Day 1 - Traveling to Tokyo
Our trip to Tokyo has arrived. We met up at my grandparent's house on Saturday morning. My uncle, Lee, was kind enough to drive us to the airport. I think my grandpa was a little nervous about the time we were allowing to get to the airport and on our flight. We left at 6:30am for our 8:30am flight. There was almost no traffic on a Saturday morning. We got to the airport around 7:00am, check our bags, and made it through security by 7:20am. Before this trip we got my grandparents signed up for Global Entry (which includes TSA pre-check) making security so easy.
Greg and Ardis were flying standby. There were plenty of seats on this plane so they arrived when we were boarding. The flight to Portland is short. Before we knew it we landed and we were off the plane. Our layover was a couple hours long. We got some food and chatted while we waited for our next flight.
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| Grandpa studying the Japanese dictionary he used on his mission at the airport |
The flight to Japan is fairly long. Alison and I had Comfort+ seats. We traded with my grandparents. They are always a little amazed that we give them our seats. We love them and want to help them have the best experience possible. We had them in the exit row, so our legroom was still very good. The only downside to the exit row is that it gets cold. We were chilly for the duration of the nearly 12-hour flight.
Previously, when we traveled internationally we flew overnight. Usually, Alison and I will try to sleep. This flight, however, was during the day and we arrived in the middle of the day on Sunday (because we crossed the international date line). Alison and I both took a little bit of a nap since we had to get up early on Saturday to get ready for our flight. For the most part, we watched movies and tried to keep ourselves entertained. Unfortunately, Alison's screen did not work. The flight attendants tried restarting it four times, with no luck. They gave her 15K SkyMiles for the inconvenience and she watched movies on our iPad. It was slightly annoying but worked out in the end.
We arrived in Tokyo at 1:30pm on Sunday (~11:30pm mountain time the day before). There was a long list of items we needed to take care of at the airport. After we cleared customs and picked up our bags we found a place for my grandparents to exchange their cash for yen. We also located a 7-11 ATM that Greg and I used to withdraw some yen. We found a location to exchange our vouchers for our JR passes. These passes will allow us to use many of the trains around Japan for the next 7 days. Greg and I also found the place to pick up the wheelchair we reserved for my grandpa. Finally, we had taken care of all of our business so we bought tickets for our transportation into Tokyo. We took a Limousine bus from the airport to a location near our hotel.
The Narita airport is not particularly close to Tokyo. The drive into Tokyo took about an hour. From the drop-off point, we walked ~5 minutes to our hotel. We are staying at the Granbell Shibuya hotel. We chose this hotel because of its central location near Shibuya station. The entrance is a little way back from the street causing us to initially walk right past it. The door to this hotel is somewhat unique (at least from our perspective). It is really large - ~20 feet long and ~10 feet tall. When you push the whole door swings open. We checked in and took a 10-minute breather at the hotel before heading out. My grandpa was not tracking really well. He was very worn out from the long day of travel and decided to stay at the hotel.
Previously, when we traveled internationally we flew overnight. Usually, Alison and I will try to sleep. This flight, however, was during the day and we arrived in the middle of the day on Sunday (because we crossed the international date line). Alison and I both took a little bit of a nap since we had to get up early on Saturday to get ready for our flight. For the most part, we watched movies and tried to keep ourselves entertained. Unfortunately, Alison's screen did not work. The flight attendants tried restarting it four times, with no luck. They gave her 15K SkyMiles for the inconvenience and she watched movies on our iPad. It was slightly annoying but worked out in the end.
We arrived in Tokyo at 1:30pm on Sunday (~11:30pm mountain time the day before). There was a long list of items we needed to take care of at the airport. After we cleared customs and picked up our bags we found a place for my grandparents to exchange their cash for yen. We also located a 7-11 ATM that Greg and I used to withdraw some yen. We found a location to exchange our vouchers for our JR passes. These passes will allow us to use many of the trains around Japan for the next 7 days. Greg and I also found the place to pick up the wheelchair we reserved for my grandpa. Finally, we had taken care of all of our business so we bought tickets for our transportation into Tokyo. We took a Limousine bus from the airport to a location near our hotel.
The Narita airport is not particularly close to Tokyo. The drive into Tokyo took about an hour. From the drop-off point, we walked ~5 minutes to our hotel. We are staying at the Granbell Shibuya hotel. We chose this hotel because of its central location near Shibuya station. The entrance is a little way back from the street causing us to initially walk right past it. The door to this hotel is somewhat unique (at least from our perspective). It is really large - ~20 feet long and ~10 feet tall. When you push the whole door swings open. We checked in and took a 10-minute breather at the hotel before heading out. My grandpa was not tracking really well. He was very worn out from the long day of travel and decided to stay at the hotel.
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| Shibuya Station |
We wandered toward Shibuya station in search of food. There are so many tiny little restaurants in Japan. We found a place that looked good. They served noodles and rice dishes. It took us a minute, but we all decided on something and we ordered. The food was very good. It tasted especially good because it was not airline food. Alison and I both felt immediately better with food in our stomachs.
Before calling it a night, we had to see the Shibuya crossing. This is estimated to be the busiest pedestrian crosswalk in the world. It is the confluence of several busy roads. As soon as the signal indicates it is safe to cross the area is flooded with people heading in every direction. The sight of it kind of blows your mind. It looks even cooler at night with all of the neon signage. We ran across a few times before heading back to our hotel.
We were in bed by ~8:00pm. I am calling this a success. We did not want to go to bed too early (hopefully to avoid the worst effects of jet lag). Going to bed slightly early is not a bad idea because we do have a very early morning planned for tomorrow. We have to be out the door by 4:45 to head to Toyosu fish market.
A few initial thoughts about Japan.
1. We are only a handful of hours into this adventure and already we really like Japan. A big reason we like it is because of the people. They are so friendly. Whenever we need help and talk to people they go out of their way to be very accommodating. So far Japanese culture has lived up to its reputation for hospitality.
2. The hotel room is exactly what we were expecting. It is small and the bed is a little on the hard side. Not that we cared last night. We were so tired and just happy to have a bed. We paid a little extra to get my grandparent's a room that was a little bit larger. Great decision. They are very happy to have the extra space. The bathroom is also pretty small. The toilet is a complex electronic device. There are a half dozen buttons. We do not know what most of them are for. The hotel provided a nice English printout to explain the two buttons that flush the toilet (the most important function). The toilets also have heated seats which are great. People in Japan are short (relative to me) and the shower is set at a little over 5 feet. I had to maneuver a little bit to get it to work for me. Most importantly the rooms are clean and have everything we need in them.
3. Tokyo is a busy place. Every time we have gone outside there are people all over going in every direction. Shibuya is the best example of this, but we see it on streets all over. It appears people really value efficiency. They often walk around us as we meander and take in the sites, sounds, and smells of this city. We are excited to explore more of this busy, vibrant city tomorrow.
Before calling it a night, we had to see the Shibuya crossing. This is estimated to be the busiest pedestrian crosswalk in the world. It is the confluence of several busy roads. As soon as the signal indicates it is safe to cross the area is flooded with people heading in every direction. The sight of it kind of blows your mind. It looks even cooler at night with all of the neon signage. We ran across a few times before heading back to our hotel.
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| Hachikō was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno's death. |
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| Can you spot us? |
We were in bed by ~8:00pm. I am calling this a success. We did not want to go to bed too early (hopefully to avoid the worst effects of jet lag). Going to bed slightly early is not a bad idea because we do have a very early morning planned for tomorrow. We have to be out the door by 4:45 to head to Toyosu fish market.
A few initial thoughts about Japan.
1. We are only a handful of hours into this adventure and already we really like Japan. A big reason we like it is because of the people. They are so friendly. Whenever we need help and talk to people they go out of their way to be very accommodating. So far Japanese culture has lived up to its reputation for hospitality.
2. The hotel room is exactly what we were expecting. It is small and the bed is a little on the hard side. Not that we cared last night. We were so tired and just happy to have a bed. We paid a little extra to get my grandparent's a room that was a little bit larger. Great decision. They are very happy to have the extra space. The bathroom is also pretty small. The toilet is a complex electronic device. There are a half dozen buttons. We do not know what most of them are for. The hotel provided a nice English printout to explain the two buttons that flush the toilet (the most important function). The toilets also have heated seats which are great. People in Japan are short (relative to me) and the shower is set at a little over 5 feet. I had to maneuver a little bit to get it to work for me. Most importantly the rooms are clean and have everything we need in them.
3. Tokyo is a busy place. Every time we have gone outside there are people all over going in every direction. Shibuya is the best example of this, but we see it on streets all over. It appears people really value efficiency. They often walk around us as we meander and take in the sites, sounds, and smells of this city. We are excited to explore more of this busy, vibrant city tomorrow.
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