Day 38-Tour of Tokyo

Depite our problems with basically every single tour we did in Thailand, we gave it one last shot today. For once, it was a great idea. The guide was fluent in English, our transport was a plush bus instead of the BACK OF A PICKUP, and we couldn't have seen the places better ourselves.

We hit Tokyo Tower (a taller exact replica of Eiffel Tower), Meiji Shrine, Imperial Palace Gardens, and a full driving tour of the city. Following the half-day tour, we decided it was time for some real sushi.

Although Terri doesn't eat the raw stuff, we headed to the fish market area. Waiting nearly an hour in the cold, we finally got inside the seemingly popular place. It seated only 10 people around the bar, and there was barely enough room for that. It was definitely the freshest and best sushi I've ever had. They even forced a few things down me that I normally would never have eaten (a piece of sushi containing HUGE Orange Salmon Eggs), but I refused to be defeated by these sushi chefs. Their faces showed quiet delight at watching me struggle... Like many people, when the chefs asked where we were from, all I had to say was, "Seattle." This was followed immediately by ICHIROOOOOO!!!" They still love this ball player, and equally love Starbucks. We suprisingly had 2 Starubucks within a 2 minute walk of us in Bangkok, but in Tokyo..... There must be over 50 of them. We saw them all over the place. Much like Seattle.

The rest of the night was spent in the Roppongi area and just walking around. Tokyo is a great city, quite like New York in many ways. It's much cleaner, however, and the people so respectful of each other and even us. So many people would stop us for many reasons. Some just wanted to help us get around, even though we usually had figured it out. Many wanted to know what we were doing, and many others just wanted to practice their English. I was impressed with their culture, and it was a hundred times more disciplined than what you see here. Not that it's good or bad, but definitely different. Even at McDonald's. they frantically take your order, get your food, and bow to you in thanks.