Weekend in Tokyo

We had a great weekend with Jeff and Carol in Tokyo. A weekend just wasn't enough and I hope to get a chance to go back and see more. Our first evening there, we settled into our hotel and found a little Kirin beer pub to have a late dinner.

The next morning we were up bright and early for our half day city tour. The first stop was Meiji shrine. Next, we stopped at the Imperial Palace. Unlike the White House in DC, the Imperial Palace can't be toured or even seen by the public. We were able to tour the palace's east garden. After the palace visit, we went to the oldest Buddhist temples in Tokyo. They had street vendors set up selling everything from food to souvenirs. As you can tell from the pictures, the shops were packed. I bought a hand-made sucker which was a strawberry on a stick wrapped in syrup and then cooled on ice. It was a bit of a mess to eat, but yummy!

After a quick nap we were off to Casita restaurant in the "fashion district" of Tokyo. Jason found the place in a book and boy was it upscale and trendy! It just so happened, that one of Jason's Japanese interns, Hiro was staying in Tokyo this weekend interviewing for a position in a practice. Hiro was able to help us out by not only finding the restaurant but also communicating with the servers. Appetizers, dinner and finishing with dessert on the terrace.... it was perfect!! (Nice work baby!)

Our final day, Sunday, we enjoyed views of the city from Tokyo tower. Standing taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Tokyo tower is 333 meters tall. (Not as tall as the Empire State Building in NYC, though). Even though the day was a bit overcast, the views were spectacular!

Jason leaves to climb Mt Fuji in 2 weeks, but first we get to entertain Jason's dad and his wife here in Okinawa for a few days before their Japan trip comes to a close. I'm excited to share with them everything we love about this island.