A day in Shinjuku

We were planning to visit the Imperial Palace but realised just in time that like the museums it's also closed on Mondays so we quickly changed plans and decided to spend the day in Shinjuku. For once we started off a bit early and got to Shinagawa Station just in time to witness rush hour. Very impressive!! We've never seen anything like it so far. It's incredible though how despite the crowds and chaos the Japanese still manage to remain calm and civilised. People don't push and they still queue to get onto the trains. Once they're in the metro, in rush hour everyone stands in a line facing the windows of the train. Almost mechanical!!!

West Shinjuku is where you find most of Tokyo's skyscrapers - all of them offices. We entered the Metropolitan Government building and went up to the 45th floor where we could see fantastic views of the city.

Then we took a walk around the West part to see all the skyscrapers... very impressive. By then it was lunch time so many people were out of the office for lunch. I personally have never been anywhere like this before, I've never seen so many smartly dressed people!!! And the women are obsessed with handbags... I have never seen so many LV and Chanel bags in my entire life!!!

Afterwards we walked around East Shinjuku

where we visited the Hanazono Shrine. The East part of Shinjuku is mainly popular for evening entertainment but there are also some really nice department stores worth visiting. So then we spent the rest of the afternoon going around Isetan Department store - really beautiful. Here is a glimpse. They also have a fantastic food hall - where you can buy anything from Japanese food to French patisserie, Belgian chocolates and Italian pasta. Forget Harrod's Food Halls - this is better!!! Obviously Ivan went mad!!! Eventually I managed to drag him out of there and we spent some time shopping on the other floors.

Our evening was a bit of a disaster... we tried going to Tokyo Bay but got off on the wrong stop and ended up in a place that looked a bit like Marsa!!! So eventually we got off at the right station but the restaurants seemed like tourist traps... and some of them even had machines outside to order food - like buying a drink!!! So we decided to return to the hotel as there is a good sushi place nearby, but till we got back it was 10.30pm and they were closed. So our last resort was our hotel, but luckily the food was very good.

Early reflections from Japan

It is still early days but first impressions do count. Technologically, the Japanese are way ahead. On the metro trains, most people use their mobile phones to surf the internet or watch videos on demand since talking is prohibited. One thing which impresses you most is that you rarely hear ringing tones in public places.

But if you want the best example of technology all you need to do is examine the different technologies competing in the toilets nearby.

This morning I made use of a sink which had an automatic soap dispenser, automatic water and even a hand dryer combined. There was a toilet which had an automatic sliding door as you approach for hygenic reasons. Giulia made use of a toilet which opens and closes automatically and even flushes automatically. Now this is what we call comfort.

And if this is just not enough, then just call a taxi and the driver will open your door without needing to disembark from his cab. And its not as if the cabs are new. Most of them are old Toyota Crown (which never appeared in Europe).

Raining in Tokyo

Weather today was dreadful, it did not stop raining and therefore our sightseeing was hindered by the at times heavy rains which reminded us more of Malta than Brussels.

The plan was to head to Ueno Park, view the Tokyo National Museum apart from the Pagoda and Tosho-gu shrine and laze away in the park.

We started off earlier than the day before but still not early enough. But given the rain, it was might as well since we still needed to rest after the tiredness of the last days.

So after we got to Ueno Park we headed immediately to the Tokyo National Museum where we saw many statues of buddhas, some impressive sculptures and costumes among others.

There was also an exibition of the Mind of Leonardo - the Universal Genius at Work with the highlight being the painting of the Annunciation which was brought over from the Uffizi gallery - a masterpiece indeed.

Given it was raining cats and dogs by the time we saw the museum we still tried our luck at going around Ueno Park only to finally decide that it was not worth the hassle so we headed to the Electronic District before coming back to the hotel for an hour of relaxation by the pool and spa.

This is indeed an experience. Before you enter the 'health club' you remove your shoes and are given Japanese shoes. After entering changing rooms you can decide what to do. Sauna or gym or even a chill-out room. The gym has socks and shoes to rent out for guests but we opted for a swim in the pool. To get there, you need to take a shower first and then after going down one floor, there is another shower with water on the floor just in case your feet had got dirty going down the steps.

By the pool area, it looked more like a clinic than a swimming pool. Everywhere you look was shiny. And the pool deckhand also tested the water in the swimming pool and the spa while we were there. Indeed another example of their obsession with cleanliness.

For photos log on to www.flickr.com/photos/brincs/

Tokyo - enjoying it more and more

Here we are getting used to Tokyo more and more. Today was the second day and we had a very lazy start to the day - so bad that we missed breakfast because we went down at around 10.40 only to be told that breakfast is served only till 10am.

We therefore had to make do with an American breakfast - i.e. Starbucks sandwiches. Giulia had a Frappucino with caramel and I had a good espresso - first one here in Japan - since I have been forced to drink tea by the Japanese :-).

We then headed for the Hamarikyu gardens which are surrounded by skyscrapers wherever you look. Here we went mad taking many photos - by the end of it, when we got back to the hotel, in fact the number of photos taken today was 275.

People continued to be extremely nice, at these gardens we were sitting down on a bench relaxing and a Japanese man came to us and asked me for the camera so he could take us a photo. The photo, which can be seen on www.flickr.com/photos/brincs/ was very well taken.

After a walk around the park we decided to go to a tea room but it was packed and we did not feel like basking in the sun (temperature was around 25C).

Just to prove their obsession with cleanliness, there were these three men working in the park and one of them was actually in a boat scooping out the sea-weed from the pond. Really impressive. From the park we could see the Tokyo tower - a look alike of the Eiffel tower completed in 1958. We will have to go closer to see whether its so similar when seen from closer quarters.

We then took a boat-ride to the Senso-ji temple and ate some noodles and tempura from street stalls. The place was packed with people all taking photos and bowing down to the buddhas.

The plan was to go to Ueno Park from here but we decided to leave it for tomorrow and head to the electronics quarter or Akibabara. European techies would go crazy here with countless shops selling any type of electronic equipment you can imagine. Shopkeepers were outside calling people in using a microphone and speakers - no wonder this is the land of karaoke.

Some people in this quarter were dressed like manga characters but we are noticing in general that the fashion sense here is top notch. Most people walk around in designer items and are impeccably dressed. Shopping and the department stores are simply out of this world simply on a different planet to anything else we have seen before.

After Akihabara we decided to go back to Ginza where we stopped for a tea in a cafeteria overlooking a very busy crossroads and people-watched for an hour.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel. But on the way, Giulia had noticed a sushi restaurant the night before and we decided to try it out. We had to wait to be seated as the place was full - always a good sign - and the fare was simply fabulous. We could not stop eating and the chef was very nice and even gave us a complementary portion filling our plate while his boss was not looking. Now that's what we call service!!! We think that before creating Brand Malta, the Malta Tourism Authority should have sent some people over here to learn some lessons.

Greetings from Tokyo!!!

Hi everyone!!!

After what seemed like an endless journey we finally we got here!!! Just returned to the hotel after spending an afternoon walking around Tokyo... as you can imagine we're completely exhausted and jet-lagged. Wanted to sleep when we got here at noon but we thought we'd better try to adapt to Japanese time so we tortured ourselves and dragged ourselves down to the city centre...

Anyway first things first... we have to tell you about our journey here which started with a bit of a scare at Brussels airport when the ground staff somehow couldnt manage to check-us in for our flight from Heathrow to Tokyo... then after a few unsuccessful attempts she calmly informed us (in typical ground-staff way - i.e. calm and composed) that the plane was over-booked and we were among the passengers that had been offloaded!!! As you can imagine we freaked out!!! I told her we were on our honeymoon and they had to put us on that flight no matter what!!! Then luckily some 15 minutes later we were told that we managed to obtain the last two seats!!! We couldnt believe it!!! The seats weren't excellent but not terrible... we were just sandwiched between two Japanese guys slurping on their noodles... But I guess better than being stranded at Heathrow. For the rest the flight was ok but so long, and endless. At least there were plenty of films to watch. Though BA wasnt quite as generous with the food... in an 11 hour flight they only gave us one hot meal at 3pm (1 hour after take-off) and then a breakfast at midnight!!! So you can just imagine how hungry Ivan was, but luckily I had a bag full of biscuits and chocolates so we could have a snack from time to time.

So finally we landed in Tokyo at 1am Brussels time, which was 9am here in Tokyo and we decided to go out straight away to fight the jet lag. Our hotel is really nice luckily!! We have a very funny loo though!!! Hahha I must tell you about it, I've never seen anything like it before! First of all the seat is constantly heated to keep you nice and warm!!! And then it has a remote control so if you like you just press a button and it sprays clean water onto your back side... and then it even dries it!!!!!!! Hilarious!!!! I haven't tried it - it's too weird!!!

Our first impressions of Tokyo are so far extremely positive!!! To start with everything and everywhere is impeccably clean, starting from the airport, the streets, the metros, buses and trains... the metros look like they've never been used!!! It's amazing!!! The floor is shiny everywhere you look and you never see paper or even one cigarette on the floor!!! As regards the people, they're extremely hospitable and friendly, everyone smiles at you, be it the bus driver, the receptionist, concierge, shopkeeper you name it... So far most of the people we've met spoke a bit of English but even if they don't they still try to help by speaking Japanese mixed with sign language!!! Really sweet. We're also quite amazed at the people in Tokyo, apparently they are obsessed with designer wear and although I had read about it I really had to see it to believe it. Wherever you look you see young people wearing really trendy clothes and clutching onto their Louis Vuitton bags, Gucci, Chanel, etc. But we soon discovered why... In the afternoon we went for a walk around Ginza which is a good area for shopping, we were too jet-lagged to do anything more cultural that required a minimum of mental strain, and while we were there we passed by the designed shops which were literally full of people resembling supermarkets rather than the ones you see on Boulevard de Waterloo in Brussels, and the prices are much cheaper!!! After a walk around Ginza we stopped at a sushi place with a train where you can choose different plates - really delicious. Tomorrow we should be visiting a Japanese garden and the imperial palace. Meanwhile, here are some pics taken today. There are many more on http://www.flickr.com/photos/brincs/

Check out the shiny floor at Narita airport!

Arriving from the airport - aaagh I just want to sleep!!!

Finally a bowl of noodles - obviously slurping is essential!!!

The first girl we saw wearing a kimono!!!

Ginza, Tokyo

Finally off to Japan!!!

Hi everyone!!!
Finally we're back in Brussels tonight and we quickly unpacked all our stuff after having been in Malta for 11 days and packed our bags again for our holiday in Japan!! Can't wait to get there now though I'm really dreading the long flight.. it will be really boring. I also packed a bag with things to keep us entertained, books, iPod, biscuits, nuts, etc... Hopefully we'll get some sleep too. I was already exhausted on the way here but I had this really fat guy next to me who decided to take over part of my seat too and he kept hitting me accidentally with his fat elbow and managed to wake me up twice along the way. Tomorrow we're flying with BA so I hope the seats will be a bit more comfy.
Our mobile phones won't work in Japan so as from tomorrow morning they will be switched off. We'll update this blog as often as possible so you can read up on our adventures! You can also leave comments! Hope to hear from you too!
Sayonara!!!!!