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Tokyo Tokyo is far away, at least from Houston, but close enough for a weekend trip. I should know as Darlene and I went for a weekend not long after Continental started serving that route on a daily non-stop basis from Houston. The air time is a bit longer than going to Paris but is tolerable. We arrived in the afternoon. By the time we made our way to the hotel, it was dark and we were ready for dinner. Imagine going to McDonalds while in Tokyo. It is possible since they are all over the city. It sure made ordering easy on the first night. We knew what we were ordering which was nice. Diet Coke comes only in a can there and is not yet on tap. Darn, only 12 oz servings. On the second night we tried the Japanese dinner buffet at the Marriott where we stayed. It was a great hotel only a five minute walk from a train station. It was pretty easy to get around Tokyo using a train. Of course our main problem was not knowing what streets we were on. This is because the streets do not have names in Tokyo. Everything has a number for the district of the city one is located within. That can get really confusing. At least the maps of the train stations are easy to figure out. As for the people, they are great. I looked lost a couple of times and the friendly younger folks would just love to practice their English on us. One school girl even made sure we were in the correct car of the train when we were heading back to Narita, the town where the major international airport is located. The scenery is beautiful along the tracks. You see how a very crowded society manages to live on their relatively small island. The culture is orderly and neat, which adds to the beauty. The trains run on time never arriving more than a couple of minutes early at a station. Even then, they wait until their appointed time to depart, so do not be late or you will miss the train, boat, or plane. We took a city tour which was wonderful. We had a traditional Japanese lunch which was a nice experience. We were among many different folks on the tour. The tour was spoken in three or four different languages. As part of the tour we were allowed to stroll in the Ginza district. That was really nice. The big Sony TVs and screens on buildings made the streets come alive. All of the locals were out shopping and enjoying their weekend. This is a must see city for anyone who wants to see one of the most modern cities in Asia. High tech more so than many American cities. Friendly and trendy folks will entertain you while you are people watching.
LINKS TO TOKYO
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