March 2025
March 2025 |
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Quick Links
For the last few years I have wanted to visit Japan. June didn't want to go; gluten issues and so forth. It's really a good thing that she didn't. Most Japanese don't speak English and it's hard enough to find out what's in restaurant food here in the USA. But I happened to mention to David, a golf friend, that I wanted to someday visit Japan and he said, "Me too!"
Two weeks later, we had a tour and flights booked! Here's where we would be traveling to:
A quick synopsis of Japan...
All of that to say: Japan is very crowded, especially the four cities that we traveled to! Even more so because we were traveling at the predicted peak of Sakura (Cherry Tree Blossoming).
As it turns out, we arrived about a week before they actually started blooming in Tokyo. So we didn't have to contend with the locals as we were visiting their cities.
Warning: This sounds a bit like a Math word problem...
David and I drove to San Bruno to leave my car at my friend, Rich's house for 2 weeks. He then dropped us off at the airport. Thanks Rich!! We took a United flight leaving SFO at 11:40 AM on Tuesday and flew west for 11 hours. We arrived at NRT (Tokyo) at 3:00 PM on Wednesday (we crossed the international date line). Japan is 16 hours AHEAD OF California. Everyday I would call June in the morning around 6:00 AM and it would be 2:00 PM on the previous day in California.
Okay, back to reality...
For $250 each way, I splurged and upgraded my Economy seat for one at an exit door with tons of legroom. I had no carry-on except my butt bag. It was about as wonderful as economy could be. David was in business class.
In Tokyo, we eventually found the private car that David booked weeks in advance waiting outside the airport. It took us about an hour to get to our hotel in Tokyo. After about 15 minutes of driving, I noted to David that we, and every other car on the mildly congested 2-lane freeway, was going pretty slow compared to what we are used to. The speed limit was 80 kph (about 50 mph). Our driver, and everyone else, was going about 85 kph (52 mph). Even more striking was that no one seemed to be in a hurry, looking for a way to pass the slower cars. It was all very calm, spaced out, and orderly. This was also pretty true in the taxis that we used; respectful but a bit more in a hurry.
We checked in to the Comfort Hotel Higashi Kanda, Tokyo. It was the smallest room that I would be in the entire trip. It was really just a closet with a bathroom. BTW: David and I had separate rooms.
After we settled in, we found a nearby Ramen restaurant on Yelp and walked there with GPS. We were the only ones in the place. Because the waitress/cook spoke no English, we started to play charades in Japanese until I remembered Google translate. But I didn't want to use cell data, so I connected to their WiFi. We eventually ordered Ramen and it was delicious!
After breakfast, if I felt okay, myself and David would usually take a walk in the neighborhood before the group would meet for the daily activities around 8:30. In Tokyo, and especially in the mountains, the air was surprisingly cold.
After the walk, we began our adventure exploring one of the most extraordinary capital cities on the planet. The Tokyo metropolitan area spreads over three prefectures with 38 million residents, roughly the population of California!
We started with a visit to the Tsukiji Outer Market, a shopping district adjacent to the former wholesale fish market. This is also the location of two small, rather hard-to-find, temples. I bought a bag of dried Mangoes.
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| Tsukiji Outer Market |
Next, we piled back on the bus and rode to beautiful Hama Rikyu Garden which has served many purposes over the centuries. It was originally built as a feudal lord's Tokyo residence and duck hunting grounds during the Edo period (1603-1867). It later served as a strolling garden and a detached imperial palace, before eventually being opened to the public in its current form.
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| Hama Rikyu Garden |
Next we rode to Senso-ji Temple. Completed in 645 AD, it is Tokyo's oldest and most popular Buddhist temple. We had lunch there, which was my first in a string of eating mishaps. I had a skewer of BBQ beef. At least I think it was beef; they also BBQ horse meat in Japan. The skewer was mostly very chewy fat and I eventually tossed it in the garbage. My stomach gently protested. It settled slightly with a skewered chocolate banana (not frozen) which was delicious.
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Senso-ji Temple |
Note: Over the course of 12 days in Japan we visited MANY temples and shrines. The difference is that Temples are Buddhist and Shrines are Schinto which is a religion that predates Buddhism.
That evening, a group of us walked to a restaurant with Mayumi our tour guide. She ordered a multitude of dishes for us to share. Then she split the bill for us. Again she goes above and beyond the call of duty!
That morning we visited Ueno
(pronounced Weno) Park, Tokyo's largest green space and
home to numerous temples and museums. There's even a zoo which we chose
not to visit. But we did visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum which was
great but allowed no picture-taking.
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| A popular spot with the locals |
Next we visited the nearby Meiji
Shrine (Meiji Jingu), located within a 170-acre forest
in the center of Tokyo. Constructed of cypress wood and copper, the shrine
commemorates Emperor Meiji, who presided over Japan's industrial
revolution in the second half of the 19th century.
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Meiji Shrine |
When David and I booked the tour with 'Inspired Vacations', I didn't realize that we would eventually bond with so many people after spending every day together for almost 2 weeks. It took a long time to say goodbye to everyone at the end of the tour.
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At Meiji Shrine, our Tour Group
in front of empty Saki Barrels The group was comprised of people from the USA, Australia, and New Zealand in equal amounts. Mostly couples both married and
friends, a few singles, and an adult family of four. |
Next, we made a quick stop at Yoyogi Park for a short walk to a view of the Imperial Palace.
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The Imperial Palace in the background. David with our tour guide, Mayumi. Sounds like 'My-U-Me' She was great, going WAY beyond her job as tour guide. |
That evening, David found "Joto Japanese Curry" on Yelp about a mile from our hotel. We walked there and back, and were treated to a unique experience. First walking through the downtown streets at night and not getting lost. Second, the one man working there greeted us, pointed to the counter of about 10 seats, showed us the machine for ordering and paying, cooked our meal, served us, and washed dishes when he had a chance. I had a chicken cutlet over a bed of rice with curry poured all over. David had essentially the same but topped with a raw egg. Third, a couple of college-aged guys came in with backpacks and sat next to us. We started a conversation and learned that they were from Germany (they both spoke good English), and had been traveling the country by themselves for close to a month. They loved everything about it, including the food. How did they find this place? "Just wandered in. You can't miss in Japan; EVERYTHING is good!"
See MORE pictures of our time in Tokyo
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on your phone)