My trip to Tokyo

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My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Tokyo. Although we do not speak the language, it didn't really matter although my knowledge of the Chinese words do help quite a bit.

We arrived at Narita erminal 2 very early on 27 Sep 08. By 10am we were on the Keisei Limited Express to Keisei Ueno Station in downtown Tokyo. Our hotel, The Oak, is located less than 5 minutes' walk from Inaricho Sta (G17) which is one train stop from Ueno Sta (G16). We should have taken the subway to Inaricho. Instead we took a long walk from Ueno Sta to our hotel passing Inaricho Sta on the way.

Checked into our hotel room with ease because the hotel staff speaks English. The room was small, just big enough for two twin beds and some furniture. The bathroom is so small that one has to "turn on the spot". When you close the bathroom door while sitting on the toilet seat, your knees will be up against the door. The bigger folks would not be able to close the door if at all. In any case, the room was tidy and clean. How is it compared to hotel accommodation, say, in Singapore. The Oak Hotel is cheaper, and its room is bigger than that of Robertson Quay Hotel.

After freshening up ourselves, we chose nearby Asakusa (G19) as our first stop and for our lunch. From Inarich Sta (G17) it is only 2 train stops to Asakusa. It costs 160 Yen per person . We headed starghtaway for the "Thunder Gate", Nakamise-dori (the shopping street) and the Senso-ji (temple). For lunch, we had the Much-talked-about Japanese Teppanyaki, where the chef cooked your meats right under your nose. Amazingly, the price was very reasonable. We paid 1980 Yen for our steak complete with a big handful of bean sprout, miso soup, rice and appetizers. On top of the the chef gave me a complementary glass of red wine. It was a very good meal, the steak cooked to medium-rare to my complete satisfaction. A good start to our Toyko trip.

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