We flew out at 5:30 pm from Incheon on Friday, and landed in Tokyo at 8 pm later that night. The plane ride was good, and not as nerve wracking for Bobby as he'd expected. We ate sushi on the plane ride, and sampled some Asahi beer.
Do we look scared?
Bob and his dinner:
Sushi served on the plane:
Trying the shrimp:
Tokyo immigration was insane. We waited in line for over an hour, just to hand over our passport for 5 seconds, have our picture taken and our fingerprint scanned.
We passed through and collected our luggage like the seasoned pro's we've become.
Does he look happy to be off the plane?
These pictures cost us about 20 minutes in line at immigration:
We then caught an Airport Limousine from Narita Airport into the Tokyo city centre, for $30. The drive took about 80 minutes, and it was fascinating to see Tokyo lit up at night. Driving on the opposite side of the road took a little getting used to, too. Tokyo is amazing to see. The city planning that it involves blows my mind. There are intricate roadway systems, all layered above rivers. Skyscrapers were everywhere as well, which is quite different from the architecture in Seoul.
The bus dropped us off at Shinjuku Station. Lights and tall buildings were everywhere. It was about 11 at night when we got off the bus, and started to follow the crazy directions to our hotel that I'd printed off the website. Japanese people are so friendly, and go out of their way to help you. They also are not intimidated by using their English, as we'd grown accustomed to in Seoul. This was a very refreshing experience.
We arrived at the Tateshina Hotel around midnight, to a very friendly front desk operator, who answered all my questions very efficiently. Our room was tiny. Bob had to stoop to get through the door, and the built in bathroom was cramped to say the least.
Is he a giant or is that room tiny?
On Saturday morning, we woke up very early, and headed out to Shinjuku Gyeon gardens, to see the famous cherry blossoms. It was amazing. The park was beautifully landscaped, the sun was shining, and people were just arriving to have picnics under the flower-laden trees, so it wasn't crowded yet. The Japanese style gardens are definitely something to be seen. There were also huge carp swimming around in the ponds, and a shrine in the back corner of the park. Everything was pink and green and beautiful.
Bob with a Cherry Blossom Party in the background:
Aren't we cute?
Shinjuku Gyeon Park:
After the park, we ventured into the maze of the subway system. We bought a day pass for only $10, which is cheap by Japanese standards. We rode to Asakusa Station, to see the Sensoji temple, with its giant red paper lantern. It was very croweded and touristy, so we didn't stay long.
I'd lost Bob for a bit, but then I found him:
Riding the Rails:
On the way to the Temple:
At the Temple:
Paper Lanterns:
Next we hoped back onto the subway system and headed to Tsukiji Station, to see the Tsukiji Wholesale Fish market. Early in the morning they have a famous tuna auction, which we missed, but we still walked around and took some great pictures, and bought some cool bamboo cooking utensils.
At the fish market:
Buying Dinner:
And Desert:
After the fish market we rode to Tokyo Station (where we ate ice cream cones from a vending machine) to see the Imperial Palace Gardens. It was very pretty here, and there were more cherry blossoms. We sat in the park taking a breather from our busy morning, and I wrote some postcards to send home. There was a very pretty bridge and a temple where we took lots of pictures.
We got a little turned around:
Bob loves the cherry blossoms:
At the Imperial Palace Gardens:
From here, we decided to walk to Tokyo Tower, which we could see off in the distance. We made it half way there before our legs gave out, and we decided to take the subway for the rest of the way. We didn't go up the tower, for time and money sake, but we explored the base, before hitting up a convenience store for some more well deserved ice cream and some sake.
Tokyo Tower:
At this point we were completely done for, and decided to head home to relax. We sat in our small hotel room watching Japanime for about an hour before walking back out to Shinjuku and all its bright lights. We walked through the adult entertainment area, passing so many casinos and slots, searching for something to eat. We were dead tired, and Bob gets a little grumpy when he's not fed on time, so we were on a mission, but that didn't stop us from taking a zillion pictures of this crazy and busy place. We finally found a little Italian restaurant where we had a quick dinner, before heading home and crashing.
Intersection at Shinjuku:
Bobby in Tokyo:
Maureen in Tokyo:
Shinjuku Area:
More Lanterns:
No idea where we are here:
The next morning we checked out of the hotel, and walked to Shinjuku Station, where we were to catch our bus in 2 hours back to Narita Airport. We figured we had enough time to walk to Meiji Jingu Shrine, and we're glad we did. We had our giant backpacks on, but the walk was quick and well worth it. The shine was set in the middle of a huge forest in the middle of the city centre. It was very peaceful, even though you could see skyscrapers popping up behind the trees. There was a Japanese wedding ceremony happening at the shrine, and many women dressed up like Geisha were walking around, minus the face paint. We stayed for about 30 minutes before making the hike back to the Station.
Told you it was small:
At the Meiji Jingu Shrine:
Us at the Shrine:
Bobby at the Shrine:
Overall, it was a whirlwind tour, but since the flights were only $270, it was well worth it, and we would definitely recommend it to anyone. My aunt Carol had been singing there just the previous weekend, and it was a shame we missed her.
We arrived home around 7 pm on Sunday, were we ordered a pizza and watched a movie, before falling into a sound sleep. School this past week was tiring, but I'd do it all again if I had the chance.
1 comment:
Bob you are a titan!!!!!!!!
ps- see you guys in july
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