Tokyo

---

Ah, Tokyo - Pearl of the Orient. We didn’t spend much time in Tokyo, just a day and that one was pretty rainy. But guess what: rain lends itself (and Cheryl) to --: that’s right, shopping!

Our early morning Shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto allowed us to watch the countryside out the window. It seems that everywhere we look there are people. The country is mostly mountainous so that 95% of the population lives on 5% of the land. There are lots of farms in that stretch - mostly rice with a few other vegetables mixed in for flavor. Of course the farms are very small compared to the farms in our Midwest.

Then about every 15 minutes or so, we came to a town with apartments and factories and industry of all sorts. Population, population, population. Then it really started getting dense as we approached Tokyo and the metropolitan area. However, one thing we were both impressed by is the cleanliness of the countryside and the cities. Litter is unheard of and the houses, apartments, stores and factories are all well maintained and look presentable. It is apparently just in their national makeup to keep things clean and looking good.

We arrived in Tokyo Station mid morning with what we thought were pretty good directions. They were pretty good until we had to actually execute “take JR Rail to Akihabara then the Hibiya line to Kodemmacho” all by ourselves. What’s a JR Rail? OK, I think I got that. Then how do we find the Hybiya line? Which direction? What gate?

As we stood in Tokyo Station, our guardian angel showed up. His name is Jin (pronounced like Gene) Kazuya, who showed us credentials as a Community Service Volunteer. He said he was a retired egg seller and now just does this to keep himself active. He led us through the maze of gates, train tracks, subways, streets, etc, etc. and escorted us all the way to our hotel. He had to purchase tickets for his own fare and we tried to at least reimburse him for his cost, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

Since the weather was so drizzly, we opted to forgo and sightseeing plans we may have had for Tokyo and concentrated on Cheryl’s final opportunity to get in her shopping before returning to the USA. She was successful beyond her wildest expectations and her loot even all fit in a single shopping bag which could then be carried aboard the plane on the way home.

We stopped for refreshment on the way home and Cheryl wasn’t hungry. That gave me the opportunity to do a little shopping of my own. Yep, sashimi! Sashimi is a Japanese dish of raw fish served in a most attractive way and with wasabi, that wonderful green horseradish-type accompaniment to the fish. At the end of our trip I created the perfect bookend to our first country. Uncooked meat in Ethiopia (Kitfo) gave me diarrhea and cramps, uncooked fish in Japan (Sashimi) had the opposite effect.

All is well with the world, it’s now time to go home.

---

Photos

Shinkansen
thw world's fastest scheduled train

Jin Kazuya
our guardian angel

Sashimi
and it tastes as good as it looks