Tokyo to Home

Time to pack up all our stuff that seems to have grown. We have purchased a bag to put light things in as a carry on and will check both of our suitcases. Mostly we are bringing home treats to eat as souvenirs, it will be fun to go through everything when we get home.

We leave early for the train station and I wait outside watching the cat video about 10 times while Andre goes off on a hunt for knives. He has been looking our entire trip when he sees them being sold but there are just so many options he needs some help. Plus we didn't want to have to carry knives all through Japan. He is off while I sit wilh the luggage, and people and cat 3d watch.

Andre is back with a little bag so he is successful on his hunt. We head off on the train to the airport and arrive early enough that we have lots of time for something to eat before we get on the plane. Ramen it is for our last meal in Japan and again it is really good. In our entire time here we have really only had 1 bad meal and that was curry at a chain restaurant, besides that everything had been good.

I still haven't found a hat or t-shirt for myself, and the airport did not give us any good options. Where we were staying did not have the best shopping, and I refused to pay $40 for a cheap t-shirt that I may only wear a couple of times, so no souvenir shirt or hat for me.

We are now in a hotel in Calgary. The flight was quite good, we had a couple beside us with a 5 month old that was really cute and quite good. The father was beside us and the mother across the aisle, so we didn't have the baby with us too much, he was a cutie. Our flight landed at about noon, took no time to get through customs and we had booked a hotel for the day since we don't fly out until 11PM tonight. Hotels in Calgary are so cheap compared to Vancouver or Toronto airport hotels. We figured after a 9 hour flight a nap in a bed and a shower would be good. This hotel room is easily twice the size of our hotel rooms through most of our trip in Japan, and 2 of our AIRBNBs where pretty close to this size. I do miss having the bidet and warm toilet seat, why did Western countries never adopt this technology?

A fantastic trip comes to an end. We have one more red eye flight to go and then home for a bit. All that planning and it is over, but it will be good to see family and friends again and start planning for the next trip. 

Steps 14,891 / 8.8kms

Total for our trip was 720,000 steps and 450 KMS which gives a average of 21,000 steps and 12.8 kms per day.

This is 7 11 convenience store food section.  There also was Lawson and Family mart that had similar selections. 

Rice with different stuffing. Great price and delicious.

Egg salad were delicious. Pork cutlet were also consumed and filling. We tried the strawberry ones once, very sweet

Many stops was done here. They even have frozen creme brulee was was very good

This one even had a money exchange at very good rates

This image features a traditional Shigaraki Tanuki figurine, a Japanese raccoon dog. Features include a sedge hat for protection against bad luck, large eyes for making good decisions, and a flask of sake representing virtue. 

• The Shiba Inu is a small-to-medium dog breed native to Japan, originally bred for hunting. The smallest of the six original native Japanese dog breeds

If you wish you can get you luggage transferred to the next hotel

One last cherry tree

A big chain of hotel, Stayed at them a couple of times. Very small rooms but cheap

On the way to the train station to catch the airporter train

One last Godzilla

Don Quijote

The taxi are black

Where we had lunch 5 weeks ago

The JR part of the train station

easy to find your platform, just follow the red signs for the airporter

Lockers for people who are doing day trips.

A few beverage machines, We got cold tea and a cold chai latte tea

Our train. About 75 minutes to the airport for $30 Canadian

Delicious snack, many bags were consumed 

Art at the airport

Lunch at the airport

Wendy ramen came in 2 bowls.

Andre had extra pork. Came to $30 Canadian for the two of us including 5 goyas. Very good for an airport

Robot wheelchair if you need it, Not sure how you would stop it to get in and it just went by

Over the Canadian Rockies near Calgary after 10 hour flight

Calgary shortly before landing

Tokyo

We had a few options with how to spend the day today and decided on starting with a visit to Gotokuji Temple. This temple is known as the birthplace of the Maneki-Neko luck figurine, that cat that seems to be waving one paw. It is an active Buddhist temple with thousands of the cat statues in different sizes left behind by people who purchase the cats. There is also a cemetery on the property which of course we had to visit as well. A nice walk to the temple from the train station, it is in a small town that get lots of visitors going to visit this temple. Lots of little shops to purchase all things cat along the way.

From here back to Shinjuku which is only about a 15 minute train ride away. Problem is it takes a least 15 minutes to figure out how to get out of the train station at the right spot. This station is the busiest in the world with 3 million commuters going through it each day. It is huge, parts of it well marked and parts of it you have no idea where you are. Plus google maps only works so well under ground.

Finally escape the train station and Andre is on the hunt for some scotch to bring home. From what he has seen so far scotch is about 40% less than what we pay at home. We find a large liquor store and he has someone help him purchase 3 bottles of scotch with different flavors. Now I know we will be checking our bags through to Moncton instead of doing our normal carry on.

Back to the hotel to drop off the purchases, but on the way we come across this little hole in the wall ramen place. A couple are coming out and told us we must go in, it was delicious and inexpensive. There are only 5 stools on the main floor by the kitchen and we lucked into one of those. Normally I pass the pork part of the ramen to Andre, this is the first time I have eaten it and it was absolutely delicious. Usually it looks like a bunch of fat, not this time. We are still surprised at just how affordable eating out here is.

Because we were back near the station again of course we fit in another viewing of the 3d cat, really fun to watch and so many tourists taking videos of it.

Liquor dropped of at the hotel along with a bit more shopping and we head out to our night walking tour we had booked. Heather tried to join us but it was full by the time she tried to add herself. It was an OK tour, but it was really really cold and windy and we didn't have the best guide. We did see some interesting side streets very similar to what we had seen in Takayama, but I think we may be a little touristed it, not sure if that is a word. Picked up some snacks at 7-11 for a very late supper and called it a night.

Steps 26,189 / 16kms

At the train station

Weeping cherry tree

Visiting Gotokuji Temple. This is known as the birthplace of the Maneki-Neko luck figurine. It is an active Buddhist temple with thousands of these white cat statues in different sizes.

Part of the Gotokuji Temple cemetery that you could visit.

A monk at Gotokuji Temple

Tree lined street leading to the temple

They have cat shaped pastries here

Had delicious ramen at a place that has been opened sine 1955

4 story high restaurant. A few table on each floor, We eat on the 1st floor and had stool overlooking the kitchen

Casino behind the screens

We decided we were happy we did not book this hotel since the rent rooms by the hours

Lots of the girls are wearing elevated shoes and boots to give them extra height

Steak sandwich anyone?

On our walking tour of Shinjuku and the area that make it. First stop was to see the 3D cat

Memory street also know as piss alley because after WW2 there was a lack of bathroom in the area and train commuters would use the alley. Now it is full of tiny places to eat

4 story McDonald

Godzilla at night. 

Another area is where there are tons of night club. The girls are trying to get customers to go with them for drinks

Not sure why

Another area is Karaoke, this one is multi story 

nightclub

Another area is the Golden Gai bar area, Tiny little bar that have theme, some of the anyway.