The next leg of our journey has officially begun! Sarah and I were pretty restless with excitement so waking up early on Wednesday was not much of a challenge. My dad dropped us off at the airport and, after a quick pre-departure picture, we were off on our first flight to LA.
Be back in eight months!
Had some pretty cool views of the Rockies as we flew across the country.
This first flight is not part of our Round the World Fare. If we started the global ticket in Japan it was a lot cheaper, so we figured we'd fly the cheapest way possible from NY to Tokyo, then pick up the ticket there. We found a great price on Priceline, but it meant flying two different airlines: Virgin America to LA then Singapore Airlines to Tokyo. We were a little nervous about losing our bags during the transfer, but the gate agents at LAX were able to track them for us to let us know they'd made it onto the second plane.
Speaking of the second plane, I didn't realize we'd be flying on one of Singapore's A380s - the new, double-decker plane. I'd seen these from a distance before at other airports, but never up close. It's hard to imagine how something SO BIG can fly! (Cue Sarah's eye-roll and ohmygodit'sjustaplane! commentary)
There were four jetways used to board the plane. Four!
Though no one should ever be excited about an 11+ hour flight in an economy seat, we were both a little giddy given the airline's reputation. We were not disappointed. Easily the most luxurious economy experience we've ever had. Though the legroom is still a bit cramped for me, the plane is so big I could walk around and stretch out enough to keep myself limber.
We arrived in Tokyo at 7pm local time, which is about 5am NY time. We stayed awake, for the most part, the entire time so we'd have an easier time getting to sleep when we got here. Well it worked - we were both exhausted! The bus to downtown Tokyo worked out great though and we didn't have any trouble finding the apartment we rented on AirBNB...though it is a little smaller than I was expecting!
At least it's not one of the capsule hotels!
After sleeping / lounging for as long as we could (I was proud of myself for making it until 5am!), Sarah and I spent a few hours this morning planning out the next month of the trip then got ready for a day of exploring Tokyo. Our first stop: coffee. We went to Sunday Coffee, right around the corner from our apartment, then walked up to Yoyogi Park.
We had beautiful weather today so we wanted to take advantage of it. Here's an odd shaped sundial in the park.
Perfect morning for a stroll.
After a nice walk through the fall foliage, we headed over to the Meiji Shrine which is practically connected to the park. The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji who is credited with helping start Japan's industrial revolution. The shrine itself is only one small part of the site - there are many other areas to visit nestled within a forest of tall trees.
Entrance to the Meiji Shrine.
Each year, sake brewers throughout Japan donate barrels to the Meiji Shrine. The sake itself is used in ceremonies but the barrels are bound together to commemorate the offerings.
The Meiji Shrine.
A temiuzya right outside the shrine.
We also saw a couple doing a wedding photo shoot. Not exactly the same kind of attire you'd see in NYC!
We were both getting pretty hungry at this point so we decided to walk a little further north to Shinjuku for lunch. We found this small sushi place called Numazuko and were treated to conveyer-belt-style sushi! I knew I wanted to try a place like this while we were here, but I didn't expect to get it as our first meal in Tokyo!
The chef makes plates of sushi then just puts them on the conveyer-belt for you to take. At the end of the meal, the waitress counts how many plates you had to tally up your bill. Very fun experience (and delicious sushi too)!
Full of sushi and green tea, we walked over to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to see another of Tokyo's great outdoor spaces. The grounds were meticulously maintained and the flowers were beautifully colorful - definitely worth a stop if you're ever in Tokyo.
A sculpture on an island in the middle of a koi pond.
Flowers were displayed under covers like these...
...and in the fields like these ones here.
Another of the (many) ponds.
A beautiful row of trees in another corner of the garden. How are we the only ones here??
We wanted to wrap up our sightseeing extravaganza by walking over to Tokyo Tower. We saw the tower fully illuminated as we drove into the city last night so we figured it would be worth seeing up close. Not really. There isn't much of a park to go with it (the base of the tower is basically surrounded by a parking lot) and it looks less like the Eifel Tower when you really get close. It was still nice to see more of Tokyo on our walk over there though and if we hadn't gone then Sarah would've missed out on this great photo op:
Not really sure what those things are but I have to assume they're Christmas-affiliated given the display behind them?
Tokyo Tower (with some trees blocking the parking lot!).
We concluded our whirlwind day in Japan with a trip to the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt. This is the bar made famous by Lost in Translation, though the views are enough to make this a famous spot without Bill Murray! We sipped Japanese whiskey and took in the views before heading home to bed. Overall we had a great first day in Japan!
What a view!
The full moon even came out from behind the clouds later in the evening. Definitely grab a drink here if you come to Tokyo!