Japan Part 1 (May - June 2019)

We went to Japan for a couple of weeks with Erna, a colleague/friend of ours from Pakistan. She is retired and living in California. Here we are 350 meters (1000 feet) above Tokyo! This is a communications tower / tourist attraction in the Asakusa area in the middle of the city. They had the smoothest and quietest elevator we have ever been on.

This is the Tokyo Sky Tree from the bottom.

This is Tokyo from the top! There are about 9 million people living here. Seattle is about 750,000. 

This is "The B" hotel. It was our first hotel in Tokyo. At the end of the tour, we were in a different hotel in Tokyo. They had both Japanese and Western style breakfasts.

This is a typical shopping arcade in Asakusa. What was interesting was that there was very little car traffic and no place to park! We saw some parking lots with cars stacked 4 high, but never got a photo of it. Shopping was a pleasant experience because no one was hawking stuff at you. They would help whenever asked, but they never pushed their products in your face. No bargaining needed.

This is the Ginza shopping district. It is famous for its upscale stores and nightlife. You can see this is a street, but it has very few cars and lots of people. People get around on foot, by subway, bicycle, trains and busses. We saw taxis, too.

Our park manager remembers when she lived in Japan and told us to be sure to try the coffee from the vending machines. These are all over Japan! We saw them in streets that were strictly residential and in subways, hotels and just about everywhere.

The coffee was REALLY good. We brought back a couple of cans for our manager (about $1.30/can) and she was absolutely thrilled.

They were advertising for a street dancing festival in Asakusa. After watching them, we figured they were just doing what we would call a line-dance. Anyone in the crowd was welcome to join in.

People actually wear kimonos in Japan. We saw people shopping and dining dressed in their finest kimonos. We mostly saw kimonos on the weekends. You could go to shops and rent them and then pay for a photo shoot. We will put it on our agenda for next time …

The Japanese ladies do NOT want to get a tan. A lot of them use umbrellas whenever they are exposed to the sun. We also saw a lot of people with anti-germ masks. We were told you wear them to keep from getting other people's germs and to keep from spreading your own.

Even with so many people, there is no crowding, pushing or line-jumping. People line up politely and patiently for busses, subways and trains.

These were some rickshaw pullers near one of the tourist sites. 

Japan is handicap accessible. These yellow, raised guides are for the blind and they are everywhere in Japan. There are wheelchair lifts, elevators and directional signs everywhere. The guide told us that the Japanese believe in equal opportunity to move around in their society.

This is the bicycle park in the building by the Tokyo Sky Tree. It is an indoor, secure place to park your bicycle. Bicycles are everywhere. They are mostly on the sidewalks with the pedestrians, but they never expect the pedestrians to get out of their way. They move at the speed of the walkers. We also saw a lot of electric boost bicycles outfitted with child seats and shopping baskets.

Three of the hotels had coin-laundries. It made travel packing a lot lighter and easier. Reading the machine was no joke, but you didn't have to put soap in them. It was provided!

Japan has a lot of rules, and people obey them. We did not see or hear a drone during our entire trip. Since we visited a lot of tourist areas, we sort of expected to see them.

This is a street in downtown Tokyo. Notice two things: they drive on the left and there is no traffic! There are over 9 million people in this city ...

The famous Bullet Train. The "bullet train" was the original name of the project the Japanese started in the late 1940's. They are now officially known as "Special Trunk Line" trains. Everyone who visits Japan has to ride one of these! They ARE fast and comfortable. The conductor bows to the passengers every time when he enters a car and when he leaves a car. The best thing about trains is you get to enjoy the country side views.

Speaking of country side views … They grow a lot of rice in Japan. We met a friend who lives in Tokyo who told us the Japanese government keeps rice prices high to ensure the farmers will grow it. They also have high tariffs on imported rice to encourage the Japanese to eat Japanese rice!

This is Tokyo harbor as seen from the bus on our way to the airport. The city is unbelievably clean. We also drove past Tokyo Disneyland! We saw the Enchanted Castle!

Alonda and Jim go "native" at the Himeji Castle! 

Coming soon are our trip to Hakone and views of Mt Fuji ...