Advertisement
Rice Paddies
5 mins from the airport and we see Rice Paddies. Seems any available green space is planted!Okay.
So it appears i should have done what most normal people do and ask about internet access in the room rather than just using their internet kiosk in the lobby. They offered me a laptop rental service. I said I didn't need as I had my own. I was then given the necessary cable to access the net from my room.... free of charge. Doh!
Anyway where was I... oh yeah I finally got to scrub up and rid myself of wearing jeans (the day started out with rain and 14 degrees but cleared to a comfortable 22 degrees with low humidity) and into more appropriate shorts and a t-shirt.
I was picked up around 1pm to go on a 1/2 day tour to Tokyo. It was a bit of a rigmarole. i got picked up by 1 bus to be taken to a central point, to then get a boarding pass to join a group on another bus.... to be led by a guy who clearly like any oppurtunity to practice his English as I reackon he repeated most things 3 - 4 times throughout the tour... but it added to experience.
We were initally taken
Apartment living
The standard living quarters of your average tokyo'ite. Did you know 3 million people live in Tokyo itself. Another 5 million commute in daily to work, study and shop. Blimey! up to an Observation deck to get 360 degree views of the city (or as far as the eye can see anyway. Tokyo is massive). It was a nice clear day so got some good snaps (see attached). Check out the photo of Japans own Eiffel tower. It's taller than France's one don't ya know.
Anyway from there we progressed to the inner harbour where we took a 30 minute boat ride through one of the inner city rivers... strolled through tokyo's oldest shopping market (and temple) which was actually quite cool. Spent a good 10 mins chatting with an American woman who was on the tour about NZ's miliatary and NZ in General (she works at the Pentagon and has a little to do with NZ / USA miliatary relations... which is apparently quite good). She had toured NZ and was pretty complementary.
We then learnt of the custom of making a wish at the temple. Before you make a wish you must "bathe" in incence smoke before making the wish to cleanse yourself (it's not as dramatic as it sounds but it's bloody funny to watch). I didn't partake in the ritual as I left it to the
multitude of Japanese who were engrossed in the act.
Finally we took in the outskirts of the Outer Imperial gardens. We couldn't go in as it is closed on Mondays, a bit of a shame as they looked quite impressive. You can only go into the inner gardens twice a year. The inner gardens are the residence of the Emperor and Empress. They are opened up on 23 December and 02 Jan as these are the birth dates of each figurehead. It must be a huge event as the Tour guide mentioned this countless times.
I finally got in around 6pm jaded and weary but loving every second. I'm sure tomorrow will be even better when a decent nights sleep is locked under the belt.
I've just completed my first restaurant dinner... Denny's. Ok so not quite full blow Japanese styles but the menu was much different to what we expect. It was very much Japanese. I can now see why Japanese people aren't fat (Bar the Sumo dudes), their portions are tiny but the food was fantastic. So was the beer. I recommend Kirin. Good drop.. The best thing about dining out in Japan... your not the only
An Apple a day
Keeps the wallet empty 1 eating alone it seems to be the life of a japanese business person. Although I think the solo geijen struggling with the menu was probably a conversation starter with those who had companions.
Anyway i've bored you enough with my first effort. Enjoy the photo's.. Tomorrow Tokyo Disneyland.
Sayonara
Advertisement
Tot: 0.089s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 10; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0464s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Marie Robinson
non-member comment
Booze
Yes, Japanese beer is pretty tasty. Last week I was introduced to Japanese plum wine - veeeerrrry tasty (and it is cultural so you have to try it Geoff!)