw the incredible Kit Kat Chocolatery

- Tried red bean pastry at Seibo

- Went to Sanrio Heaven

- Keio Department store: saw baby sharks, got YSL/Chanel makeup done

- Keio Sky Garden

- Ate shumai/gyoza/pork kimchi

- Experienced the early blooms of Sakura season: we got to see the first cherry blossoms in Tokyo!

Missing stuffing my face with sushi,

ARW

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