Saturday April 4
We left home around 6:45am on a rainy morning for our 9:15am flight on Japan Airlines to Tokyo. The flight left on time - pretty much fully loaded. Business class seating was not totally state of the art - angled-flat seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. But beggars cannot be choosers. There was no PDB (pre-departure beverage service) - a first IMO but Dieter did not agree. However right after takeoff they brought around FC and OJ so I was appeased. The FC was cold which was a good start. The service was in fact excellent - the food pretty OK. I watched a movie (Annie) and caught a few Z’s.
We landed and to our chagrin it was a bussing situation; i.e. no gate/airbridge. On arrival we were faced with a huge queue at immigration but fortunately they opened a new area just as we joined the queue and we were through in 15 minutes - the baggage was already circling the carousel when we arrived in the baggage hall; customs was a walk-through. As planned we had decided to get the train/subway to our hotel to save time over the “hotel limo-bus”. Unfortunately we missed the train (NEX) by a few minutes so had to wait 30 minutes for the next train to Tokyo station - the non-stop ride takes 1 hour - where we changed to the subway for one stop then a very long (15 minutes) walk underground to our hotel, The Palace. Check-in was a breeze and we were in our room some 3 hours after landing - whew. We went to the lobby bar for a shared club sandwich and a final drink (white wine and a beer) - got our first taste of ‘sticker shock’ - clearly Tokyo will not be a ‘cheap date’. Then it was off to bed around 9am.
Note on sticker shock - for example a glass of Cloudy Bay was ¥1,700 (+10% service) @ .9 is over $20 AUD.
Sunday April 5 - Easter Sunday
We got up, showered and went for breakfast - a bit of a surprise - our included continental breakfast did not include the full “cold” buffet but only juice, coffee and bread/pastries - how cheap can you get. Fortunately it was good and sufficient - would have liked some fruit though.
It was a very cool (high of around 12℃) with drizzle which turned to heavy showers as the day progressed. Out hotel overlooks the Imperial Place and gardens and seems to be an excellent location. It has direct access to at least 8 subway lines and is easy walking distance to Tokyo Station which is the largest train / subway interchange in Tokyo or even all of Japan or all of the world. There are several large interconnected buildings surrounding the station each with 6+ levels of shops and restaurants as well as the Four Seasons, Shangri La and other hotels.
We set off on foot armed with hotel umbrellas to get our bearings and check out all of the above as well as the tourist office and train tickets for Kyoto. We eventually stopped for a late light lunch at a wine bar which is part of Salt by Luke Mandagan - we booked dinner at Salt.
Getting a bit tired after lunch we went back to the hotel to do further research and rest - jet lag etc.
We had a nice but not great dinner at Salt - my main portion of snapper was as small as an entree but tasty - we were home by 9pm.
Monday April 6
At last an almost clear day - started out at 13℃ with a high of 23℃ predicted. We went for breakfast a bit earlier than Sunday and our ‘continental breakfast’ voucher was today ‘good’ for the full buffet - go figure - might have been our French waiter. After breakfast we cancelled our pre-booked Mt Fuji day-trip (for Wednesday) as the forecast was dire (rain and a high of 8℃.)
We headed out early by subway for the Tokyo Tower - about 20 minutes away, once you get to the departure station (10 minutes walk underground from our hotel). We visited the tower’s 2 levels (at 350 and 450 meters) and took a few pictures which turned out pretty well considering it was very hazy. From here we took the subway to a park on the other side of the Imperial Gardens to walk through and photograph the cherry blossoms which were excellent but past their peak. We walked back to our hotel and onto Tokyo station where we bought our train tickets on the Nozomi (fastest of the Shinkansen’s i.e. bullet trains) - a real steal at $650 return for tourist class. Upon returning to our hotel we checked on the web and found that our assigned seats were on the side of the train where the seating is 3 abreast - while the other side is 2 abreast - I was very frustrated but it had been very difficult buying the tickets as the agent did not speak any English.
After having a take-away sandwich in our hotel room we went to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, about 20 minutes away by subway. The gardens were incredibly beautiful with the cherry blossoms in their full glory (better than the ones on the morning walk) - the gardens were very busy.
We decided to have dinner at the hotel’s all day dining restaurant - the only one within our price range.
Tuesday April 7
As forecast, the day was drizzly and very cool (high of around 10℃). After breakkie (full buffet offered again) we walked to Tokyo station (15 minutes away) to try and get our seat assignments changed - armed with a note in Japanese from the hotel’s concierge it was a breeze. From here we walked (in the freezing cold and rain) along the Chua-Dori Street towards the Ginza area - a beautiful tree lined street dotted with high end boutiques - once in Ginza (a major shopping area) we walked around one of the high-end department stores (Mitsukoshi) - admiring the food hall spread over 2 levels offering the most amazing delicacies - including muskmelons for well over $200 each.
As it was getting past lunch time we headed back (with a wrong turn detour) to Chua-Dori Street to find a place for lunch. After a few false starts we ended up Antibes, a Mediterranean restaurant in the Maranouchi building near our hotel.
After lunch we attempted to visit the Imperial Palace but all that was open were some of the outer gardens.
We went to Sensi by Heinz Beck in the building next to us for dinner - Sensi is his low cost option. We had a pretty good dinner only my snapper was a bit fishy but was a very small portion so it did not matter.
Wednesday April 8
As forecast it was a miserable day - rain and a high of 5℃ with snow in some areas - thank goodness we canceled our day-trip to Mt Fuji. We spent the morning at the Edo Museum - considered the best in Tokyo - a history of ancient Tokyo. We also mastered the art of topping up our Suica (penguin) cards - easy as pie - pretty soon we’ll have figured out all the ropes.
We returned by subway to our hotel and had lunch at Sensi - their pasta lunch special. We started walking around the Imperial Gardens but eventually just got too cold and returned to our hotel early.
We had dinner at the hotel followed by an early night.
Thursday April 9
The rain cleared and the day started out as somewhat sunny and 6℃ with a high of 12℃ forecast. We took the subway to Uneo to visit the park there where there are a number of museums including The Japan National Museum. From here we continued by subway to Akasura to visit a temple - the most famous and oldest in Tokyo. We then walked over to the Asahi beer garden - a well known landmark (a Stark designed building, black with a golden horn on top) - very disappointing. We had lunch at the “beer garden” - about a 1 out of 10.
We then headed back to our hotel to pack and re-organise our luggage which we had shipped - one bag to our hotel in Kyoto and the other to the Hilton at Narita.
We went for dinner at Aux Amis in the Marunouchi Building - it was a 10 out of 10.