A Mix of Old and New in Tokyo

Posted on April 28, 2014 by David Cross

Today, we did take a short bus ride today to see a few different sites. The cool thing our guide did was present some slides and pictures from his mobile phone on s flat screen TV. Much more effective than listening to endless chatter that can be hard to follow along.

We checked out the grounds of the Imperial Palace today but you cannot go inside because it is only open twice a year on the emperor’s birthday. Very scenic and quiet and another popular place for the local runners.
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We also went to visit the Senso-ji temple which was very crowded and full of many tourists and locals. It is Tokyo’s oldest temple and was patronized by the ancient Shoguns.
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Many people paid 100 yen get their fortune told…or sucked in a wave of incense which was supposed to heal the body part that you were able to get smoke to touch. It was a lot of smoke when you get close…

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You could also see the Tokyo Sky Tree from this shrine as well.

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Of course we had to try out the sushi conveyer belt restaurant for lunch today. If you want to special order anything you have to use a tablet running Android I think.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped and checked out the Akihabura District which is known as the “Electric Town” where you can buy anything electronic. It was just as crazy as the fish market, but everyone is selling electronic gear and not seafood.

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Fun place to check out…and the official girls costumes for the stores was “maids”. Quite a site…

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And, in case anyone was interested, yes you can get a Surface in Electronic Town in Tokyo 🙂

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In closing for today…we just noticed that all the hotels have beer machines on most floors. Have not seen that since hotels 20 years ago in Paris France when I was in the military and we just to empty the machine every night!

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Found Where the Runners all Hang Out in Tokyo

Posted on April 27, 2014 by David Cross

Saturday is still a work day for many in Japan, so that was not a good long run day in Tokyo. So we decided Sunday would be our long distance run day. But where do all the runners in downtown Tokyo go?

We think we found the place. It was not far from our hotel and despite the challenges of how to get around the road construction, we found where everyone was running (finally)!

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It turns that the local running and running clubs seem to like the Shiba Park and Zojo-ji temple http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiba_Park as the best area to meet and run loops. I agree, it was a great way to kick off the next phase of our adventures in Japan.

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The Tokyo (TV) tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Tower was right next door and pretty impressive to see as well. It was supposedly inspired by the Eiffel Tower.

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Exploring Different Parts of Tokyo

Posted on April 26, 2014 by David Cross

Today, we had a great day learning how the subway, Metro, JR and train system works in Japan/Tokyo. In some ways it is very easy to learn, and in other ways, it was frustrating. There are at least 3 systems in the massive railway system and some pre-pay tickets works on some lines and not on others. You have to pay careful attention to your choices and routes or you end up paying more than you expected. But once you get the hang of it, it is easy to get anywhere in Japan and Tokyo.

The toilet seats take some training though…they are all very advanced and running the Android OS, but since I am on vacation, I am not going to try and install a root kit on one of them…

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We met some old friends today and travelled around some different areas of Tokyo – they are stationed in the nearby US Naval air station (Jack and Kate Halligan) and we had a wonderful day exploring the city together.

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We first went to the Nezu shrine and park…and it was a huge collection of people, a local wedding and many sellers of snacks and food like a US based flea market.

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Gorgeous day and scenery, but very crowded with lots of people….we were one of the rare Western tourists…the historical symbolism was very awkward and uncomfortable to get used to though…

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We also visited the nearby zoo (Ueno) which was a nice delight…I am not sure I have ever seen a giant panda this close before. He was chowing down on some bamboo like it was going out of style…

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Yes, it was a gorilla.

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We then trekked over to Harajuku to hang out with the youngsters.  On the way we ran into religious parade of Falun Gong…they were looking for some tourists to join their parade…

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It is a famous set of streets where the young and hip come to see and be seen with the latest styles and trends. Lots of fun. And yes, it was crowded…but never felt at risk or unsafe. A fun afternoon to stay the least.

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Exploring Tokyo

Posted on April 25, 2014 by David Cross

We spent our first day exploring around the area of our first hotel…and of course we started with an early morning run in downtown Tokyo near the Ginza district and the fish market.

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It was amazingly easy to run the streets before 7:00 AM…but after 7:00, it gets really busy really fast. And you are a visual standout as everyone else is wearing dark suits while you are in these crazy colored running clothes…

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Later, after breakfast, we went to check out the famous fish market. It felt like the crazy Fridays with the Souk Ha-Carmel in Tel Aviv. People are barking their wares and an equal number of people (tourists and locals) are eating the fresh catch that day.

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We then checked out the nearby Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple. Very popular and we made a blessing and donation like everyone else. Amazing sculptures and décor.

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It was almost lunchtime, so we headed to the Ginza district to do some window shopping. Yes, you can buy almost anything at almost any price. Floors and floors of everything you could imagine. And the restaurant choices are so many…you almost have to pick one randomly based on the price structure.

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The one store that caught our eye was the Toy Park. I could not believe the type and number of toys I have never seen before. Innovation and creativity everywhere. It took enormous willpower to not buy some of the gadgets we saw.

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But I could not resist buying some of the (custom?) flavors of KitKat that were plentiful. 🙂

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And then, last but not least, we found the local Costco in Japan to get a bottle of good wines to enjoy in our room at a lower price than the Conrad bar.

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We always seem to consistently sniff out the good wine stores in every country!

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Hopefully we can catch one of the short Kabuki shows a little later tonight – the ticket sales are not easy to catch…

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Arrived in Japan

Posted on April 24, 2014 by David Cross

Flew on United out of San Francisco. Great flight…time passed by quickly. Watched the movie Nebraska. Bruce Dern should have won the Academy Award, but I digress…

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As recommended by many, we hit the currency exchange counters and ATMs to ensure we have local currency (Yen) for the next few days. We will see if we are hampered or limited in using our credit cards or not.

Yes, the Narita airport is a long ways away from Tokyo, but there are many options to get to Tokyo and taxis are the most expensive. We chose the Narita express train that leaves every 30 minutes or so and we can be downtown in 45 minutes. Crowded, but you do get assigned seats. Clean and smooth ride. If you show your foreign passport at the ticket counter, you can get a 50% discount on the fare (1500 yen). You don’t get rich by paying full price for everything! 😉

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Checked and staying at the Conrad Tokyo for a few days. Great hotel and great location. The design of the hallways is unique …

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And the views from the executive lounge on the 37th floor are great to enjoy a glass of wine at night!

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Tomorrow the adventure begins!

Here are some of the other places we visited in Japan on this trip:

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Working on the first blog posting for Japan

Posted on April 23, 2014 by David Cross

Checked into the flights and hanging out in the United lounge on the way to Japan for 3 weeks.

Have to make sure the Surface is charged up and loaded with some new games and movies from Xbox media store for the bullet train. 🙂

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Learning About Aliens During our Last Day in Tahiti

Posted on December 20, 2013 by David Cross

We got off our yacht today in Papeete and decided to tour around the island a little more.  There are quite a few good sites to visit and spend half a day driving around the full island.

It was interesting to learn that kids actually get “surfing lessons” and have a curriculum in school on this topic.  Looks like great waves…very similar to Hawaii.

Of course we visited the famous black sand beach that has been seen in many movies.

The waterfalls around the island were stunning…very easy to find and almost no other people were ever at the sites at the same time as us.

The upside down cave was interesting as well.  Tempted to take a dip, but…

We also went to the very nice Tahiti museum that had numerous artifacts and exhibits documenting the entire history of Polynesia.  It was only a 10 minute walk from the Le Meridien hotel.

This was a nice stone carving explaining that the same aliens that were seen in the Peruvian Nazca lines had also visited these islands many years ago.

Now, let’s see if we will actually make our connection in LAX tomorrow or whether we will be stuck in the airport during the holiday travel season…

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4×4 Exploration in Bora Bora

Posted on December 18, 2013 by David Cross

We did a little exploring Bora Bora with a local who had a good Land Rover and could take us up some of the treacherous trails to the top of the Bora Bora mountains (hills?).

It was gorgeous weather and not too hot.  We first visited the most common WW II naval artillery gun emplacements that overlook the main port in Bora Bora.

You can see in the background that we were not aiming at our yacht.

We stopped and visited a local family, ate some fruit and sang some songs together while taking a break.  We gave the kids some small bags of Chex Mix as a snack and they gave us some breadfruit and coconut milk.  Have you ever tried breadfruit dipped in coconut milk?  Amazing treat…very addictive!

We also used low gear 4×4 to climb up the other side if the islands overlooking the airport and sat in a previous gun emplacement. The views from the top were amazing.

But overall, I must honestly admit that Bora Bora is not more spectacular than the other islands.  It is just as good, but not 10 times better as some claim.

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Chef’s Dinner on Princess Cruise

Posted on December 17, 2013 by David Cross

Last night we spent some time with the Executive Chef who prepared a stunning repast for us an 8 others on the cruise.

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The appetizers were served in the main galley and in some ways, they were so good…it was a meal in itself.  They were delicious to enjoy with the senior staff with a few glasses of some good French Champagne 🙂

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What a way to spend the evening in Bora Bora

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The above drizzle was made from a Port reduction…amazing flavors from reducing an entire bottle of Port for just 10 plates.

Tomorrow will be a little more adventurous!

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Diving in Bora Bora

Posted on December 17, 2013 by David Cross

We anchored in Bora Bora for two days.  This is currently the hot spot and most popular place to visit in the French Polynesia islands.

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Today, we went out for two dives in gorgeous waters and weather.

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The first dive was around 45 minutes and we went down to approximately 55 feet.  We were circled by a group 5 lemon sharks that were about 4-5 feet long and often got as close to us as 10 feet in numerous occasions.  Great dive to see some of the fish and creatures hiding in the coral.

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The second dive was much shallower for most of the dive and we drifted around the coral for almost an hour.  Sometimes it was amazing to see the hundreds of colored oysters that were embedded in the coral.  It was tempting to grab one and see if one of them might have a pearl…

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Towards the end of the dive, we have a very large local (Titan Trigger) fish that insisted in following us around and did not want to leave us alone.

Overall, a fantastic dive team and choice of dives from the Bora Dive Team.  What was the one thing that was different with a French dive team?  They served hot tea and French Oreos between the dives.  It went down really well and was a nice treat.

Oh…one final thing…the locals love riding the wake behind large boats with their outrigger canoes…one of their favorite activities when tourists arrive with large boats.

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