Eating my way through Tokyo

Yesterday (Sunday) I had a free day to explore Tokyo. I left the hotel pretty early since I had not slept well the night before.

I started my day by eating a bowl of udon noodles at a local restaurant. Normally, you order your food by putting money into a machine, you get a ticket with your order on it, and you hand it to the cook. Then, you stand and eat at the counter. I couldn't use the machine because it was all written in Japanese, so I just pointed at the noodles and the topping I wanted.

Afterwards, I took the subway to Ginza, which is where all the big name shops are. None of the shops were open yet, so I headed towards the Imperial Palace. They don't let you get too close to the palace because the royal family still resides in there. I wandered around the huge park near the palace and got lost for a bit in the "Royal Gardens".

Next, I took the subway to the Asakusa area where there is a famous temple. Leading up to the temple, there are tons of shops selling anything and everything you could ever want. I walked with the crowds through the shops and tried all the different foods they had. First, it was these little cakes with red-bean inside. Then fresh made rice crackers, then ice cream. Finally, I was at the temple. I spent a bit of time at the temple and then headed back to the subway.

I stopped off for a while at a shopping center and then headed back to the hotel. I was exhausted (it was only 3PM), so I took a long nap. I had wanted to go see the lights of Tokyo, but I didn't feel up to it, so I stayed in the hotel.

Today is Monday and I am headed into our J&J Japan offices today. I will try to get home Tuesday or Wednesday since I am basically finished with my work here.