Tokyo............!

This trip was amazing and also a blur. A blur of activity. A blur of people and places. A blur of lights, color, traffic, people and places. I really enjoyed this trip it was however a very short one. We were lucky to have Sandy, a friend of Deb's who is also here from Des Moines on work assignment, to guide us around the city. Sandy has been to Tokyo numerous times and was able to show us the subway system so we could really get a feel for the local culture. "Thanks again Sandy!"

Okay, this is a restaurant........I wonder what they serve here?

City lights, traffic lights, and Christmas lights everywhere.

The hotel provides traditional Japanese ropes and of course I had to try it on.

This is Sandy, our trusty tour guide.

You might notice she is wearing a coat! Quite a different climate in Tokyo than in Singapore. It is truly fall/winter in Japan with the temps during the day in the low 50's and at night it dips to the high 30's. A very nice and welcome change after the heavy heat and humidity of the tropics.

Art and sculpture appears everywhere in the city. It was quickly apparent that most of the people wear black and the culture here is a bit "heavier" in spirit than in Singapore.

I don't have a clue what this women is advertising but this seemed so cute to me.

Trains are abundant here and everywhere you turn seems to be one passing by at very high speeds. There is also a underground subway system. Underground the passageways which link the different train routes are immense and long and take you blocks and blocks all underground.

Leaves. Yellow leaves. Fallen leaves. Such a different site than Singapore where everything is so vivid green and lush.

Crowds are everywhere. Massive amounts of people out and about all the time.

Dinner anyone? What catches your eye?

Santa's little helpers are happy to help you if only you could understand them and they could understand you.

Bikes, bikes and more bikes are everywhere. Most of them are just parked here and there and are not locked up at all. Every street, every alley, everywhere bikes and more bikes.

In Singapore English is spoken by just about everyone as it is the language of business. All of the signage is in English and you never feel there is much of anything you don't understand. Not the case in Tokyo. Very little is in English and although the signage is very interesting and beautiful we did feel quite confused at times.

People and lights. Lights and people. All buildings are lit up from top to bottom and side to side. Every floor has different stores and each one has a sign on the outside of the building. Walking around from day to night you barely notice the change from day to night as the lights are so bright.

This gentleman was outside of a Body Shop demonstrating how much suds his soap produced and just what you could do with those soap suds. Here he is creating a dog.

On the right side of this picture you will notice some quaint shops. These shops are built under the train tracks. The criss cross pattern on the very narrow street is both a walkway and a passage for cabs.

Vending machines are EVERYWHERE in Tokyo. There is not an alleyway a niche or nook that has been missed by some vendor placing a vending machine there. Now what they sell in those vending machines might surprise you. Among other things you might expect to see you would be surprised to also see beer and wine. There is no legal drinking age in Tokyo so anyone can buy beer and wine in the vending area and as public drinking is also allowed we often saw people walking about town with beer and wine and openly enjoying the spirits. Wild!

However, it seems they would prefer you do your recovering at home....not on the trains.

Outside of the Buddhist temple we saw these rickshaws and the people riding in it were so friendly and waving at us.

Asakusa Temple AKA Senso-ji is reputed to be Tokyo's oldest temple, dating back to 628, and its huge 3 meter red paper lantern is one of Tokyo's most recognisable motifs. The temple is always bustling with visitors who come to pray to Kannon - the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.

The Tokyo Tower by day..............and by night.

This is compared to the Eiffel tower.

We did not have the time to tour this site but it was breathtaking from a distance.

An alleyway with attitude.

A mall was having a light show that took your breath away. This is just one of the displays, a Christmas tree with so many lights.

Okay, I had heard of this and seen it on "The Amazing Race" but did not ever think I would be going to one. The Icebar is a bar which is made entirely of, well, ice. They keep it at a cool 26 degrees and when you enter you pay $50.00 which includes one beverage and 30 minutes use of the bar. I must say this was an experience I am very happy to have had. It was so odd. The bar, the tables, the seats the walls, everything is make of carved ice. Before entering you are dressed in a heavy parka with a hood and gloves. When you enter the main thing you notice is of course the bitter cold. Deb got better and more pictures of this so once she post you can see them at http://www.tjeltachatter.blogspot.com/ if you wish.

This picture does not do the ice carvings justice. This is the back of the bar and the bottles are sitting on shelves carved from ice! The ice is also backlit with colorful lights that blink and sparkle.

Here is a bit better picture of the bar itself and the parka's we were given to wear.

On the way back to the hotel down in the subway Yoko, our hostess for the evening, spotted a sumo wrestler and asked him to pose for a picture for us. Wild.

On our last moring in Tokyo I wanted to take a walk in the park across the street from our hotel. After we crossed the street there was this unusual bike with a "trunk" on it and I just had to get a picture of it. Moments after taking the picture a police officer rushes out of the building the bike is parked in front of and ask to see my camera. It seems that this is a police bike and pictures of police officers and the building are not allowed. I told him I would delete the picture and he looked very intentley at it for a few more seconds and then said "This okay, no more!" and let me be on my way. All of the simple freedoms we have in the U.S. and take for granted is what was going through my mind as I walked away from there.

This is a beautiful fountian in Hibiya park which is across the street from our hotel the Imperial.

Sandy, shopping for some holiday clothing.

The alleys here have a life all of their own. So interesting.

The trip was over all too soon and we were on our way back to lush tropical Singapore.