Musings on Life's Little Moments...: Tokyo

This fall, James' parents Bob and Nancy decided to come visit us in Japan! Since they had already explored the area around Misawa when Jon and Claire were stationed here, and we do not really have room for guests in our house, it didn't make sense to have them come all the way up here. James and I haven't really had an opportunity to tour Tokyo or Kyoto yet, so this seemed like a good excuse to take some time off and all explore the pride of Japan together!

We spent the first four days of Bob and Nancy's visit in Tokyo. Their usual travel style is to wander around and get a taste of a place by seeing where the people live and work and eat (as opposed to hopping directly from tourist site to tourist site). This proved to be the perfect way to explore the world's most populous city. It's SO big and I was really overwhelmed trying to plan a specific itinerary. So we just picked out neighborhood after neighborhood along the central subway line and went for a walk. It was A LOT of walking (3-5 miles a day) so we were pretty sore by the end. But I really do feel like I have a good sense of the city now.

Thankfully we had fantastic hotel to retire to for a late-afternoon nap before dinner. We were lucky enough to score two rooms at the New Sanno Hotel - the U.S. Naval Joint Services hotel in the heart of the international district of Tokyo. It's definitely the nicest military hotel I've ever stayed in. The rooms were comfortable and familiarly American - but the interior was very elegant and the amenities were very impressive. I enjoyed doing a little Christmas shopping at the hotel stores, and especially looked forward to a delicious, hot American breakfast each morning (something you will not find in any Japanese hotel.) Can't say no to the discounted price either. ;^)

Below are some of the highlights of our Tokyo tour

Roppongi Hills

Our first stop was Roppongi - known as the city's most popular nightlife district among foreigners, offering a large number of international restaurants and bars, as well as high end retail shops, theaters and luxury hotels. It was here that we got our first glimpse of Tokyo tower, as well as our first up-close encounter with a Tokyo skyscraper.

After a brief tour of the Roppongi Hills shopping complex, we walked to Tokyo Tower and rode the elevator up to the top to see the lay of the land. It was incredible... buildings stretching as far as the eye can see.

When we'd had our fill of our bird-eye view, we took a quick look at Zojoji Temple. It was interesting seeing the contrast between the new and old architecture.

By this time we were starving so we went back to Roppongi to try the first of many restaurants Claire recommended. It was called Roti Roppongi - American grill and rotisserie in a friendly wine bar setting. It was definitely the best restaurant burger I've ever had. Highly recommend this place! (We actually went back for a second time the night before returning to Misawa. Mmmm.)

After a quick afternoon siesta at the hotel, we returned to Roppongi at night to see one of the best views of Tokyo tower lit up at night. It was truly breathtaking, seeing the city all lit up. I definitely have a weakness for twinkly city lights. What a view!

Cute shot of Bob and Nancy!

Central Tokyo

On our second full day in Tokyo we ventured into Central Tokyo to see the Diet Building (The Japanese Capital Building) and the Imperial Palace. We weren't able to get very close to the primary buildings, but the grounds around them were very beautiful.

The Diet Building

Giant antique doors leading into the Imperial Gardens

After seeing everything there was to see around the Imperial Palace, we wandered into one of the elegant buildings downtown for a fancy Brazillian meal. The best thing I had to take pictures of on this day was the architecture downtown. The variety of styles and sophistication of the buildings was truly impressive. Below are a couple of snapshots from inside the building where we had lunch. Stunning.

GODZILLA!!!

The most fun I had this day was walking around in the showrooms of the official Sony Building. It was the closest encounter we had with the famed technology of Japan. Too bad gadgets are almost twice as expensive here than they are in the States!

GINZA

Ginza is the country's most famous luxury shopping and entertainment district - home to Japan's most expensive real estate, as well as every major fashion and cosmetics brand. It was like walking down Rodeo Drive in L.A. I'm sure it would have been more impressive when all the store fronts were lit up at night (something similar to being in Times Square). But even so - I was a bit star-struck seeing all of these designer shops that I definitely can't afford to shop in. Definitely an experience.

Us crammed into the Subway at rush hour. We spent
a lot of time on the Subway on this trip.

Tsukiji Fish Market

We got up early on Tuesday morning to see one of the world's largest wholesale fish markets. The vendors in this massive series of warehouses handle over 2,000 pounds of marine product every day. It was a maze of small booths filled with all kinds of fresh fish (some of which was still alive and wriggling). But hands-down the most impressive thing we saw was some of the vendors cutting up MASSIVE tuna (about as long as I am and twice as big around) with super long fillet knives that look something like samurai swords. Definitely an interesting glimpse into this city's daily operations.

Ueno Park

After the fish market we returned to the hotel for a hearty breakfast before journeying up to the north side of the city to take a walk through Ueno Park. This area is similar to Balboa Park in San Diego, with beautiful tree-lined paths connecting various shrines, museums and the Tokyo Zoo. We mostly just walked around and enjoyed watching some truly gifted street performers.

Frijoles Burritos & Tacos (Knock-off Chipotle!!)

One of the most exciting discoveries we made in Roppongi is an Asian version of one of our favorite fast food restaurants!! It looked just like Chipotle, but the portion sizes were smaller and it was probably healthier because they use a lot less salt. Still, it was an excellent meal for two people who have been deprived of its spicey goodness for far too long. =^)

Tiny Japanese-sized burrito!

Shibuya

Our final stop was the epicenter of youth shopping and entertainment in Tokyo - Shibuya! It's one of the busiest areas in Tokyo - especially at night. It was overwhelmingly awesome - seeing all of the lights and people. This is truly the "Tokyo experience" that people expect from seeing movies and ads about Japan. There is an intersection in front of Shibuya Station where the lights in all four directions turn red at once and TONS of people surge into the streets and "cross" in any direction they choose. I've never seen so many people walking at once in my whole life. SO cool. We mostly walked around and looked at the different shops, then ate dinner at a Greek restaurant before concluding our tour of Tokyo.