Japan

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Thursday, January 13, 2000

Who knew that flying 11 hours over the Pacific Ocean could be so luxurious! After waking up this morning at 3:45 a.m. to catch our 6:00 a.m. flight to Los Angeles (do not ask), Rich and I were pretty worn out. However, we were delighted to receive an invitation from Singapore Airlines to relax in their Raffle Class V.I.P. room. Raffle Class is the name of Singapore Airline's business class. We chose to spend the extra frequent flyer miles for Raffle Class since we would have to endure a 5 hour flight from Atlanta to San Francisco, an 11 hour flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo and a 7 hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore. This frivolous act has turned out to be a fabulous decision. We have been in the air for 3 hours now, and I am sad that we only have 8 hours remaining. We are on the upper level of the MEGATOP 747 jet. Our seats are like first class lazy boys. We each have our own individual movie screens. For lunch, we were treated to canapes, sushi, caesar salad, Japanese style grilled red snapper with salty grey mullet roe and ginger rice, cheese and fruits, champagne tort and pralines, all complimented with wine and champagne. Most importantly, the service from the well dressed Asian crew has been impeccable. Needless to say, we are riding high!

One of the courses for our lunch on Singapore Air. Notice the video screen. We could choose our own movies or special programs.

TOKYO: NOW A MODERN CITY OF HIGH FASHION AND TECHNOLOGY, HAS ENDURED WAR, EARTHQUAKES, FIRES AND WESTERN INFLUENCE.

Monday, December 17, 2000

Today we leave the exciting city of Tokyo and fly the friendly skies of Singapore International Airlines to Singapore. We have really enjoyed our stay here in Japan's capital. Tokyo is one of the largest cities of the world and is home to over 12,000,000 people. Yet, while there are many western influences, it still manages to hold on to many of its traditions. We could tell that we were in a faraway place as soon as we walked off of the plane.

Despite a strong language barrier, Rich and I found a very helpful information desk at the airport and managed to find a place to stay for the night. The Suzuki Ryokan was located very near one of the train stations in Niporri, one of the neighborhoods of Tokyo. When we entered the ryokan, which is the name for a traditional Japanese Hotel, we were greeted by an older woman who did not speak a lick of English. However, body language is everything. She communicated to us that we needed to leave our shoes in a locker as we entered the guesthouse, and she showed us to our room. Our room was awesome. As we walked into the room, we passed through the Japanese sliding doors with screens, and on the floor in front of us was a table that stood a foot high with small pillows next to it for sitting. Our bed was a futon mattress that sat upon a woven straw floor covering. Since Rich and I have slept on a futon mattress for the past 7 years, this concept did not phase us one bit. We fell a sleep very quickly, as the time change from California was big....I think it is around 16 hours.

The next day, Friday, we visited a Buddhist temple and a Shinta shrine in the morning, followed by a traditional Japanese lunch consisting of pancakes which we cooked ourselves as we sat on the floor in front of a large grill, which also served as our table. Following our delicious lunch, we took the train to the lively Ginza neighborhood, where we attended one act of a Kibuki play. After this cultural experience, we walked around Ginza and window shopped in Akihabara, also known as "Electric Town". The lap top computers there are so small and light, we almost traded our big fellow in right there on the spot. However, it would be like parting with an old friend. We have been through too much with our Dell Latitude, and we could never continue with our journey without her...she just needs to lose some weight.

Saturday was Sumo Wrestling Day! After visiting the Emperial Plaza and a nearby Shinta Shrine which is dedicated to all of the war heroes who sacrificed their lives for Japan, we headed on over to watch Japan's favorite sport, Sumo Wrestling. Rich and I had a wonderful time watching this event. Visit our 2 Go Sumo Photos to get a play by play.

Monday we spent some time in Harajuku, where we walked the shopping streets of Omotesando, watched teenagers as they dressed up in morbid Halloween costumes and walked through the mystical inner gardens of Tokyo's premier shrine, Mejii-jingu, where we saw a traditional Japanese wedding. All of that in just one afternoon. In the latter part of the afternoon, we took the train up to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. This magnificent museum is one of the best that I have ever visited. When we walked into the exhibit area, we were awed by the huge, life-sized bridge, a replica from the Edo period, a time of isolation from the rest of the world, which lasted until 1868. We learned a lot about the traditions, culture and history of Japan, including the dark years of World War II, which they refer to as The Pacific War. Our English speaking, volunteer guide remarked that General McArthur actually added a lot to the progress of Japan during the post-war period that the United States occupied Japan. Indeed, I believe that Tokyo is the very clean, progressive and orderly city because of the fact that they had to completely rebuild after the mass destruction of the city caused by the war. Needless to say, this history buff had a great time at the Edo-Tokyo Museum.

We topped of another very productive day with a nice relaxing dinner with Praba and Tomo, two friends of Rich's family from their Michigan days. Praba is from India. She and her husband, who is from Japan, have three children, including Tomo. The family has been fortunate enough to live in such cities as Tokyo, London and Saline, Michigan, which is very near to Ann Arbor. Tomo, now a grown man, is in advertisement. His company represents Coca Cola in Japan. We had a great time with them. They taught us a lot about Japan. We wished that we had gotten together with them earlier in our Tokyo experience.

And actually, that raps up our Tokyo experience. We loved this exciting, stylish and progressive city. We will definitely return someday.

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