Mainland Japan: Tokyo

Our Japanese teacher asked what the occasion was for our recent trip to Tokyo.  We paused and looked at each other.  It was the first time we had been asked this.  "Because it's November."  I finally responded with a large grin. 

We left on November 2nd.  Hiked from our house on Camp Lester to the bus stop.  Boarded the 120 bus, and were dropped at the Naha Airport an hour later.  

Arriving in Tokyo is different than arriving in Naha.  Daniel happily slipped into a tag-a-long role as he let his partner navigate the Tokyo Train system.  Until it was midnight, and we were still not at the hotel.  A stop at one of the always plentiful street-side vending machines for a sugary beverage and another hour of hauling our luggage around the streets of Tokyo later, we collapsed into our room.  

We did a lot of exploring but one thing seems to follow us wherever we go in Okinawa and apparently in mainland Japan as well.  Every time we try to find a restaurant by following our instincts, we end up walking into a Soba (Japanese noodle soup) restaurant.  We've had several experiences with the Okinawa variety, none of which we've particularly liked.  Okinawa Soba is edible but barely.  In Tokyo, however, it was an entirely different experience.  The first soba place we walked into caused us to look at each other and groan in horror, but we were pleasantly surprised. Tokyo's soba is very different (and we think much tastier) than Okinawa Soba we've eaten.  The second place we walked into, assuming it was a curry restaurant, "Yellow Spice," turned out, of course, to serve a curry flavored soba.  But, again, was surprisingly delicious.  We have since resolved that when in Tokyo soba places are fair game but we will not go out of our way to visit them back in Okinawa, at least not by choice.

Here are some pics of Tokyo for you to enjoy/entice you to come visit.  :)

Shibuya Intersection.  The famous Tokyo intersection.  Many scenes from "Lost in Translation" and other movies shot in Tokyo were filmed here.

Early morning egg breakfast at the Tsukigi Fish Market.  The largest fish market in the world.

The fish sold at the market got a lot bigger than than these lil' guys.

Salmon roe for sale.  

Imagine 20 aisles of this for several more blocks.  

A park near the Ueno stop in Tokyo.   We followed the signs to the "pond." Which looked more like large lily pads to us.

This picture was taken just before we spent 30 min looking over the edge of the bridge watching the many large coy fish swim around beneath us.

Probably one of our favorite spots in Tokyo.  A large green park next to the Meji Shrine outside of the "young peoples shopping district,"  according to our fantastic volunteer tour guide.  "You can see a lot of young people in costumes there."  Not surprisingly, it is also Lady Gaga's favorite place to shop in Tokyo (not the park, the shopping area nearby.)

I thought trees only looked this perfect in paintings.  

Bonsai exhibit.

View from the top of one of the Tokyo Towers.