The first day was on a plane and the second day started early in Japan. Some hightlights of the two first days.
1. We got Movenpick ice cream on the plane. Always nice to have an ice cream snack middle in the night (/flight).
2. I have to say, they really are thoughtfull here in Japan. For example, at the airport station they show you which train to take and how it looks like in photos.
3. The weather is lovely here. 10-15 degrees with sun and a breeze. Autumn colors are showing.
4. In our short walk around the area we already saw two temples. This is the exit of a black one.
5/6. Since it’s hard to read Japanese, we are happy that there are photos on the menu. And guess what we have ordered. Coco Curry with soba noodles and tempura don with soba noodles The dish came out after 3 minutes. A fast meal, but very satisfying.
7. We went to Akihabara, anime/game/arcade heaven. So much anime figurines and games. There were two pro players playing an arcade piano game, similar to guitar hero, but way faster.
8. There are a lot of beautiful buildings/houses here. This one looks like it came from a Ghibli movie.
9. A friend of ours who lives in Tokyo took us out for dinner. We ate shabu shabu (hotpot) at 温野菜. Our soup base was half sweet soy broth and the other half was 12 herbs broth. Both tastes so good! Meat quality was also very high. The portions are quite small, but it’s all-u-can-eat, so you can order a lot. A good food start of the food holiday.
First day conclusion: although I was mostly in zombie mode, it was really nice to experience all these Japan feelings again. I have been to Japan before in 2009.
I learned that if you want attention from the waiter, “sumimasen” is a very powerful word. They instantly react to that. English words and waving, not so much. Also “sumimasen” can be used as “thank you”. You are then saying “excuse me” for bothering you. “Arigatou gozaimasu” (thank you very much) can be a bit long to say.
Tomorrow: Odaiba.