A last meal Japanese-style.
We got up early the next day to catch the Shinkansen, or bullet train, to Tōkyō. Grabbing “breakfast” from a kiosk in the station, we ate on the platform while watching two other Shinkansen stop, take on passengers, and depart. Our train was a bit of a “local” as it made six stops compared to the three the previous two trains were making between Kyōto and Tōkyō. The train ride was uneventful as the car we were in filled up with passengers.
We got off the train shy of the main Tōkyō station at Shinagawa station, stuffed our bags in a locker prior to seeking the subway to Ueno Park. We found a rather elegant restaurant to have lunch prior to our Context Tour of the Tōkyō National Museum, also in the park. Lunch was served Japanese style sitting on the floor on tatami mats, although I did request a western style chair to spare my leg joints.
After lunch, we still had some time to sit and have coffee at the Starbucks (yes, in the park) and admire the bonsai azaleas on display in the park. It was warm and borderline muggy, so we adjourned a bit early to the museum gift shop where we were to meet our docent.
John Tran was our docent again, and he was accompanied by a Japanese lady who was the official representative. The museum had a progression of displays discussing the evolution of Japanese art form from the Stone Age through the Edo period and Meiji Restoration (~1870s). As usual, after the first hour, I reached sensory overload and my eyes glazed over. However, Mason and the rest of the party were engaged, and despite an offer to shorten the visit in the museum and seek out a second, we left the museum at the appointed time of 1700.
After bidding our official Japanese docent goodbye, we (including John) found beer and snacks at an Italian restaurant below the station and had a good time with John in a wider ranging conversation.
We returned to Shinagawa station to retrieve our bags and took taxis to the hotel. After the big lunch, and snacks (+beer) at the station, Jonathan and I felt no need for more food, so we settled in for the night.
A last meal Japanese-style.
One of several line-ups of bonsai azaleas.
I think they must have grafted multiple colors onto a single plant to get this effect.
How they got this effect - no idea.
The shape and color of this one appealed to me.
This one is ancient - look at the thickness of the trunk.
The star-like flowers appeal to me.
This one has some nice style to it.
Another one I liked.
The mix of petal shapes on this one makes it interesting.
A venerable award winner - a gold plaque.
The grand champion with the gold background. It's also ancient judging by the thickness of the trunk.
My journal ends with the previous entry. I’m trying to remember if we did anything the morning of June 1st, since we had to catch the airport express from the rail station to Narita. I don’t have any photos to suggest we did anything other that eat lunch at the train station, then board the train to the airport.
I didn’t take a lot of photos the day before because most to the time was spent in the museum, and other than the bonsai azaleas, the park wasn’t that unusual. It might’ve been that I was a bit tired and ready to go home too.
The monitor on the train showing our location on the way to the airport.
Flying by the rice paddies.
The Narita to LAX flight was uneventful – I tried to sleep to no avail. Landing at LAX at 1130 (six hours before we left Narita – international date line), we went through customs and immigration, where we separated from Cindy, Mike, and Mason who were making a close connection to DC. Our flight to MSP was three or four hours later, so we used a couple of passes to the United lounge to park and doze while using the WiFi.
The LAX-MSP flight was also uneventful, and I did manage to doze a bit, and arrived about a half hour early. So we got home about 2330 on June 1st, which turned out to be a 40 hour day. Jet lag didn’t wear off for about 5 days.
Next trip? Not sure. I wanted to do a boat cruise on the Upper Amazon in Peru with Country Walkers, but it’s no longer in their catalog. So we’ll have to see what strikes our fancy in December when I usually make these plans, and see if Cindy and Mike want to go with us.