bmwracer wrote:

Thanks for sharing. Amazing how incredibly pristine and immaculate the subways are.

Especially the shihatsu (first train) at 6 in the morning.

Viva Japan!

Before I could even get to my friend's house in Adachi-ku, I stumbled upon a matsuri at Nippori station. At this point, I had been traveling almost 24 hours. But I went to see things like this, so I ignored the exhaustion and explored the little festival. I would come to love matsuri during my time in Japan.

^ Nice... Keep the pics coming.

Thanks!

For my first full day in Japan, my friends treated me to a tour of Tokyo. Starting with their favorite gyoza diner, Kameido Gyoza in Koto-ku.

Absolutely the best gyoza I've ever had in my life. EVER. Their nickname for it is "gyoza paradise". Highly recommended!

This turned out to be an indicator of what to expect from Japan. The food was great everywhere I went. I thought I would lose weight being away from red meat, but I ended up gaining weight while in Japan, because everything tasted so good.

Then it was off to Asakusa Shrine and the street market. I thought I was doing a pretty good "tourist pose", but the cute girl in the background made me look like an amateur. Obviously, she had done this sort of thing before.

There's so much to love about Japan.

WhiteHawk wrote:

Thanks! For my first full day in Japan, my friends treated me to a tour of Tokyo. Starting with their favorite gyoza diner, Kameido Gyoza in Koto-ku. Absolutely the best gyoza I've ever had in my life. EVER. Their nickname for it is "gyoza paradise". Highly recommended! This turned out to be an indicator of what to expect from Japan. The food was great everywhere I went. I thought I would lose weight being away from red meat, but I ended up gaining weight while in Japan, because everything tasted so good.

Cool... You can't go wrong with gyoza.

Did you get chance to visit the Ikebukuro gyoza stadium?

Then it was a short walk to Sumida River for a boat tour. This is the view from the dock. I still say that looks like a golden poo on top of the Asahi building.

bmwracer wrote:

Cool... You can't go wrong with gyoza. Did you get chance to visit the Ikebukuro gyoza stadium?

No, I didn't. Next trip, maybe?

The sun was starting to set over Tokyo, and I spotted the Tokyo Tower for the first time.

We docked and changed boats for the trip across the bay to Odaiba. And there is another Tokyo landmark, the Rainbow Bridge!

In an incredible stroke of luck, we passed under Rainbow Bridge just as the lights were coming on!

Once docked, the sight of Tokyo in the dusk was a real treat.

I took one of my favorite photos ever. My wallpaper-for-life, if you will. I was literally fighting back tears as I took this photo, I was so filled with joy to be there.

We walked around the park area for a bit more, then checked out some of the shops. Toyota MegaWeb was closed though. That would have to wait for another day.

Then it was back to Adachi-ku for some dinner and sleep. Actually, I fell asleep on the trains twice. Once standing up!

My friend Yuko���� made a fine dinner fit for such an amazing day.

And that was just the first day! I had another 23 days to go!

WhiteHawk wrote:

No, I didn't. Next trip, maybe?

And there's also the Shinyokohama Ramen Museum.

WhiteHawk wrote:

...

Very cool photos! Thanks for sharing.

YATTA! These photos are great. Makes me want to go back.
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Wynter wrote:

YATTA! These photos are great. Makes me want to go back.

Thanks, they do that to me too.

My second morning in Japan, I had to go to Ikebukuro to meet my business partner. He traveled down from Hokkaido, and we were to attend a camping & outdoor gear trade show at Sunshine City with another of our business partners.

There really wasn't anything interesting this year, so instead of taking photos, I sat around and chatted with my partners about the industry and our ideas.

My partner from Hokkaido and I then left for Niigata (Tsubame, actually) to have a business meeting with yet another business partner.

First, we stopped by Yasakuni Shrine so he could pay his respects to his grandfather. Then it was time for lunch. More beer and Gyoza. Japan was easier to adjust to than I thought...

My first ride in a Tokyo taxi (one of the green ones) over to the station where we could catch a shinkansen. This was a much more pleasant and relaxing experience than my one and only ride in a NYC taxi.

Tokyo is so intense. I wasn't exactly sure where we were, but at one point I recognized a bridge from Café Lumière, so I know we went through Ochanomizu.

At the station (Asakusa, I think), my buddy had to buy a ticket. I, on the other hand, had my ever-handy JR Rail Pass. Fantastic invention.

Now for my first ride on a shinkansen!

I won't bore anyone with the details about the business meeting, and I didn't take any pictures of the traditional post-business-meeting-dinner-and-drinking-contest that followed. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

The next day, I was given a driving tour of Niigata, including a stop by a competitor's store for a friendly chat. He sells American-made (well, American-designed, Chinese-made) camping and outdoor gear in Japan, while I sell Japanese designed-and-made camping and outdoor gear in the U.S. It wasn't that long of a talk. Nice guy though. Nice store.

Then it was time for lunch before grabbing the train to Hokkaido via Shin Aomori.

Nice train. Too bad it was the wrong one.

Instead of taking the express up the coast, I hopped on a local and ended up in Shibata, with an hour wait before the next local came along. Then I had to wait an hour at the next stop for the express.

During this time, I made "friends" with these... gentlemen. See those (bleep)-eating grins? Yeah, they were characters. Ah well, all part of the adventure.

Sorry for the reflections, but you can still see that the western coast of Japan is incredibly beautiful. I want to drive along it one day.

"catch the blue train
places never been before
look for me
somewhere down the crazy river"
- Robbie Robertson

Upon arriving in Shin-Aomori, I thought this was going to be my bunk for the night. Finally, after all the missteps in my trip from Niigata, the heat and humidity, the exhaustion, I was really looking forward to sleeping my way under the sea to Hokkaido during the night. But then the porter came along and told me that my pass wasn't good for the Hamanasu sleeping car, and I had to go to the unreserved car.

Oh, (bleep).

Oh well, when in Rome...