Land of the Rising Sun

Brad and I started off strong by watching a movie while we had dinner on the plane. After dinner, they turned off the cabin lights and the plan was to sleep. However, despite the dark cabin, neither of us slept more than 30 minutes or so.

Other than not sleeping, the flight went well and was quite smooth. We deplaned and headed to get our luggage and get through customs. I think we had identity photos taken at least three times before we were able to leave the airport!

The next hurdle was getting train tickets, but Brad had it all figured out so it took no time at all. Then, we had about an hour train ride into the Taito prefecture of Tokyo, which is where we will spend the next few days.

Our hotel is lovely and we are figuring out the very futuristic Japanese toilets! Who knew the toilet seat should be warm?!

After cleaning ourselves up, we walked to a restaurant that Brad referred to as a “gamble” and a “deep cut.” Well, he wasn’t wrong. It was a 10-seat izakaya with one chef and no other staff. The menu was handwritten in Japanese and if it hadn’t been for the kind, lone Chinese man beside us, we would have been sunk! Anyway, with our new friend’s help, we ordered a couple draft beers, a plate of the house specialties (various items such as tofu, rice cake, daikon radish, beef tendon, and some other mystery items… featuring a regional tamari heavy soy sauce) and a plate of sashimi. The sashimi was great, but I’ll pass on the regional specialties next time!

We ventured into a few convenient stores just to check them out and then had to get to bed. It’s only 9:30pm here, but we have run out of steam. We are looking forward to our first full day tomorrow!Read more