One of the most beautiful parts of our drive was the volcano we drove along / around on our way out of town. Chris and I both lobbied for a stop to take a photo. We had to hike through the snow in our tennis shoes to get past the trees, but it was worth it.
It was quite the contrast to go from a remote mountain town to a city of 3 million people! We had an easy flight, checked my and Shawn’s large bags at the airport, then headed into Tokyo for the weekend with our backpacks and Martina / Chris’s ski gear via train.
I haven’t talked much about the Japanese culture. They have been so kind. From our above and beyond Air B and B hosts, to our servers who give us their best try at English, to the sweet employees who let us bring way-too-big luggage on their train cars...everyone has been so sweet, polite, and helpful.
We also found Tokyo to be very clean. People don’t eat on the go here, meaning less wrappers and trash are carted around.
The culture as a whole values order and efficiency. The lines to get on a train car are very neatly marked on the ground, and obeyed by everyone.
(Note everyone standing on the left in an orderly fashion, and passing on the right)
Riding the train was cheap. We bought one way tickets everywhere we went and paid just over a dollar per person.
We checked into the Westin near the Ebisu Garden Place area. It was beautiful.
We had club level rooms, so enjoyed drinks and apps each night and an amazing international breakfast buffet each morning (thank you, Martina!!)
The club room had a panoramic view of the city and our bedrooms had a view of Mount Fuji.
After getting settled at the hotel, we hit the town to go see Shibuya Crossing in its evening glory.
It was like Times Square. You could see the street lit up from the upper levels of our hotel even though it was far away.
It was warm with all the lights and bright as day. We got a great view of multiple mesmerizing crossings from the second level of Starbucks.
(Loving these fun cell phones lenses from Christmas!)
We continued to wander the streets for the evening and had a tasty (and cheap!) sushi dinner.
Sushi + Sake
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