Tokyo

On Tuesday Fred and I headed to Tokyo. We were suppose to go to Thailand but because I was in the hospital with pneumonia we had to change our plans. We left Tuesday morning from Incheon and took the 2 hour flight to Tokyo!

When we arrived on we had to find our hotel. Apparently there are 2 Metropolitan Hotel Tokyo's. We headed to a tourist information center and they were able to get us to the right hotel. We stayed in the Ikebukuro area. Once we got to the hotel ,we walked around to explore our area. We ended up having dinner at a nice place before going to sleep.

Ikebukuro at night

On Wednesday we got up early to head to the Tsukiji Fish Market. We were told to be there early. We got there around 8am. It was packed with people. All of our time in Tokyo, we never felt surrounded by people except at the market. We walked around and enjoyed all of the sights. We had some oysters grilled right in front of us. We then wanted to get sushi. We saw many little places to get some however one was packed with locals. We decided that this was the place to eat and decided to wait. After about 40 minutes, we got 2 spots on the counter. We ordered a tuna plate and miso soup. It was so delicious! We then walked to Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple. After we hiked to the Imperial Palace. It is only open to tourists 2 days a year so we could not go in. We explored the gardens and the wall. After, we went to see the Meiji Shrine. We had Japanese soup and dumplings for lunch and then walked to the Harajuku area. This is an area filled with tons of non-traditional Japanese teenagers. For dinner we had pizza and wine.

Fish Market

Imperial Palace grounds

On Thursday we went to the Sunshine City Aquarium. They had many different kinds of fish and even a little zoo area. We were able to enter this area and the animals were roaming all over. There were no boundaries or cages. There were parrots, armadillos, lemurs and tons of other animals. We then went to the Sunshine Building observatory deck. We were able to see all of Tokyo. We were even able to go on a outside deck. We then had a Japanese lunch were you cook at your table. It was a mix of cabbage, ginger, cheese, tomatoes, bacon and egg. You form it into a pancake. It was very good! We then took the subway to see Senso-ji Temple and 5 story pagoda. The area was filled with people, beautiful sites and tourist shops. We then went to Japanese restaurant near our hotel for dinner. We were able to order tons of smaller dishes to share. We then went to a nearby bar for a few drinks. We were able to watch the Japanese New Years show and countdown. We could even see fireworks!

Senso-ji Temple and Pagoda

On Friday we tried to go to the Ueno Zoo however it was closed. We then explored a nearby park. There was a lake in the area and it was very relaxing. With Tokyo being such a huge city, it was refreshing to stumble into a park. We then found another pagoda before going to a rotating sushi bar for lunch. We had 30 minutes to eat at least 14 plates. We accomplished the goal! We then walked around the Roponggi, Shibuya and Shinjuku areas. We went into the Government Building to the observation deck. We could see so far and even saw Mt. Fuji in the distance. For dinner we decided to eat at our hotel buffet. It was packed with people and tons of food. Fred was daring and tried jellyfish and blow fish.

Mt Fuji

On Saturday we sat in the Imperial Palace garden near Tokyo station before taking the 1 hour train to the airport. Once we got to our gate, the plane before us was going to Minneapolis! It really made me want to change my ticket!! Overall we had a great time in Tokyo. We had beautiful weather in the 50's, great food and saw tons of sites.

A few thoughts from Japan:

-Japan is NOT obsessed with swine flu

-The Japanese people are so warm and friendly. They don't push you or cut in line.

-The weather is beautiful, even over New Years

-The food is great

-It does not smell

-The streets and subways are very clean and well-kept

-It is expensive

-It does not feel packed with millions of people