An uneventful first flight to start our trip took us from Moncton to Calgary direct on Westjet. We spent the night in Calgary, then the next day off we go to Tokyo, Japan, this last flight is 11 hours and somewhere along the way we lost a day.
The flight wasn't all that bad. A few naps, parts of 3 movies between the naps, 2 meals and we are here.
We had read about filling in an online form for immigration and customs that saved us a ton of time on arrival. We were at the front of the back of the plane so one of the first ones through. No checked luggage, so less then 30 minutes and we are off to get started. First thing though is a bathroom break in the airport before we head out, I read about all the buttons for the toilet, yep lots of buttons. Will have it all figured out before we leave in a few weeks!
Next we figure out how to get to our hotel for the first few nights. We don't want to deal with changing trains so we use the Keisei Skyliner from the airport which uses a the Narita Sky Access Line, a dedicated track that allows it to reach up to 160 km/h (100 miles/hr), the second-fastest train service in Japan after the Shinkansen. It was fast, and a little bumpy. A nice thing about this train is you get an assigned seat, the not so nice thing is the train was full so we weren't sitting together. Oh well, a break was nice after 11 hours beside each other on the plane.
My wifi is working fine, Andres is not yet, something that will need to get sorted for maps. Andre got a sim card from Amazon, I am trying out Rogers, they have a newer feature that you play a flat rate for a month for travelling, will see how it goes. Wifi is a must, google maps is pretty much a must have to get around.
Turn the corner when we get out of the train station and find our first beautiful pink blossom trees. I think still too early for cherry blossoms in this part of Japan, must be plum blossoms we think. We are doing a walking tour tomorrow so I'm sure we will find out more.
Dusk is just starting, so all the neon lights are coming on. Very pretty. We pass by another train station where we know we can get Suica cards that we can tap in for riding the train instead of having to purchase tickets every time. This card is also used at convenience stores and some restaurants and vending machines. Problem is you put money on it with cash, no credit cards.
On to our hotel, heard Japan had small rooms, that is an understatement for this first stop. this one is maybe 10feet by 10 feet. Bed is up against a wall on 2 sides, a couple of feet to a desk, and a tiny bathroom behind it. Yes the toilet in our hotel also has a few buttons to push. I think the TV on the wall is about 1/2 the size of our bed! 4 nights here, we will see what the next hotel brings.
Grab our winter jackets and camera and we are off exploring a little. We are staying in the Ueno area of Tokyo, a few things close by for us to explore. We make our way to Senso-ji Shrine which is lit up at night and very pretty. Very few people around at this time of night, no shops are open around the area. Signs that you cannot eat of drink or sit down here. Also saw a sign earlier that there was no smoking outside. We are not exactly sure where we ended up but I think it was Akakusa area. Nice pedestrian streets with lots of restaurants. We stopped and got a pastry shaped like a fish call Taiyaki, mine was stuffed with sweet potato, Andres custard. We tasted each others and both preferred the one that we originally chose. It was fun watching them make these, they are cooked in cast iron mold over propane.
Walked around some more and hit the wall and headed home. Stopped at 7/11 which will be a common comment in this and picked up a egg, teriyaki chicken sandwich to share, and a fish rice triangle wrapped in seaweed, not sure of the name of it. Plus Andres first frozen dessert was a pineapple and egg ice cream popsicle, we shared this as we both kind of burnt our tongues on our Taiyaki earlier.
Back at the hotel, it is now 9:30PM, very happy to have made it this late, hoping to have a great sleep tonight as we have a busy day planned tomorrow.
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| Only carryon for this trip plus 2 small backpack |
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| Flying over Alaska, I guess this will replace the Alaska cruise we cancelled |
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| Landing in Japan |
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| Our first blossom |
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| Lots of neon lights |
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| Our 10by10 feet room |
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| A small temple or shrine on the way to see the bigger one |
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| restaurants display samples in plastic of their menus, many did not have any English |
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| making taiyaki |
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| Lots of place offer a duty free discount if you have your passport. These 2 girls taking pictures of their taiyaki got in the way of my picture |
Now at the Senso-ji Shrine
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| The process to write a prayer 100yen = $1 Canadian |
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| Mt Fuji in the design in the center made with traditional lanterns, they represent the Edo period and are only here for February and March |
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| The shops are closed but these had painted doors |
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We appreciate any comments/questions you would have or any stories about the places we visited.