Day 1 – June 4 – ATL -> Tokyo

The next King adventure has begun. We’ll be touring and visiting family in Vietnam for the next 3 weeks. It actually started yesterday with a Gold Coach Limo ride from the house to Hartsfield. We arrived and checked luggage through to Hanoi without issue, though it was after boarding had started when we finally received our seat assignments. The flight was 14 hours, but was not too bad due to some chemically induced sleep, 3 meals, and 3 movies: Green Hornet, Hangover, and Toy Story 3.

We landed in Tokyo around 4:30pm on the next day (Saturday). Made it through customs and immigration, and took the Kaisai Skyliner from Narita airport to Ueno station in downtown Tokyo. After that 40 minutes, it was another hour of subway jockeying to get to the ANA Intercontinental Hotel, where Thieu had hooked us up with a free room which was very nice.

We freshened up and decided on some dinner. Our concierge recommended an upscale restaurant where the fresh ingredients are laid out before you and you tell them what to cook. We had sashimi (eel, tuna, salmon, shrimp), beef, chicken, and a full fish cooked to order along with eggplant, shitake mushrooms, and asparagus. Delicious and an experience unlike any other with the waiter and cooks chanting at each other. It carried a pricey tag as 32,000 yen, but was worth it for a once in a lifetime experience.

After dinner, Daddy went to bed, but the rest of us went to Shibuya Sqaure. A busy mass of teenagers and 20 somethings that makes Time Square look like Lawrenceville Square. Throngs of masses everywhere. Tons of restaurants, cafes, bars, and karaoke spots. I was hoping to get in with a group of Japanese college kids on some karaoke, but the opportunity did not come up so I just tried some various snacks, but could not find fried octopus balls like I was looking for.

We took a cab back from the Square to the hotel and dropped off Mommy and Thieu. Theresa and I went for a walk near the hotel to the Forbidden Palace. It turns out that we were forbidden from seeing it up close at 1AM in the morning. We made the trek back through the cool Tokyo night and got to bed around 3:00AM for a quick nap.

Tokyo seems like a really cool city; one where you can find almost anything in the world you desire. People are generally friendly and there is virtually no violent crime. It is also an expensive city, with hotel, dinner, and cab rides all going over budget.

Theresa – I think this is our first trip that we actually purposely checked in luggage. On advice from past Vietnam travelers, I packed a ton of sunscreen, mosquito repellant, hand sanitizers, and wet wipes! I hope on the return trip I am replacing all these items with lots of souvenirs!

As Clint stated, the flight to Tokyo was long, but we were well fed and entertained! Tokyo reminds me very much of New York City, except we were surrounded by Asians who I couldn’t understand! I was quite amused by the intricate toilet system in all the bathrooms! Each toilet was electronically equipped with buttons to pick your “cleansing” option. Even though I couldn’t read the directions on the stalls, the pictures did well to demonstrate the purpose of each button!
The Forbidden Palace reminded me of Buckingham Palace but instead of carrying a huge gun, the guards carried a big stick!