Day 2 (June 4, 2026)- Tokyo immersion

We have one full day in Tokyo- will we even sleep? On the first full day of our stay in Japan, we explored three drastically beautiful, different places, each with their own culture and unique angles on life in Tokyo. Our first destination was the boundless TeamLabs Borderless, an “immersive, interactive thing” (according to Jess). It is essentially an art exhibit that moves from one room, down the halls, to other rooms, plus special exhibits... Here, we succumbed to each room, filled with their own authentic experience. Kelland’s favorite room was the fog room, a very dark, steamy room with mist intertwined with rays of artificial light, creating a unique atmosphere that mesmerized Kelland, Alexandra, and Mackenzie through its many cool pictures and silhouettes. Jess’s favorite room was the crystal light room, which had a lot of crytal wiring hanging from 40' above, and light sticks, that took the form in light of images and color. There were mirrors everywhere, symbolizing the continuity/flow of life, and everything around us. Afterwards, we lunched with a cool friend of Profe Levin’s, who works in the Argentinian embassy! We learned about our friend's life as a servant of Argentines visiting/living in Japan along with her generations of family members who lived in either Argentina or Japan. While dining with our friend, we enjoyed all-you-can-eat hot pot for only <$24 each, which was profoundly insane considering prices for a similar meal in the U.S. The refillable soft serve was very delicious, as was the meat, seasonings and udon. Then, our group navigated to Ueno Park, where Kelland and Jess headed to the smaller Tokyo National Museum and looked at beautiful statues. However, this museum visit also turned (too often) into a manhunt for Nicholas and Emilio who regularly wandered off into the unknown, leaving behind the rest of the group to chase, instead of a peaceful museum visit. There, Jess and Kelland’s group met up with the other four (Joseph, Elizabeth, Santi, and Lilah), while Alexandra, Emilio, and Nicholas went to the larger national museum. There, Jess and Kelland’s group made a pit stop to the Tokyo Zoo to stare from afar, finding a panda bench that brought great wonder. Jess and Lilah shared a cup of warm, delicious caramel macchiato, which helped warm us on this 100% cold rain (all day). We then made our way to the Tokyo Dome, where Jess became very excited as she had once stayed at the Tokyo Dome Hotel. There, we climbed numerous steps. On the way into the Dome, we visited numerous stalls for food and merchandise. There, Elizabeth bought her younger brother a jersey, and Emilio and Jess sentimentally got matching jerseys as well. After having purchased our ball park dinners, we made our long trek back up the stairs for the start of the game. With music blasting and cheerleaders dancing, we were all very excited for the game to begin. The first few innings were stalemates despite the loud chanting and clapping. The Poly group quickly learned the chants and the hand motions, following this one specific gentleman in the crowd, when suddenly, while some fellow Panthers had left to purchase more food, Jess and Kelland witnessed the Osaka Buffalo’s first three runs of the game. It was devastating. But then, the Giants, struck back with a beautiful home run by Bobby Delbac; this dramatic hit changed the fortune of the game and the Giants were able to begin their ultimate comeback. But once more, just as we were inching back into the game, our hopes were demolished when the Buffaloes scored yet another run. By this time, the rest of the Poly group had come back to find Kelland and Jess absolutely immersed in the excitement of the game. Then suddenly, much to most of the audience’s joy and appreciation, player number 8 hit a homerun while all 3 bases were occupied, successfully setting the score to 5-4. BOOM BOOM BOOM. Jess and Kelland shot up from their seats, screaming, losing their voice in the process. The Giants forced the Buffaloes to get 3 outs, and won the game... and all of our hearts. Elizabeth, having learned all the chants, was singing along the entire two hours of the game, unfortunately having her voice stolen from her body. We made our way back to the hotel, finally, to end the day. In order to return to the hotel, we had to brave the congestion of 40,000+ fans inching their way through the public transportation system. Once back at the hotel, everyone was devoid of energy, but filled with experience. What a wonderful day!! The End!