Tokyo-a-go-go

We didn't it last two days of our trip in Tokyo. For this portion of the trip, we stayed with my friend Leina and her husband Yusuke. We successfully navigated the Shinkasen from Kyoto to Tokyo. This time we went for reserved seats which definitely confirmed that we had selected a suitable train.

Once in Tokyo, we headed by can to Leina's apartment. Yusuke was out at a business meeting, but Leina showed us around her neighborhood, Roppongi. First stop was to grab lunch then we checked out the view of Tokyo from the Roppongi Hills sky deck. It was our first clear day in a while and the view was spectacular. Unfortunately, out sky deck ticket included a trip to the starry night exhibit. We had to take it shoes off and walk through a dizzying room filled with "stars" everywhere you looked, up, down, left, right. It was almost nauseating.

After meandering our way back to the apartment, we just relaxed until dinner time. Leina introduced us to the some surprising local cuisine, Italian food. We asked pasta, pizza, caprese salad as roasted veggies. Unexpected, but delicious. After dinner, we nursed drinks over several games of darts (my eye-hand coordination is seriously lacking).

We headed back to the apartment for the night where I got my own room for the first time in weeks. Dan has been a great roommate add very receptive to me poking him when caught snoring, but given that I got over nine hours of solid sleep in a room to myself might be an indication that I was a little sleep deprived.

We spent our final full day in Tokyo checking out various neighborhoods, starting with the Tsukiji fish market. We wandered through the stalls of the outer market trying out food from various stalls. We tried everything from crab miso to a cooked various shellfish cooked using torches on a shell. But the real treat was super fresh tuna sushi.

We also checked out Shibuya (home to the Hello Kitty train) and Harajuka (where the kids hang out after school) before finally getting our first taste of gyoza. We attempted to eat gyoza a couple times previously but never found any at the right moment. Leina did not let us down by taking us to the best gyoza shop in Tokyo. I think we could have all eaten plenty more but we had dinner reservations and wanted to save or appetites.

It was a good thing we did, because of last dinner in Tokyo was probably our best. Yusuke and Leina took us to a a Japanese barbecue (yakiniku) spot for dinner. We tried a bit of everything from cow tongue (two cuts, both delicious) to cow stomach (flavorless and cherry) and everything in between. It was really just a bite or two of various cuts, just enough to leave you wanting more but not full.

We finished it the trip with a few more rounds of darts. Miraculously, to everyone, I actually won a round.

While Japan was not high on my list of travel destinations, this was a great trip that I will always remember fondly. And given the amazing powder and food, I just might find myself in the land rising sun again soon!