All Our Bags Are Packed!

                                 Japan Blog # 2 - Tokyo

When in Rome...During our travels, we try whenever possible to eat  local food. The Tokyo hotel offered a huge breakfast buffet with Western and Asian dishes. This was fish eggs over sticky rice.

     This was some sort of seed and seasoning concoction - very tasty 

                        Fresh fish in a patty-like shape

               Tokyo harbor supports a variety of cargo ships

Tokyo city has an elaborate and successful mass transit system using trains, light rail, monorail, buses and taxis. It is startling to see so many rail structures above the city roads and freeways.

                            Tokyo had a beautiful skyline.  

Architectural designs are quite interesting. Fuji building looks like it was built using an Erector set kit

                Jerry "loves" his manholes

            Night time in Tokyo provides a different perspective

Small children are always so cute when a group of them go to-and- fro with their teachers.

More women (mothers) are working necessitating the expansion of child-care programs

                    Harbor building designed to look like a boat

Much of Tokyo is built on reclaimed land. Also, canals run through the city offering another useful and fun way to travel throughout the city.

Much like Times Square (New York), there is a sense of "electricity" in Tokyo during the evening as well as daytime when people pour out of a train station and quickly walk to work or to some other destination.

Jerry's grandfather's world ca 1917-1919: Another time, still there are busy streets and many pedestrians doing the same thing as today - working, shopping, etc.

                        Lit up Tokyo tower in the background

Tokyo tower was constructed to provide better communication in the city. Communication was hampered due to all of the newly constructed high-rise buildings.

However, in contrast to the craziness of city life, there are many  places which provide a different, serene, therapeutic or spiritual experience.

    Shrines and temples are always interesting to see and experience

We're on the Viking Orion. The "god mother" of the ship is an American woman astronaut. There is somewhat of a "space theme" throughout the ship. Above one of the bars is a lit up depiction of the constellations.

FYI - Israel is on our mind. Fortunately, we have access to CNN as well as other news services. Hopefully, the situation will settle down and everyone will be able to live a "normal" life.