Tokyo

Two days, three nights in Tokyo with a couple great ladies.  It wasn't near enough.  All it did was make me want to go back and explore.  Someday...

When we left for Japan I wasn't even sure we were going to make it since there were weather warnings from two typhoons that were swooping by.  Amazingly, when we arrived, it wasn't even raining.  From the moment the plane touched down I knew that I would like Japan.  When the seat belt sign went off no one bolted for the door or almost dropped their luggage on my head because they were in such a hurry to go nowhere.  It was all very civilized and relaxed.  Customs was incredibly easy and when we got to the luggage carousel our bags had been taken off and were waiting for us.  We easily purchased tickets to a bus that went directly to our hotel (this was not by chance;) which was right in the middle of Shibuya Crossing.  This is sort of like the Times Square of Tokyo and it's right where I wanted to be.

We arrived in the evening and wanted to try an authentic Japanese meal so we decided to eat at the hotel restaurant on the 25th floor.  Well, it turned out to be authentic enough that for a good portion of it we had no idea what we were eating.  Some of it was great, some not so much.  It was very interesting experience though.

My partners in crime for the weekend - Lisa and Beth.

Not sure what most of this was...

I was looking a little seedy as I cooked my beef.  It was tasty!

For our first day in Tokyo we were supposed to do a six hour bike tour of the bay area.  Since it was raining pretty hard the tour was cancelled and we had to find something else to do.  Not surprisingly, we decided on shopping!  I had checked out some destinations online and wanted to visit Decks mall because it had Legoland, Toys R Us and Disney stores.  We had to take a subway then a train to get there but it was worth it.  We ended up finding a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in the same mall.  I had been to one previously in New York but the other girls hadn't so in we went.  It was really cool to see some of the different people they had on display.  It was a lot of fun!

The real Mona 'Lisa'

After some shopping we wandered around until we found one of three huge wheels we had seen on our drive into the city.  We just had to go for a ride!

The famous Rainbow Bridge in the background.

When we got off the wheels I saw another mall and convinced the girls to go in with me.  I was trying to find a couple gifts for the boys and hadn't had much luck at the other place.  I must say this had to be the coolest mall I have ever seen.  Walking into this place felt like being teleported to Italy.  You know how some malls can make you feel sleepy or dizzy or just give you a headache?  Not this place.  I could have stayed here all day.

This ceiling was amazing!  As night fell it got darker and stars shone.

So pretty!

By the time we finished shopping we were getting pretty hungry so we headed back to the hotel to drop our purchases.  The previous night on our drive to the hotel I had noticed a sign for a Thai restaurant not far from Shibuya Crossing so we went in search.  It wasn't long before we found the place, a cute little pub style down in a basement.  It was very tiny with only four tables and a small cooking area right behind the bar.  The food was delicious though and we stuffed ourselves.

After all that food we had to do some strolling and exploring.  It felt so good to walk around a clean city with fresh air.  I could have stayed out all night.

I didn't realize it until this trip but a lot of Japanese people celebrate Halloween.  I was surprised at how many decorations were around and shocked at the number of people who were dressed up in really great costumes.  I wish my good camera hadn't gotten broken so I could have taken more photos.

This bus was full of costumed party goers!

We managed to book another bike tour for Sunday morning with Neil, an American from Ohio who has lived in Japan for ten years.  We were joined by a lovely family of four from Australia.  It was a shorter tour at four hours and took us through central Tokyo.  Cycling in a great way to see a city since you can go quite a distance but also get to see things close up.

Neil explaining the route.

The Meguro River

A small shrine in the middle of the city.

Beautiful Yoyogi Park

Walking into Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine

Barrels of fine wines donated to the shrine by France

Bride and groom on their wedding day.

At ages 3, 5 and 7, children are dressed up and brought to the shrine for a blessing.  They were so adorable!

Harajuku Teenage Shopping Street

Following our tour we went back to Harajuku to find the Oriental Bazaar.  It's an awesome shop for real, Japanese made souvenirs.  I had a great time picking out some Christmas gifts.  By the time we finished all that biking and shopping we were starving!  We found yet another Thai restaurant with even better food than what we had the night before.  It was fantastic!

I must quickly tell you a funny little story before I finish.  We had to take the subway to get to the starting point of the bike tour and along the way we got a little lost (the one and only time that happened all weekend!).  As we roamed the streets and couldn't figure out why we were so lost (we had a map and detailed instructions) I stopped into a hotel to ask for directions.  I had to walk down some steps into a basement lobby but it was quite beautiful with a nice fountain and welcoming atmosphere.  As I entered the sliding doors I saw a large electronic board with pictures of the various rooms available and prices.  There was no front desk or anyone to be found and my first thought was, Wow, this is a really high tech hotel!  Japan is so cool.  As I was turning around to go back outside a Japanese couple emerged from out of the blue so I asked them if they spoke English.  They quietly said something in Japanese but kept walking so as we were making our way up the steps I tried to get them to look at my map and asked them if they could just show me what direction we had to go in to find a certain street.  They very quickly just walked away which I thought very strange.  All the other people we had encountered had been so friendly and willing to help.  Oh well!  Instead I just asked the next man I saw on the street.  He tried to help and even took the time to draw us a new map.  After a frustrating half hour of walking in circles we stopped into a vet/pet store and called our tour guide.  His cell phone battery died just as I was getting instructions from him but not before he had a chance to talk to the owner of the store.  She didn't speak any English and the three words of Japanese I knew were not helping so you know what she did?  She led us out of the store, walked with us for two blocks down the street, hailed us a taxi then told the driver where we needed to go.  How awesome is that?  In ten minutes we were with our tour group ready for a fun day.  After about an hour of cycling we were in the Shibuya area when our guide stopped outside a small building to tell us about it.  It was a called a love hotel, one of hundreds in the Tokyo area.  Because people live in close quarters, often with extended family members, these love hotels are for couple needing a little privacy and can be rented for an overnight stay or just a 'rest' period of a few hours.  Some of them even have electronic boards instead of a human so the couple needn't suffer any undue embarrassment.  Oops!  It was at that exact moment that I realized why the Japanese couple I had asked for directions earlier at the high tech hotel was rather reluctant to help or even look me in the eye.  Live and learn!  By the way, it turns out that the reason we couldn't find the bike tour place was that we got off the subway at the wrong station.  There are two with very similar names - Meguro and Naka Meguro - and I led us to the incorrect stop.  Now I'll know for next time;).

So that was our quick Tokyo trip in a nutshell.  On a final ridiculous note, I have to say that perhaps my most memorable part of this trip was the bathrooms.  They were amazing!  Everywhere you 'went' - even on the bus from the airport to the hotel - the bathrooms were immaculate.  Almost all them had fancy bidet seats and I must admit that I have become a fan.  It's such a 'refreshing' change from the bathrooms we experience here in China.  I decided before I left Tokyo that if when we settled down and build or buy a house, we must have these toilet seats in every bathroom.  At Narita Airport I actually saw one for sale at the duty free shop.  I had to stop myself from buying a few:).  

That's the equivalent of $380 Canadian.

Another little feature of some Japanese bathrooms.  Just in case things get a little noisy and you don't want anyone to hear;).

If you ever get a chance to visit Tokyo, take it!  I will be going back and staying longer next time.