Tokyo Day 2

Second day in Tokyo and we're still getting up to speed. We thought we were off to a great start arriving to the train station early with a plan to get to our hotel in Ginza. However, the clueless ticket man threw us off course by suggesting we'd be better off taking the Subway. Keep in mind the Shinagawa station, where we were at, does not offer subway services. We sorted ourselves out over coffee at Starbucks where a kindly European confirmed we were on the right track to begin with. We returned to the ticket counter, purchased tickets on the Yamanote trainline and made our way to Ginza.

Unfortunately language, cultural barriers and a reservation at a brand new hotel conspired against us. Neither our taxi driver or the friendly policeman he asked for directions had any idea where we might find the Conrad Hilton hotel. After calling the hotel's phone and fax numbers, they found the address and delivered us to our hotel.

After checking into our hotel and taking time to admire the amazing view of the city from our room, we took a city and harbor tour of Tokyo. The harbor tour proved to be the most dangerous event in Tokyo, with low bridges that would have put Stephen in the hospital if it weren't for a crew member pointing out the low hanging girders.

The tour included stops at Asakusa to see a Buddhist temple and the Imperial Palace, which unfortunately opens to the public just twice a year.

For the evening, Kiyoshi met us in his neighborhood, Shibuya. He treated us to a fantastic Shabu Shabu dinner, which served as the culinary highlight for Lisa. We closed out the evening by admiring the largest crowd of people we'd ever seen at midnight. This crowded city square provides Starbucks with its largest grossing store in the world.







For more photos of our time in Tokyo click here