Day 1 - afternoon stroll in Tokyo

After checking in, I went for a walk with Matt. The goal was to check the route to the office for Monday and to stretch our legs after the flight. I also wanted to go past 皇居, which is the Imperial Palace. Around the grounds there is a large moat with only a handful of gatehouses where you can cross.  The sidewalk has indications every hundred meters for joggers since it is a route that is uninterrupted by traffic.

To be honest, my real goal was the Godzilla statue, which is near the office. It was not as big as I expected but it was in a nice area that was closed to vehicle traffic. I noticed that there were no overweight people. 

Next we wandered through Hibiya Park (日比谷公園 草地広場). where we discovered October Fest in full bloom. While we were both pretty hungry, neither of us wanted our first meal in Japan to be bratwurst. So, we continued through the park, past an outdoor stadium with a pop concert going. We could see the audience clapping their hands over their heads and hear the music. Interesting to have a small stadium with paid admission in a park when you could hear everything better standing outside.


 For dinner, the safest thing to do (thanks to YouTube) was to go to

Matsuya Kioicho (松屋 紀尾井町店) a place where you ordered through a kiosk where you paid, got a numbered ticket, then picked up you meal at the counter. There was even a button for English although the pictures were more helpful than the translation. 

After that, we went back to the hotel, which consists of several towers. We got inside trying to find our building but on the way discovered the wedding chapel where a couple in traditional clothes had just gotten married.

Day 0 - The trip

The flight was long but uneventful. I only got about two hours sleep on the plane. It is difficult to get sleep when you are in such a tight space. I did get to do a lot of catching up on the Marvel Superhero movies. Also on the flight was Matt, the Engagement Manager (i.e., account exec) for the project. Luckily, he doesn't believe in all shop talk, all the time and is a good traveling companion.

There wasn't a big difference looking at the countryside from the air. The coast over the north island could have been any coast. The rice fields about 1-2 hours north of Tokyo were smaller than the onion fields of the Black Dirt back home.

Border Control and Customs were extremely efficient and the official staff were very polite. Both things that were not unexpected now that I think about stereotypes of the Japanese. Matt and I split up in the terminal so I could change money and he could buy a rail ticket for his extended trip once the project work is done. While waiting for him, I noticed a number of women in kimonos by an exhibit with a photographer taking pictures. When they saw me with my camera out, I got invited to try on some traditional clothes and have my picture taken with them. I seemed like a display to promote a series of festivals. I have to admit that it was confusing and I was too busy saying thank you and bowing to get much information.

We took a bus to our hotel, an hour and a half trip from the airport. After checking in and being treated like visiting royalty, it was time to take a walk for my first day in Japan.