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Published: April 5th 2018
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Traveling from Phoenix to Tokyo is a long trip. About 20 hours to be exact. First fly to Seattle, change planes and then fly directly to Tokyo. It is a daylight trip so you get up at 4 in the morning in Phoenix, fly for 20 hours and voila! you are in Tokyo a day later at 2 in the afternoon. We left on a Tuesday and got to Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon. You really feel as though a truck ran over you when you get here. So nothing that 12 hours in bed won't cure.
We met our guide Dai, in the lobby at 8:30. Very pleasant young man whose English was very good. He went over our itinerary for the day with us and showed us on the map where we were going to go. We then set out first purchasing our subway tickets. We got full day passes for 6 dollars. The subway system is fantastic but I would not recommend doing it without a guide unless you can read Japanese. There are many different levels for the trains and multiple turns and paths to negotiate. We went first to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Built in 1935,
it is the largest fish market in the world. Over 450 kinds of fish and seafood are sold there. We saw one blue fin tuna that was about 5 feet long. Blue fin is the favorite of the Japanese and of course the most expensive.
From the fish market, back to the subway for a quick ride to the Imperial Palace and the Nijubashi Bridge. The imperial palace is the home of the crown prince, The
Emperor and his wife live in Paris. The Crown Prince and his wife and about 300 staff live here. You are only allowed to go in the Imperial Palace 2 days of the year. We were fortunate to see a new diplomat being received at the palace. He rode in a horse drawn coach over the Nijubashi Bridge.. In 1868 the Emperor Meiji moved the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo. He established the royal residence on the site of the palace of the Tokugawa shoguns.
Then onto the Senso-Ji temple the oldest Buddhist temple, over 1000 years old, a constant site of rites and festivals. The entrance way to the temple was swarming with people many who were dressed in traditional kimonos.
Our guide said that these were tourists from other countries and not Japanese. Apparently the Chinese and Koreans like to dress in these out fits when they visit Japan. At the temple there is a large fountain to wash your hands and rinse out you mouth before you approach the temple. Built adjacent to the Temple, is a Shinto Temple. There are always a Shinto temple and a Buddhist temple built side by side. The Shinto temples are smaller and less ornate.
Then we went to a Tempura restaurant for a rest and lunch. Lunch we delicious and the rest was well-deserved. After lunch we went to the Ameyoko Market street. There were all varieties of fresh food and prepared delicacies. We went into a large department store that had a food area downstairs to rival Harrods. Every imaginable delicacy was there.
Today we walked over 6 miles and walked up 21 flights of stairs. My legs are tired. Tonight we eat sushi at a restaurant in the hotel.
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