May 11 - Tokyo

The feeling is definitely that this kind of travel is for me.

What I will miss about Japan? The Onsen and the food, how neat and organized everything is and Japanese punctuality. Despite the reputation for being extremely urbanized, which isn't untrue, the country has a lot of nature to explore. The people are great especially when you can speak a little bit of English with them. But there's also an element of reservation and a certain kind of closedness of their culture to us westerners which has been ingrained over the centuries. It wasn't until admiral Perry presented his fleet in front of their coasts in the late 1800s that the pressure mounted for them to open up. The feudal system, the samurai ways and what we consider disregard of life has engendered the need for an extremely regulated and rigid culture.

I make it easy for the last day. I was hoping to jump on a city double-decker open air bus on this almost 80° day, but those reservations needed to be made a few days ahead. So I went to the imperial garden had some lunch and I'll be off to the subway shortly to get to Haneda airport.

The slight flight delay is not much of an issue but does prompt me to get my flight simplified. I'll fly right into Denver and have more time in SF. I'll be looking for some live music tomorrow, wait no that's still today courtesy of the dateline!

The flight out of Tokyo is like a joyride, the pilot manages to take a left turn, dips the wing down just right to get me the best view of the tower and the downtown that I just viewed from the restaurant yesterday. It's a fantastic flight, you couldn't have asked for better. It's so good to be alive in this time.Read more