TOKYO

I have never met people so polite as the Japanese. Everybody smiles hello and you feel as welcome in a cheap Ramen establishment as you do in a five star hotel. Ticket inspectors on trains bow to the carriage before departing. Everyone thanks each other at least three times (even when thank yous aren't even warranted). People nod to you in a half apology, half appreciation when you cross paths on a street and you stop to let them pass. Almost nobody will cross a street on a red light, even if cars aren't anywhere to be seen. Why? Because rules are made to be followed, here, of course! It was a refreshing change of pace (even if we did shock some locals by occasionally jay walking. But I mean, we're from London, what do you expect?).

From discovering hole in the wall restaurants to crossing at the busiest intersection in the world, enjoying cocktail hour (it's 4 hours long in the Park Hyatt Tokyo...FOUR. HOURS. LONG. I am not ashamed to say that we did indeed make good use of that) and coming across all manner of interesting characters wandering the streets, Tokyo is a vivacious city, full of adventure, excitement and delightful people.

These drinks machines are everywhere. Literally, every street has at least one. They even dispense hot coffee in a can (along with iced)! Needless to say, Jarv made a stop at just about every one. He was pretty hopped up.



Jarv's happy face, I presume. The above restaurant was, quite simply, awesome. You pretty much serve yourself from start to finish. Items can be ordered 3 at a time, with or without wasabi, and come zooming out on trays. Once you've collected the plates, you press a button to release the tray back to the kitchen. Once in a while, if you're lucky, a rock, paper, scissors game will pop up on the screen & you have a chance to win money off your bill. I do love Japan.
Because, yeah. This is Japan.






Octopus dough balls...nom.


I love the architectural style of Tokyo's skyline. Doesn't it remind you of Tetris?




Next stop: Kyoto.