Tokyo

We arrived late yesterday due to flight delays because of bad weather. Bumpy all the way. It is winter here. I forgot how much I hate the cold. We dumped our stuff in our tiny little room and went out to explore the area and immediately proceeded to get lost. That's ok because people walk around all night here and it is perfectly safe. So we wandered till we found a good local eatery and had a Japanese meal which was delicious. By the time we found the hotel it was 12:45 in the morning. We crashed in our tiny little bed and slept very well. The staff is extremely helpful and everything is very clean.

This morning we woke up early, anxious to explore Tokyo. We found our new favorite restaurant and had an American breakfast with lots of cappuccino to fend off the cold. Off we went. We are extremely proud of ourselves after having totally mastered the Tokyo metro system without getting lost. It is massive and amazing and we even bought tickets from the machine. We were all over the city. We took three sightseeing busses so as not to miss anything. We saw the Imperial Palace where the Emperor lives. We couldn't go in because he is there with his family. We saw some things we will return to in two days. It is a very big city and, strange as it seems, it is all dolled up for Christmas. There are lights and Christmas music everywhere. The stores are amazing. The Ginza is amazing. We crossed the street without getting killed many times. Contrary to what we were told, it is not an expensive city. We have had no trouble eating delicious meals which were reasonably priced, taken reasonable cab rides and of course used the very inexpensive public transportation system. We are learning a few words and the people are so helpful and polite that they have been going out of their way on many occasions...total strangers in the metro and on the streets. Everything is very clean. People do rush around a lot. They don't stroll. They scamper.

When we arrived at the Ginza we found ourselves in the middle of a peace demonstration. There were literally thousands of peaceful anti-war protesters marching in orderly lines down the Ginza. That street is pretty overwhelming with its sea of humanity and the demonstration made it even more crowded. I don't love crowds and when they are coming at me from all directions I got a little wonky.

So we made it back to the hotel after being out from 7:30 this morning till 8:30 tonight. We are taking the bullet train to Kyoto tomorrow morning for an overnight in that ancient imperial city filled with castles and Geisha. I really wanted to take Geisha lessons but there is not enough time. The makeup alone takes hours. But at least we will see them and learn about them. Fascinating. I can't wait. Very excited.

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