Day Two - Saturday 13 December 2014

We woke pretty early and went down to breakfast in the hotel cafe.

A charming little Japanese lady served us a breakfast of salad with mayonnaise, and eggs and bacon. Very Japanese!

We set out in the crisp morning air and caught the train back to Shinjuku. The train system is phenomenal! Trains every few minutes. Saturday morning and people everywhere. Lots of school kids too - apparently Saturday morning cram school is common in Japan.
We spent the day wandering around the shops in Shinjuku and a nearby trendy area called Harajuku (just a short train ride away).
We split into two groups in the afternoon and Jim & I went up to the Observatory on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building.  Three Buddhist monks in saffron robes accompanied us on the trip down so we thought if anything happened, we'd die peacefully.
The view of Tokyo from up there is amazing. It's a bloody big city, that's for sure!
We all met up again at the hotel but Jim and John went back to Shinjuku by train to look at watches and had dinner at the top floor of a major department store - where all the best restaurants are.
Jane and I went for a stroll near the hotel and visited a bizarre and rather sad pet store.
There was a dog grooming salon with 5 dogs being clipped and primped - and apparently this operates all day every day. Who would have thought there were so many unkempt dogs in this city!

There was also a lamb in a box dressed in Christmas gear, a chinchilla in what looked like a teapot, a hedgehog, a squirrel and a bizarre nude cat.

We ate at a little restaurant with a machine at the door with pictures of all the food on offer.  You paid your money, pressed the appropriate picture and a little ticket popped out which you are then supposed to give to the waitress. 

I ordered more by guesswork than real knowledge. Everything is in Japanese with only the odd words in English. And I find most people only speak a few words of English - unless it's in a hotel or at a station. 

Still, it's amazing how much you can communicate by sign language - and everyone is unfailingly polite. 

Station staff and waiting staff often bow to you. I've decided I rather like it. I wonder if we could introduce it in Australia?

I found I had ordered some kind of dumplings and a rice and egg dish for dinner.  Both perfectly acceptable. 

When the boys returned, it turns out they had found an excellent little Italian restaurant in Shinjuku, which they raved about. 

Day One - Friday 12 December 2014

Well, after what seemed like a long journey we finally arrived in Tokyo.

We boarded a fabulously comfortable train from the airport which took us to a major

station close to our destination - Shinjuku. 

Then we had to swap to a domestic train, fighting through peak hour traffic with two enormous suitcases. 

We had a bit of excitement when the kids went one direction and we went another but thank God we ended up on the same platform. 

The train system is a miracle here. The first train that came along was too full and we waited all of three minutes for the next one. 

We managed to squeeze in without too much trouble and four minutes later we arrived at our station -  Shinokobu.

We staggered out of the station, probably looking like typically dazed tourists, consulting Jim's preprinted book of maps, but soon realised the hotel was less than five minutes walk away. 

Shinokobu is just a small suburb of Tokyo but it's streets are full of neon lights, noise and people, people everywhere. 

There's nothing like a bit of nightlife to perk you up. 

All thoughts of going straight to bed disappeared instantly.

Our hotel, the Tokyo Plaza, is rather small and a little old - but rather sweet. 

The room, however, is tiny - absolutely minuscule. It contains two double beds, a bedside table and a coffee table and a TV.  Once our two suitcases were installed there's not much room to move around!

With four adults, we are very snug!

The best place of all is the bathroom. It's like something in a plane or a boat - where space is at a premium. 

You have to step up to get in and the toilet is right next to the sink which is right next to the shower. 

In fact, the sink and the shower use the same taps so you can either wash your hands or have a shower - but not both. 

I suppose you rarely want to do both at once, so it hardly matters. 

Anyone over six foot would hit their head in the bathroom ceiling - so thank God none of us are too tall.

The toilet is very high tech though - with a seat warmer and spray settings to clean your derrière. 

After an average dinner at a local Korean restaurant, we went back to our room to our tiny beds with pillows stuffed with what seems like bamboo - and went straight to sleep.

Japan & Hong Kong - 12 - 23 December 2014

Japan & Hong Kong Holiday

12 - 23 December 2014