Today we have our only scheduled tour of the trip. Kind of a basic introduction to Tokyo. It was an extremely fast, whirlwind tour that I felt like a bonus is given to the operator if they can get us to each location and back within a certain time frame. We stopped by the Imperial Palace, but, were not allowed to get close to it. Obama beat us here as well. We got there just in time to see the Presidential Motorcade driving into the palace grounds. Not like we were going to get to go in anyway; The Emperor lives here. A walk through the beautiful manicured gardens was promised. There was no delivery of said walk.
Our next stop is Tokyo Tower. Very similar to the Eiffel tower. Just a bit taller. We take the elevator up to 'first' observatory station. You can go higher for an additional fee. We are not given the time. We were hustled along through the views and back onto the bus. Almost like we were never there.
Then we head off to the Sensoji Temple. This is the site of both a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple. There is also a bazaar of shops to poke around in. We cleanse ourselves with the pure water and purify ourselves with healing smoke of incense before heading into the temple. You can also pay 100 Yen for a fortune. They are not always good fortunes, we are told. If you don't like the fortune you are given you can tie it in a knot on, what looks like, a clothes line.
We wander the grounds here for a bit and then head off into the shops. At the suggestion of a couple from our tour group we get some green tea ice cream before heading back out to the bus.
On the way back to the hotel we get some information on things to do and see in Tokyo as well as discuss the subway system. We're on our own for the rest of the trip.
Barbara and I head towards a noodle shop to get ourselves some lunch. After an 80 dollar meal of delicious noodles, we decide it will probably be the last time we eat at the hotel. The pricing here is outrageous. Don't get me wrong, the food was fantastic and the service was exceptional. But, neither of us believe it was 80 dollars worth of fantastic.
We head to the room to pour over the various optional tours that are available. We choose a couple of them and head down to the concierge desk to get them booked. That's when we find out that a number of them are booked up solid. We had chosen a trip to Fuji-san. Booked on the day we wanted. So, we move some things around and get it scheduled for another day. We wanted to take a day trip to Kyoto - fully booked until Monday; We leave Monday. So, with many of the other optional tours not really to our liking (especially for the price of some of the half day tours), that gives us a couple days for exploration on our own.
We grab a map of the local walking area and head out into the night. We pass a number of very small eateries. Many of them have plastic replicas of each meal laid out showing what is served there. A number of them have signs stating that English menus are available. One place in particular catches my eye and nose. A yakitori place. There is no English sign or plastic food. We move on. After a number of blocks up and back through small alleys we find ourselves more and more hungry. We also find ourselves near the yakitori place. My Japanese is slowly returning to me and I can make out how much each thing costs on the displayed menu, but, not exactly what it is.
Barbara hears some English coming from within and steps inside. Sure enough, there is a group of guys standing at a table eating food on a stick and drinking beers. She asks if it was easy to order and they tell us that there is an English menu. One of them tells us to try the rectum. We chuckle. They are serious. Maybe we're in over our heads. We look over the menu and realize that most of what's on the menu is a little...exotic. Vocal chord, beef intestine, rectum (damned near killed 'em), root of tongue, throat, etc. We decide that we can order the waygu beef and minced pork, at least. We also order a couple of drinks. Barbara orders yuzu and I order a Red Hoppy. Looks like a type of malt liquor. They give us our glasses; Barb gets her yuzu with soda (as our server likes it) and I get a bottle with a glass...that already has about two fingers of liquid in it. No idea what that is. I sample it and it's some kind of iced liquor. I pour the contents of the bottle into the glass and give it a swig. It mixes well and doesn't taste much more than a mat liquor type drink that I would expect.
We are parked right in front of the grill. The chef points out our beef as he seasons it over the red hot coals. It's served, (as is everything here) on a stick and is quite fatty. Barb finishes half of it and gives me the rest. By this time, I'm a third of the way through my drink. That's a powerful force, there. I'm feeling a bit...looser. We decide to order a second round. Barb gets a grilled rice ball that we've been watching the chef meticulously prepare (which she really enjoyed) and I order up some tongue. Why not? I thought it was tasty when Marc tricked me into ordering it as a taco. This time it was a little chewy, but, had a glorious smoked flavor. All in all, a wonderful time was had. I would totally come back here again.
On our way back to the hotel we stop in at a coffee and cake shop. I order the Kilimanjaro coffee on the menu and Barbara orders some cheese cake. Barbara calls my attention to the strange contraption that they seem to be making my coffee with. I light up with excitement. This is something that I had read about in the past. It's a siphon system. It's a different way to make coffee. That coffee was fabulous. Very smooth. We will be back here before we leave the country.
Our next stop is Tokyo Tower. Very similar to the Eiffel tower. Just a bit taller. We take the elevator up to 'first' observatory station. You can go higher for an additional fee. We are not given the time. We were hustled along through the views and back onto the bus. Almost like we were never there.
 |
| Do Not Want! |
We wander the grounds here for a bit and then head off into the shops. At the suggestion of a couple from our tour group we get some green tea ice cream before heading back out to the bus.
On the way back to the hotel we get some information on things to do and see in Tokyo as well as discuss the subway system. We're on our own for the rest of the trip.
Barbara and I head towards a noodle shop to get ourselves some lunch. After an 80 dollar meal of delicious noodles, we decide it will probably be the last time we eat at the hotel. The pricing here is outrageous. Don't get me wrong, the food was fantastic and the service was exceptional. But, neither of us believe it was 80 dollars worth of fantastic.
We head to the room to pour over the various optional tours that are available. We choose a couple of them and head down to the concierge desk to get them booked. That's when we find out that a number of them are booked up solid. We had chosen a trip to Fuji-san. Booked on the day we wanted. So, we move some things around and get it scheduled for another day. We wanted to take a day trip to Kyoto - fully booked until Monday; We leave Monday. So, with many of the other optional tours not really to our liking (especially for the price of some of the half day tours), that gives us a couple days for exploration on our own.
We grab a map of the local walking area and head out into the night. We pass a number of very small eateries. Many of them have plastic replicas of each meal laid out showing what is served there. A number of them have signs stating that English menus are available. One place in particular catches my eye and nose. A yakitori place. There is no English sign or plastic food. We move on. After a number of blocks up and back through small alleys we find ourselves more and more hungry. We also find ourselves near the yakitori place. My Japanese is slowly returning to me and I can make out how much each thing costs on the displayed menu, but, not exactly what it is.
Barbara hears some English coming from within and steps inside. Sure enough, there is a group of guys standing at a table eating food on a stick and drinking beers. She asks if it was easy to order and they tell us that there is an English menu. One of them tells us to try the rectum. We chuckle. They are serious. Maybe we're in over our heads. We look over the menu and realize that most of what's on the menu is a little...exotic. Vocal chord, beef intestine, rectum (damned near killed 'em), root of tongue, throat, etc. We decide that we can order the waygu beef and minced pork, at least. We also order a couple of drinks. Barbara orders yuzu and I order a Red Hoppy. Looks like a type of malt liquor. They give us our glasses; Barb gets her yuzu with soda (as our server likes it) and I get a bottle with a glass...that already has about two fingers of liquid in it. No idea what that is. I sample it and it's some kind of iced liquor. I pour the contents of the bottle into the glass and give it a swig. It mixes well and doesn't taste much more than a mat liquor type drink that I would expect.
We are parked right in front of the grill. The chef points out our beef as he seasons it over the red hot coals. It's served, (as is everything here) on a stick and is quite fatty. Barb finishes half of it and gives me the rest. By this time, I'm a third of the way through my drink. That's a powerful force, there. I'm feeling a bit...looser. We decide to order a second round. Barb gets a grilled rice ball that we've been watching the chef meticulously prepare (which she really enjoyed) and I order up some tongue. Why not? I thought it was tasty when Marc tricked me into ordering it as a taco. This time it was a little chewy, but, had a glorious smoked flavor. All in all, a wonderful time was had. I would totally come back here again.
On our way back to the hotel we stop in at a coffee and cake shop. I order the Kilimanjaro coffee on the menu and Barbara orders some cheese cake. Barbara calls my attention to the strange contraption that they seem to be making my coffee with. I light up with excitement. This is something that I had read about in the past. It's a siphon system. It's a different way to make coffee. That coffee was fabulous. Very smooth. We will be back here before we leave the country.
What an incredible day on your own. Isn't it funny how those snags in plans can often lead to the absolute best adventures?
ReplyDelete$80 for a noodle dinner? No thanks. Did you know the price going into it?
I'd love to know more about the foods you're eating. That offal shop would fascinate me. I'd have been all up in that anus (that reads so poorly). When else are you going to get to try such exotic foods? Drink it with some strong alcohol to kill the bacteria and you might come out alive.
Envious of your trip so far. Moar pix plz.
We saw the prices for the noodles, but really didn't register it. Nothing here is very cheap. I'll try to be a bit more descriptive of the food, if I know what I'm eating :). Sometimes it's point to order and eat what you just selected :).
DeleteAs for pictures, I'm not really taking too much time to process the images while I'm here. I'll try to add a picture or two in the future.