Day 1: Arrived at 1:30 with no jet-lag which is rare for travelers to Japan. After a hour and a half train ride to Asakusa and a wander around looking for our hotel, we arrived! Our hotel was nice, and we got a cute traditional style room. We cleaned up and went out to walk around as there is a great market and temple close to our hotel. Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest geisha district and has a very traditional Japanese atmosphere.
D and I decided to try to find a tempura restaurant that was recommended to us. It is known to have the best tempura in all of Tokyo. Well the food was great but the tables were very small and we had to sit about 2 feet from the table! After dinner we went out for some beers at a local bar. We decided that it should be an early night as we had a full 4 days ahead of us.
Day 2: The next morning we decided to head to Shibuya (we always said "Shibooooya!") which is one of the busiest districts in Tokyo. This is the area that is always shown in movies that take place in Tokyo. There are lots of people and even more neon lights! We had read there was plenty of good shopping there so we looked around at some of the shops.
After we headed to Omotesando Hills to check out the high end shops. D and I had a great time popping into the different stores there. We also went to Harijuku Street and checked out the interesting people there and clothing stores that sell costume wear.
Kyle and Yoshiko really outdid themselves and made us a delicious home cooked meal. We also had a great time getting to know their 3 cats, who kept trying to get handouts while Kyle was cooking.
Day 5: On our last day we headed back to Harajuku as we were told it was the best time to go down and check out the ladies in their costumes. It was really fun to walk around there as well as the park connected to the Meiji Shrine.
After that we headed back to the hotel and then off to the airport. Getting to the Narita airport was the most stressful experience of my life so far, both of us couldn't believe we actually made it on the plane that night.
So that is our trip in a nutshell. If you would like to see all of our pictures click on http://picasaweb.google.com/dennis.blackwell/110TokyoTrip2010#
We don't have much planned over the next few weeks in anticipation for our visitors at the end of October! The weather is still very nice here so we are going on lots of walks and runs. Some of the women here are going to be running a half marathon in February and they have asked me to be their trainer, which of course I am more than happy to do.
I hope you are all happy and healthy. Miss you lots!
Jennifer
Day 2: The next morning we decided to head to Shibuya (we always said "Shibooooya!") which is one of the busiest districts in Tokyo. This is the area that is always shown in movies that take place in Tokyo. There are lots of people and even more neon lights! We had read there was plenty of good shopping there so we looked around at some of the shops.
After we headed to Omotesando Hills to check out the high end shops. D and I had a great time popping into the different stores there. We also went to Harijuku Street and checked out the interesting people there and clothing stores that sell costume wear.
We headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up and then got on the subway again to meet my Uncle Kyle and Aunt Yoshiko for dinner. They took us to "Gopanchi" which is the restaurant that inspired the fight scene in "Kill Bill" (movie). The food was amazing and the company was even better. Kyle introduced us to drinking sake out of a cedar box. The sake is poured into a glass that is inside the cedar box and the waiter will pour the sake till it over flows into the cedar box, you have to the waiter "when" to stop pouring. I am not a big sake fan but this was really good!
Day 3: So after a night of drinking champagne and sake D and I decided to wake up at 4am to go to the Tsukiji Fish market to go to the Tuna auction. They only allow 140 people in to watch the auction and we got there shortly after they gave the last ticket away. It was disappointing to have woken up that early and to miss it but stayed and walked around the market anyway. After walking around and trying to not get in the way of too many people we went out for a sushi breakfast. We walked around for a bit but after realizing that nothing would be open until 10am we decided to head back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
So after a nice nap we headed to the Ginza district. This is a very upscale district so we mostly just popped into stores and wandered around. After Ginza we went to Ueno, or as we call it now "Jean Mecca". Now most of your probably know about Ds obsession with salvage dry denim jeans and this is where it started. Each store it filled with many different brands and D was like a kid in a candy store. He bought a couple pairs and says that he is set for years, I will believe it when I see it. ;)
That night we met up with Uncle Kyle again and his gang of ne'er-do-wells for some drinks.
Day 4: The next morning Uncle Kyle played tour guide for us and took us to Odaiba which is an artificial island in Tokyo bay. From here you get to see the bay and a great view of the city.
Now you can't go to Tokyo without checking out the electronic districts so Kyle took us to a place that was full of camera stores. D showed great restraint by not buying anything. I did help by telling him that we had a wedding to plan for! He did end up buying a new camera bag which was on his list of things to get.
That night we got back on the subway and headed to Kyle and Yoshiko's apartment for dinner.
I had to include one picture of us on the subway since we spent so much time on it!
Day 3: So after a night of drinking champagne and sake D and I decided to wake up at 4am to go to the Tsukiji Fish market to go to the Tuna auction. They only allow 140 people in to watch the auction and we got there shortly after they gave the last ticket away. It was disappointing to have woken up that early and to miss it but stayed and walked around the market anyway. After walking around and trying to not get in the way of too many people we went out for a sushi breakfast. We walked around for a bit but after realizing that nothing would be open until 10am we decided to head back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
So after a nice nap we headed to the Ginza district. This is a very upscale district so we mostly just popped into stores and wandered around. After Ginza we went to Ueno, or as we call it now "Jean Mecca". Now most of your probably know about Ds obsession with salvage dry denim jeans and this is where it started. Each store it filled with many different brands and D was like a kid in a candy store. He bought a couple pairs and says that he is set for years, I will believe it when I see it. ;)
That night we met up with Uncle Kyle again and his gang of ne'er-do-wells for some drinks.
Day 4: The next morning Uncle Kyle played tour guide for us and took us to Odaiba which is an artificial island in Tokyo bay. From here you get to see the bay and a great view of the city.
Now you can't go to Tokyo without checking out the electronic districts so Kyle took us to a place that was full of camera stores. D showed great restraint by not buying anything. I did help by telling him that we had a wedding to plan for! He did end up buying a new camera bag which was on his list of things to get.
That night we got back on the subway and headed to Kyle and Yoshiko's apartment for dinner.
I had to include one picture of us on the subway since we spent so much time on it!Kyle and Yoshiko really outdid themselves and made us a delicious home cooked meal. We also had a great time getting to know their 3 cats, who kept trying to get handouts while Kyle was cooking.
Day 5: On our last day we headed back to Harajuku as we were told it was the best time to go down and check out the ladies in their costumes. It was really fun to walk around there as well as the park connected to the Meiji Shrine.
After that we headed back to the hotel and then off to the airport. Getting to the Narita airport was the most stressful experience of my life so far, both of us couldn't believe we actually made it on the plane that night.
So that is our trip in a nutshell. If you would like to see all of our pictures click on http://picasaweb.google.com/dennis.blackwell/110TokyoTrip2010#
We don't have much planned over the next few weeks in anticipation for our visitors at the end of October! The weather is still very nice here so we are going on lots of walks and runs. Some of the women here are going to be running a half marathon in February and they have asked me to be their trainer, which of course I am more than happy to do.
I hope you are all happy and healthy. Miss you lots!
Jennifer
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