Whew, what a day (2 days?)
I'm pretty beat so I'm just going to cut and paste the e-mail I sent my husband and daughter. Hopefully thing will improve once I figure what day and time it is!!

The new terminal at DFW is very nice and traveling business class is sweet. No security lines, you get to wait in the AA Admirals Club (which is nice an quiet and comfortable but otherwise no real big deal. The plane still has the old business class seats which are only OK. They’re not nearly flat and my footrest was kind of whacky, but still a much better way to spend 13 hours than in coach. We were served lunch once we took off (either Western or Japanese style) pretty tasty…nuts, a salad, chicken teriyaki appetizer, Japanese noodles and a really yummy ice cream sundae (dulche de leche with brownies and raspberry sauce. They give everyone Bose headphones for the flight and they really do work well. The onflight entertainment is pretty weak. I slept about 3 hours, then was served a snack of cheese and crackers and fruit. Very nice service from the flight attendants. Right now it’s 8 pm in Dallas, 10 am in Tokyo. Probably time for another nap.

The rest of the flight went pretty quickly. We got pizza snacks just before landing. Once I cleared immigration and customs (about 45 minutes) I was met by the RSSC representative and put in a taxi. Boy, what a taxi…lace seat covers, lace curtains, the driver wears white gloves. They drive on the other side of the road here. Mostly Japanese cars(go figure!). Tokyo is HUGE but also incredibly clean. I mean, no garbage anywhere. The Hotel is very nice, I’m on the 30th floor and have a view of the Emporor’s house, pretty nice casa. I’m going to head off to sleep now, I’ve got to be up at 8 am for breakfast and my Tokyo tour. I only slept about 4 hours on the plane so I’m pretty tired.

ETA Japanese toilets are funky, I just about went through the ceiling. Not used to being squirted quite like that :eek:

Can't wait to see you all soon <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />

Lauri, welcome to Tokyo! Pretty impressive that Regent put you in a Taxi; very few people (it costs well over $300) come into Tokyo via taxi. I hope you have a wonderful time enjoying the city. We are heading to Kyoto tomorrow morning so we will have to wait to see you until we are onboard.

I agree! The taxi ride from Narita to Tokyo is REALLY pricey. We usually take the Narita Express (NEX) train when we come into Narita. Impressive that Regent shelled out the bucks!

The bidet takes some time to get used to but afterwards, you start liking it. :D

Masaki

Lauri, I am glad you arrived safe!

Masaki, you crack me up!!!!

Karen - Was there a pun intended in your last remark? :D

Betty, ha ha!

Lauri, have fun.

Lauri - glad you arrived safely. Sounds like you are well cared for, and that makes for a wonderful trip. Enjoy your stops in Tokyo and Kyoto.

My mamma likes the Japanese toilets so well she had one installed in her senior co-op. Imagine the look on the board members' faces when THAT came up at their meeting. Now she's got the most popular bathroom in the place. I guess they've all gotten used to that bidet feature with the warm air dry feature. :D

We are heading out in a few hours. We'll see you onboard!

Cheers, Anne

Who was that celebrity again that claimed that if his "ladies" didn't use baby wipes to clean themselves after using the toilet, they weren't clean enough for him? Wait until he hears about these! :)

Sorry Lauri - major thread hijack in progress ...

Getting on my flight in another 5 hours!

Masaki

I had no idea taxis were so expensive! I really feel special. Safe travels everyone!

Have you discovered the 'loos' with the waterfall 'modesty' music yet and those with the seat warmers? I seem to remember a panel with lots of buttons to play with!

Hope you get to see Mt Fuji - I was apparently very lucky as I saw it all the way from Tokyo and the views from 'fifth stage' (if that is what is called - senior's moment).

You will love Kyoto - hope you get to see the Golden Palace (again correct me if I've got the wrong name) - it's gold!

Hope everyone has a fabulous time!

Lee

Lauri,

Did you use your laptop on the flight over?

Monday, I'm taking a transfer that will drop me in the Ginza district for 3 hrs. Wish I knew more, so we could maybe get together for lunch!

Anne - keep an eye out for me if you're in the neighborhood.

Yesterday as we sailed from Hakodate, we learned Capt. Philippe had been hospitalized with a viral infection. Hopes are that he will rejoin the ship in Osaka.

Happy Travels ya'll!
Gay Rie

Gay Rie,

I did use my laptop for just a few minutes on the flight but didn't plug it in. I have had absolutely no problem with it here at the hotel. Lunch wouldn't work for me on Monday as we head out early tomorrow for Mt Fuji and Kyoto. We'll have to catch up on the ship.

Today was a very full day. We went to the Tokyo tower, a Shinto shrine, the Imperial Palace, lunch, and a Buddhist Shrine. Everything is pretty congested as it's a 3 day weekend for the fall equinox.

Jet lag is starting to catch up with me a bit although much less than I would have expected, so I'll have to fill in the details later.

Tokyo day 2

I pretty much just crashed last night about 8 pm. I’ve pretty much given up on figuring what time or day it is anywhere than here. It turns out that it’s pretty unusual to be transferred from narita to Tokyo in a taxi, I knew it was a nice taxi, but $300 dollars worth of nice? Tokyo is one expensive city.

I woke up about 5 am and really don’t feel too jetlagged. The hotel is a weird mixture of nice and kind of old and tired. Breakfast was included this morning, a very strange mix of Japanese and western food. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten Miso soup for breakfast before. Not bad, just different.

The whole day was a Tokyo tour. First we went to the Tokyo tower which is a replica of the Eiffel tower that they built for the Olympics (1964?) Tokyo really is a huge sprawling place. Then we went to a Shinto shrine in a large park in the middle of the city. Apparently it’s a holiday weekend (fall equinox) so it was packed. Saw several weddings, I think I got some good photos. Then we went to the Emperor’s palace. You can only see part of it, most of it is strictly off limits to the common folk. There was quite a bit of traffic around the Diet as the new prime minister was being sworn in today.

We had lunch at a very cool restaurant, 10 different types of food fried (but not really like tempura) on bamboo skewers. Very tasty. Then we went to a Buddist temple. It was very different than the Shinto one as it is surrounded by several shoping arcades. Kind of a strange combination of shops, religion and county fair. It was extremely crowded and I stick out like a sore thumb. Big blonde amazon. The people on the tour are very nice. One has a daughter who lives in McKinney, small world.

Bags have to be out tomorrow by 6:30 am, then we go half way up Mt. Fuji, then take the bullet train to Kyoto. So another pretty full day.

Sorry to post following myself and for the repeated info. :rolleyes:

http://picasaweb.google.com/DrLauriC/Tokyo

I can't seem to get my blog to work (it's all in Japanese!!) but the above link will get you to some photos.

Lauri - just so you know, miso soup for breakfast is a staple in Japan. :) That's as traditional as it gets though most people these days don't bother because making miso soup in the morning is time intensive.

And your lunch yesterday sounds like my dinner last night - kushikatsu. Sounds like you're having a great time!

Masaki

Lauri - I am enjoying all reports. Are you on a Regent Toyko pre-cruise? Or something you did yourself? I wasn't able to read LCT much this summer so if you posted it I'm out of it. But sounds like one grand tour. Look forward to the next installment.

Hi Laurie,

"stick out like a sore thumb," "big blonde amazon" brought back memories of our trip to Japan in 1970. I don't know how tall you are, but I'm 5'10", DH, 6'4" and we became very self conscious of our height based on reactions. In several locales, school children, all of whom had cameras, took our pictures!

Enjoying reading about your trip so far!

Kathy - people in Japan are definitely taller now. I'm 5'10" and when I used to stand in a subway car, I remember people looking at me because I towered over most other Japanese. Now, I'm in the average, it seems. :) Your husband, though, would definitely still stick out, not to mention bang his head against a lot of entryways.

Masaki

Hi Lauri, Thanks for your update of Toyko Day 2. Sounds like a full day of touring. Great pics, thanks for posting them, too.

Lauri, I love hearing about your trip and seeing your wonderful pictures!!! May you enjoy the rest of your journey to its fullest.

Masaki, another memory! The top of his head was continually "bloody" as he'd forget to "duck" when he got on the tour bus and I think that was true in all of Asia!

Lauri, looking forward to your next post!

Lauri, it sounds like you had the same exact tour we did yesterday, I'm surprised we didn't run into each other. Tokyo is a very impressive place--we were blown away.