Melissa's sister Alison, her husband David, and son Christopher are living in Tokyo. This presented us a wonderful opportunity to make a two week trip to Japan and Hong Kong to visit them and see some of the sights of Asia. Our trip to Hong Kong was made during the middle of our trip. For purposes of this presentation I have separated the two trips to make it less confusing to the viewer. Hong Kong photos are presented last. I hope you will enjoy all the photos. There are lots and lots of photos and depending on the speed of your internet connection it may take a little time to download all the images.
This is the story of our trip.There are some separate photo collections that are more family oriented. If you would like to see these photos please click on one of the links below.
Tokyo International School - Spring Program
We start our first day with a trip to the Imperial Palace via the Tokyo Subway. The subway system in Tokyo is very extensive and very impressive. Typical fare to a "nearby destination" is about ¥1.60 to ¥1.90 (YEN) or about $1.60 to $1.90 USD at the prevailing exchange rate during our visit.
The grounds surrounding the Imperial Palace. It was a rainy, very foggy day making it impossible to get really good pictures that illustrate just how beautiful the area really is.
Time to meet David downtown for lunch. We go to his favorite place near his high rise office building.
This is a photo of the outside of the restaurant. We all had the same thing - giant, fried oysters, rice, soup, and all the trimmings.
On the bus and off to Shibuya which is a major, trendy shopping district. The "Shibuya Crossing" is a crosswalk reported to be the busiest pedestrian crosswalk in the world.
click here for more information on Shibuya
Entertainment on the grounds of the tower
Unfortunately Mt. Fuji was not visible due to the haze and smog.
Off to Ginza, said to be comparable to New York's fifth avenue. This is Tokyo's high-end shopping area.
The famous Wako Building. One of the few buildings in the region not destroyed by Allied bombing during WWII.
off to Roppongi Hills - another high-end shopping and business section of Tokyo
Sunday morning services at St. Alban's Church - an english speaking Episcopal (Anglican) Church
The parade processes down Tokyo's version of Paris's Champs Elysees, famous Omotesando Street.
Click here for more information about Tokyo's famous Omotesando Street
A brief note about Shrines and Temples. They are different religions.
Shrines are places devoted to the Shinto religion
click here for more information about Shinto Shrines
Temples are places of worship devoted to Buddhism
click here for more information about Buddhist Temples
A wedding is about to take place, or perhaps it has already taken place. Many people are married at this shrine. In this case it appears that this Japanese lady has married a Gaijin - the Japanese word for a foreigner. Click here for more information about Gaijin.
Harajuku girls and assortment of other slightly odd people.
Click here for information about the Harajuku girls and cosplay as it is known in Japan
Our visit to the famous Sensoji Temple in Anakusa
click here for more information about the Sensoji Temple
Click here for information about the Sumida River.
Tokyo Taxis
Every taxi I saw in Tokyo was spotless, looked like each had been freshly washed and waxed. The drivers are wearing suits with ties. Most drivers are also wearing white gloves. Every taxi has woven "dollies" on the back rests and sometimes covering the complete back seat. Every cap was spotless inside. One taxi we were in actually had a television screen where you could watch movies or some kind of Japanese programming. Drivers are very professional and polite.
Kamakura is a historic city south of Tokyo known for its vast number of Shrines and Temples
click here to learn more about Kamakura
Appetizer??
We did eat these little fish. I know it's hard to believe but we really did .... they're kinda like sardines I'd say.
Kamakura Great Buddha
click here to learn more about this historic site
this Buddha is more than 800 years old
Melissa's Dad Ralph visited this exact spot during the Korean War while he was in the U.S. Navy
I purchased some letter openers here at his shop, this shop owner calculated my purchases using her abacus ... and she was darn fast using it too! The photograph caught her by surprise.
We begin our train ride back to Tokyo.
click here to learn more about this famous fish market
Tsukiji fish market - said to be the largest wholesale fish market in the world
click here to see a "youtube" video on Tsukiji Fish Market
they continue to bring you food until you say you've had enough or make the signal Christopher has made above.
Following our meal we are walking to the subway station when we see a television broadcast from a Boston televsion station - Fox 25 - in town to report on the Boston Redsox/Oakland A's game to take place the next evening. David, being Boston area resident and huge Redsox fan stops to discuss the game with Butch Stearns, the Fox 25 sports editor. click here for Fox 25 Redsox coverage
more Boston Redsox fans in town for the big opening MLB game at the Tokyo Dome
Ueno Park
also located on the park grounds, Tokyo National Museum and the Ueno Zoo
click here for more information about Ueno Park
The fabulous cherry blossoms of Tokyo make an appearance, we are lucky to catch the blossoms at near peak. Tokyo residents love the cherry blossoms and celebrate their arrival at Ueno Park.
This is about the only place we saw the homeless in Tokyo. There is a Christian organization hosting some kind of service at the park especially for the homeless who are all seated listening to the message and the music.
MAJOR LEAQUE BASEBALL OPENS IN TOKYO
Boston Redsox vs. Oakland A's
and we're there to see the game
click here to learn more about the Tokyo Dome
THE BOSTON REDSOX WIN 6 - 5!
Manny Rameriz drives in the winning run in extra innings. The Japanese are huge Boxton Redsox fans due to the fact that two members of the Redsox were star baseball players in Japan before signing with MLB, most notably Daisuke Matsuzaka (Pitcher) and Hideki Okajima (Pitcher).
The morning after the game we leave Tokyo to return home to Texas. What a time we've had and what great hosts David and Alison have been. It's a trip we will never forget as long as we live!
We leave Tokyo at 12:05 am Wednesday Morning
We arrive Dallas at 9:15 am Wednesday Morning
HOW CAN WE ARRIVE DALLAS BEFORE WE LEAVE TOKYO
NO WONDER THE JET LAG IS KILLING US
Now I realize we're really a long way from home
this is the view on the monitor from the seat in front of me enroute to Hong Kong.
We flew a Cathay Pacific Airlines - Boeing 777 aircraft (a fabulous airline company).
and smoggy, spoiling the beautiful landscape photos I had hoped to capture.
Renaissance Harbour View - our hotel in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Convention Center near our hotel
click here for more information about Kowloon
Photos shown below are all in the Nathan Road area in Kowloon.
Nathan Road is known for the custom tailors and all the fake Rolex etc. watches.
click here for more information about Nathan Road in Kowloon
We hope aboard a city bus for a ride down to the coastal city of Aberdeen. The photos below were taken in route to Aberdeen from the bus
click here to learn more about Stanley Market
click here for information about Hong Kong's Victoria Peak
these are reported to be the longest covered outdoor escalator system in the world
click here for more information about the mid-levels escalators
Suddenly, amid all the high rise buildings there was an outdoor market that surely has remained unchanged for decades and decades, perhaps centuries - this market was absolutely fascinating, and it was quite large with fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and meat all being sold.
View from the tallest building in Hong Kong, the Two International Finance
Centre
The building is 88 floors tall. The observation deck is on the 55th floor.
click here to learn more about the 7th tallest building in the world
We leave Hong Kong on a bus back to the International Airport.
We pass one of the largest container ports in the world.
click here from information on the Port of Hong Kong
Hong Kong International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world and has a very interesting story since it was built entirely on reclaimed land and was a tremendous engineering feat. Hong Kong Airport has the largest passenger terminal in the world.
click here to learn more about the airport
or here
to see a Discovery Channel presentation about the airport