Tokyo: Day 2

Tokyo: Day 2

We had been to Japan 10 years ago, and I have noticed some changes since last time.

First of all, people here bowing a lot less now. I remember back then, everyone would bow to you at waist level excessively, to the point I started to worry about their back pains. I see them bowing at lesser degrees and less often these days, which I think it’s better for their backs.

Second, improvements of public transportation. The fast train ride from airport to downtown is more comfortable and faster than the long subway ride 10 years ago. Also, the entire subway system has been improved with more frequent trains and better station identification solution, by introducing numbers. Instead of trying to remember the names of the stations, you can now just to by G18 or S10, much easier for the riders.

OK, first task of the day, find the best Ramen restaurant and be one of their first customers of the day. We arrived about 15 minutes before they open, so we wandered a bit. By the time we went back, there was already a line. Darn it! Fortunately we still made it in this tiny restaurant. WOW! One of the best ramens we’ve ever had! Not too surprising since it’s top rated in Tokyo.

Next was an art aquarium exhibition; so the displays were art pieces made with goldfish and flowers. Honestly before today, I didn’t know this kind of art existed, but it was absolutely amazing! Each piece was carefully created and exquisite, utilizing different kind of goldfish, accompanied by different colors and shapes of flowers, under ever changing lighting. WOW!

The Imperial palace is located at the center of Tokyo, unfortunately it’s not open to visitors… due to the fact the Emperor of Japan and his family still live there. The armed guards posted at the gate were certainly very serious about their jobs. However, the lovely garden in front of the palace seemed to be a perfect park for the commoners like us. Many Japanese families were resting in the shades of the pine trees in the garden.

Evan, being the planner of this entire trip for Japan, told us there was a food street near Tokyo wharf, so we were excited to head there for our dinner. Unexpectedly, the entire street of almost 100 restaurants, was dedicated to only one type of food, called Momjayaky. Basically it’s pan fried batter with many different ingredients, cooked on hot flat grill. Since the menu was in Japanese, we had a difficult time ordering. Fortunately our nice waiter spoke a bit English. Between his broken English and friendly attitude, and our handy google translation app, we managed to order three rounds of delicious and unique food. By the end of our meal, we had became friends!

The first day in Tokyo was a resounding success! Czytaj więcej