Japan Adventure - Day 2

So we begin with Day 2.

This was our first full day in Japan. After sleeping for nearly 12 hours, we woke up to go find coffee and breakfast. However, we didn't realize it was Marine Day - a holiday in Japan. Thus, lots of places were closed.

Thankfully, Starbucks was open! Yes, such an American brand and thing to do, but hey it was open and the menu definitely had a Japanese influence so it was not like a regular Starbucks. When you gotta eat, you gotta eat!

Following our brief meal, and being fully caffeinated, we decided to explore what was near us. So we hoped on the JR Yamonte Line and went two stops up to Shinjuku. At Shinjuku, we walked around the station - it's the world's busiest transit station!

We kept walking until we got to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. This building is the seat of power for the government of Tokyo, where the Governor keeps the city humming. It also has an observation deck on the top floor. While it was a holiday, thankfully the observation deck has a separate entrance and we went up to to enjoy the spectacular views.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

View from the TMGB

Getting ready for the Olympics 

Sadly, we were unable to see Mt. Fuji. In the summer time, it is so humid and muggy it really just traps all of the air so there was a haze around Tokyo for most of our time there. Thus, you could not see Mt. Fuji.

On the bottom floor, they had a display of Olympic Items. Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Olympics, so we were looking at the display which included the Olympic flag passed to Tokyo from Rio. In fact, this flag has been passed from City to City since the Atlanta games. It also included the official ceremonial box the flag is kept in, and the olympic torches of Rio.

It gave me goosebumps to look at the flag, I have such a deep love for the Olympics and have always enjoyed them, and seeing the actual flag up close and in person was a true blessing.

Following our visit, we went back to Shinjuky station and walked into one of their vertical malls. What I love about Japan is that most "malls" are actually high rise buildings that have different shops stationed throughout each floor. You'll have floors dedicated to men, women, kids, electronics, house goods, and usually a food court. You just take the escalator up to the floor you are hoping to get to.

After a bit, we started walking the streets of Shinjuku. All was great until we were suddenly under attack by a giant monster! Run for your lives, it's Godzilla!!! My favorite thing about the Godzilla statue is that as you walk towards the monster, theme music is playing in the streets and steam and a strobe light go off in his mouth as if he were really attacking.

We decided to walk away from Godzilla and get some lunch  - where we had revolving sushi! It was very delicious and nothing like the US. After we refilled and rested, we continued walking the streets of Shinjuku.

The sights of the street are just awesome. This town was really cool and filled with life. We then headed to where all the cool kids go to - Harajuku. The Harajuku district is known for being the center of teen pop culture.

Following the Harajuku district, we went to the Meiji Shrine. This shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji who unified Japan. It was beautiful and our first shrine. We wrote a prayer and placed it on the prayer tree.

After the Meiji Shrine we went back to Shibuya where we crossed the famous crosswalk - the Shibuya crossing!

It's a lot smaller than on TV. It wasn't as packed, and we definitely need to go back to see it at night but it was still awesome to see. Check it out below:

We looked up places to eat and found a place called "hacienda del cielo" yupps a Mexican place in Tokyo. What really attracted us there was that it had a rooftop patio.

We were able to eat, drink, and take in the awesome view of Tokyo. You could see Tokyo Tower pretty prominently and it was so beautiful.

View of Tokyo at night

The next day, we take off and head to Hakone in the mountains!

Japan Adventure - Day 1!

Hello everyone,

It took me some time, but I am finally able to start updating the blog with our trip! The jet lagged has worn off, we' re back in daily routine, and have satisfied our fill of Tex-Mex. So it took me some time to think on how to organize this blog - either by subject, topic, or by day. I think the best way is through by day. This way, I don't forget anything, and I can divulge into deeper topics at another time. 

So "Day 1" is going to be kinda vague as we travelled to LAX first, and then to Tokyo where we skipped a day. So Day 1 will be when we include some pre-day activities, but were just before. So here we begin:

We flew on American Airlines new Airbus 321, with the winglets, to LAX. For this flight, we flew economy. I have to say, AA has really upped their game on their new planes. Every seat has an outlet to charge your device, and best of all - every seat has a TV screen that has tons of free in flight entertainment options. 

a quick sandwich at Italian Kitchen in DFW's Terminal D

Gone are the days when there were TVs hanging overhead every other row. Now, each seat has it's own TV and you can pick whatever you want to watch - your favorite TV shows, your favorite movies, you can play games, you can view the course of the plane and where it's at, you can even view terminal and connecting information. It's like AA made their own Netflix - not as expensive, but still tons of options. Almost every Disney movie is on there too! 

The service by the flight crew was awesome. A women on our plane fainted right as the plane was taxing to the runway. The crew jumped into action, assisted the women, and we were on our way to LA. The flight itself felt fast - after all, it's only about a 2 and a half hour flight. Enough for me to watch La La Land from start to finish. 

After landing in LA, we waited for what felt like forever for our bags. Thankfully, the new AA app allows you to track your bag while it's making its way from the airplane to baggage claim. A note of caution though- it only works at select airports, so please don't expect it to work at all airports. 

We were spending the night at the Hilton LAX. Down the street from the airport, it was a short ride on their complimentary shuttle. Construction at LAX has the upper part closed for a while, so everyone is using the lower level. Traffic was a nightmare, but we made it in about 15 minutes. 

Once we arrived at the Hilton, I went straight to the Hilton Honors check-in desk, which lets you skip the line at the regular check-in. I received my digital key and an upgrade to a corner room. Our room included a king bed, and as Hilton Honors members, two complimentary bottles of water and free wifi! 

As we were so excited for our trip, we couldn't go to sleep. So we went out to Hermosa Beach, a short Lyft ride away, for a drink. We walked a bit and realized while it was a cool crowd, it was a very young crowd (not even sure how these kids were able to buy drinks!?!). We finished our drink next to the Lighthouse Cafe, which was featured in La La Land, and then took another Lyft ride back to the hotel. 

We woke up, and took the shuttle back to LAX. We checked in our bags, got our boarding pass, and proceeded through TSA. As business class fliers, we had complimentary access to AA's Admirals Club Lounge. However, it is under construction and looked more like a breakfast bar at a Motel 6. No seating room, and no warm food (at least from what I could tell). I'm sure once construction is over, it'll be more upgraded. 

Thankfully, LAX is also home to the Quantas One World Business Class Lounge. As AA is a member of the OneWorld Alliance, we decided to go eat in that lounge. This lounge, located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, is definitely a world class lounge. The room was very spacious, tons of seating and lounging area. They had areas to take a shower, and even private meeting rooms in case you need to make a phone call. 

OneWorld Partner Lounge Buffet

One World Partner Lounge

JC Decueax Screens at the International Terminal

The best part of the lounge - the free food and drinks. They have a warm buffet, with great selection of eggs, sausage, pastries, and coffee. The fruit and yogurt section was plentiful as well. Mimosas and Bloody Mary's were complimentary, as well as never ending coffee. 

As we fixed our plates and returned to our seats, a young lady by the name of Yessenia came and asked if she could bring us anything to drink. We both had some coffee and juice. After we ate, and having about 2 hours to kill, Yessenia then asked if we would like a mimosa. The mimosas were beautiful and garnished with a large orange. The food was incredibly delicious, and enough to satisfy you. 

Josh and I enjoying a Mimosa

We then proceed back to our gate in the American Airlines terminal, and boarded our plane. We took our seats and were offered a pre departure beverage of champaign. We were offered a newspaper of choice - between American and Japanese papers. After we settled in our seats, and the rest of the plane had boarded. We took off. 

Business Class Seat - Boeing 777-200

Pre Departure Beverage as I decide on a Disney Movie

We were given bose noise-cancelling headphones to listen to the inflight entertainment. Those headphones were great to watch movies with, you can really hear the movie and not the sound of the engine. They are so awesome, American won't let you take them, they must stay on the plane. 

After we reached cruising altitude, our meal and drink service began. First, we were asked what we would like to drink - all drinks, including alcoholic drinks, are complimentary. So I got a glass of cabernet wine. it was an Australian brand and really good. The drink was served with a plate of warm nuts. 

Warm nuts and wine

Following the warm nuts, our appetizer plate was brought out with a selection of cheese, salad, and warm bread. The salad had a spicy Japanese dressing to it and it was delicious. The cheese was great paired together with the bread. Following that, our main course of Noori Chicken was served. After the chicken, we were offered dessert - I had a fudge sundae. 

After a couple of hours, the crew took their break and informed us of the walk up snack bar. It had chips, sandwiches, little desert options, fresh fruit and water. 

Shortly before landing, we were offered a pre-landing meal. My meal was a rice curry meal, with a curry sauce to  pour on top. Coffee and orange juice was offered. 

As we made our final decent, the crew took up our noise cancelling headphones and provided us with immigration paperwork. Then the pilot made the announcement we were waiting for - "welcome to Tokyo Haneda". 

After deplaning, and going through immigration, we picked up our pocket wifi and went to the metro for our first train ride. Haneda makes it very easy to navigate, and while their are signs, the intuitive way-finding was great. You can see where to go just by looking around. 

Welcome to Tokyo! 

We took the Keikyu line to Shinagawa station where we transferred to the JR Yamanote line. What I loved about these trains is that they were above ground so we got to see a good view of Tokyo as we travelled through. 

We arrived at our station in Shibuya, and followed the directions to our Airbnb. Thankfully, our host lived close to the station so we did not need to walk too far. As we were walking, we were absorbing the sights and sounds of Tokyo. Shibuya is where the young families live, it's a bustling center of youth energy, shopping, and nightlife. The streets surely showed this unique charm of the neighborhoods with it's towering buildings, but kept the simplicity of a street. 

We got to our airbnb, dropped off our luggage, and began exploring. Our host lives in a brand new town home, three stories tall, and has a rooftop patio. We sat on the rooftop patio for a bit while looking over the house manual (everything in the house in in Japanese! Thankfully, he gave us a guide on how to use the electronics). 

We walked around the neighborhood for a bit trying to decide on dinner. We settled on a ramen place where we had our first Japanese meal. Afterwards, we stopped by 7/11 on our way back to buy some beer. Our host had explained to us that he loves to drink with his guests so we got some beer to share with him. 

Rooftop Patio

Rooftop Patio

Streets of Shibuya

Streets of Shibuya

Shibuya Station, under major construction

However, as soon as we got back, we said we would take a nap to refresh from the jet lag. We fell asleep at 6:30pm. . . . only to wake back up at 6:30am. So much for that beer! 

Josh relaxing on the rooftop

We were so exhausted, but our first few hours in Tokyo had already been exciting and we were feeling how a true Japanese home felt like. Day 2 will be posted soon!