I'm traveling this Overseas Adventure Travels trip with my friend, Lee, whom I met on a previous Grand Circle trip. After our 11+ hour flight from San Francisco to Narita (Tokyo), with a16 hour time difference, we met last evening for our 3 day "pre-trip" with our trip leader, Kana, and 9 fellow travelers at our hotel, which will be our home for the first 5 nights.
After a good night's sleep we jumped right in to this city of 15 million people for a full day city tour. Two city train rides took us to the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park, one of the oldest districts in Tokyo. Walking the nearby Yanaka district, we passed university students dressed in their Japanese finest for graduation. Wooden houses (shop on the first level, living quarters above), family temples and a traditional cemetery provided a peaceful interlude in an otherwise bustling city. Nearby we found the narrow pedestrian shopping alley before taking a little bus to an elegant buffet style restaurant for new discoveries. More about the food later!
It is still quite chilly and windy, though sunny here, and the cherry blossoms are just starting to make an appearance. They should be continuing to unfold all aling the trip.
Pix:1. Tokyo National Museum garden 2. wooden house with family temple 3. first cherry blossoms!
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