The Arrival: Tokyo Trip Part 1

Over Matt's 96 for Veteran's Day (stands for 96 hours off, in other words a four day holiday), we traveled to Tokyo. We have traveled through the Tokyo airport previously, but this was the first time we ventured out to the city. Well, we didn't really have to walk outside. From the basement of the airport we took a high-speed train until we reached the subway line. The train and subway are connected by large, brightly lit tunnels, so we passed all of the underground shops and restaurants at the station until we reached the subway. And then we saw this...

Um... where am I?

The Tokyo subway has nine different lines, not including train and bus routes. While Matt has excellent orienteering skills, it still took some time to figure out where we were trying to go simply because it took forever to find one specific station on such a huge map! During our trip we traveled mainly on one line (the grey one), but even so while discussing our route in front of a map we had multiple occasions where kind strangers told us in English we were waiting for the wrong train or heading the wrong way. It always makes me happy when people take the time to help us, even though we are obviously lost tourists in a big city. For example, I am not sure what this subway sign is trying to tell me.

I think it says don't eat on the subway, but how can I be sure?

While Tokyo itself is very spread out, I was flabbergasted by the size of the city underground. Not only are there multiple rail lines at most stops, there are also multiple levels of upscale shops and food vendors. We did not see the sky from the time the plane touched down at the airport until we emerged from the subway only two blocks from our hotel a couple hours later. 

Speaking of our hotel, we stayed at the New Sanno which is an American military MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) facility. The room rates are based on rank and extremely reasonable (we paid less then $60/night in Tokyo!), and there is a guard outside checking military ids before you can even enter the lobby. I really enjoyed the large American-style beds and soft American-style pillows (I'm not kidding, Japanese-style means small beds and hard pillows!). The service was excellent, and they even upgraded our room from a single to a double! The only catch at the New Sanno is that they book up fast. They allow reservations up to one year in advance, and the rooms can book up that early. I made our reservations for November back in May, and even then Saturday was already full. I was happy to have such a comfortable place to stay!

We did not arrive at the hotel until after dark, but within walking distance we found a restaurant that offered us our first Tokyo quirk! The fare was Hawaiian and delicious, and dogs were welcome. There were tiny dogs in clothing everywhere! The quirk arrived when I ordered a dessert. I remembered a picture of a fruit-covered tart from the menu, so I called over the waitress and asked for a tart. She nodded and returned later asking if I needed the toilet. No, the tart, the homemade tart from the menu. We finally communicated, and she brought me something black. Unlike the fruit in the picture, today's tart was pistachio pesto flavor with a lemon sorbet. I tried it and enjoyed it, but I found it strangely savory for a dessert. This was simply the first novel, strange experience I had in Tokyo!