Sunday, July 14, 2013

Day 14: TOKYO!!!

We arrived last night via Shingansen Bullet Train to Tokyo Japan, next to the Shiagawa Station. 

Good morning Tokyo!! As we arrived I took a quick snap picture if our hotel... It came in handy for our taxi ride back later.

Breakfast at the Hotel Keikyu Ex Inn is typical for Western and Japanese style. Scrambled Farm Fresh Eggs still runny. Bread assortment (but beyond just one bun) there's 4-5. Yogurt, plain, with compotes you can add. Sausages , pasta, salad station (the Japanese eat Salads for breakfast). Coffee stations at every hotel restaurant. Soups including Miso and the toppings, seaweed and green onion. The fruit offered is canned cut fruit in juice (no HFCS here). In Kamaishi and Hiroshiima they had sliced oranges and pineapples at breakfast, those were very refreshing!  However after two weeks we miss fruit. An apple, a banana, some good fruit. We all agreed that the Hiroshima Hotel Gran Via had the best breakfast, quality, size and taste (service too).

We've been sharing some if the new found appreciation for things in the states.

Ah, Going Home

Even tho it may say informal dinner, the Japanese customs & rules apply, with a lot of formality. Speeches, presentations and for men wearing a suit jacket even when it's hot. So informal means business casual and best behavior!

Enjoying some things, like a performance in a club or dinner means sitting quietly listening. Not clapping, no singing along. It's silent appreciation.

Address Numbers system and city planning. Getting lost is easy even with mapquest or an address. Growing into an area like Tokyo meant adding new addresses and buildings on top of old. Versus building and planning a city like Chicago from scratch. 

After our informal fundraiser dinner for the Tsunami affected region. we grabbed a taxi back to the Hotel. A Taxi driver won't say he doesn't know something (save face). Instead he says yes if you say where your going, you get in, he starts driving and then he asks for the address. Luckily we had taken a picture of the hotel at Shinagawa station and we showed him!! Thank god!!

Happy travels!!

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