Tokyo, Japan

 Destination Services has been an important contribution to our journey.  They have arranged private tours for us, helped us select the right excursions, monitored our overland tours and are just a whole bunch of good people.  L-R, Luce, Faith, me, Iria, Constanza and Adrianna.  Adrianna was a dancer in the biggest Mardi Gras Parade of them all in Rio De Janeiro for fifteen years and this was her last day on board.  Our travel consultant, Richard, will appreciate they wanted their photograph taken with me wearing the ball caps I gave to them. 

Taxi ride to Tokyo began our day.  The most populated city in the world with 37 million people and no trashcans.  This city is clean, orderly, respectful and goes on forever.  The subway poisonous chemical bomb in 1995 was placed in a trashcan.  Pedestrians take their trash home with them.  This city doesn't have the architectural beauty I've written about a few other cities but it has something else I can't quite describe- a sense of safety, acceptance- a good vibe.  There are many different kinds of people and although the business people still dress in dark suits, there are also young people in co-splay and other attire for which I cannot name the genre.  At one intersection where all lights were red and the pedestrian crossing was open to all four corners, there were about a thousand people crossing at the same time with common courtesy in full display. 

This is a unique building near the cruise terminal.  We have grown weary of pre-arranged ship excursions where we have to travel with a bus load of "our closest friends" and walk in crowded groups with several shuffling behind slowing our pace.  We have, thus, begun exploring more on our own which is why we called for a taxi to take us to the department store district.  The department stores in Southeast Asia hark back to the mid 20th century in the U.S.  They are beautiful and full of shoppers.  There are no garages because the shoppers walk and take public transportation for the most part.  They also have nice restaurants and we enjoyed in season fresh Japanese salads inside Mitsukoshi Department Store.  There were friendly and helpful clerks everywhere withOUT their cell phones in their hands.  Many liked practicing their English with us.  We spent the entire day browsing, shopping and people watching.

Gyuan Ginza Restaurant where they specialize in Kobe Beef ended our day.  I drank my first Japanese wine that was not sake.  It was Merlot like and went well with the melt-in-your-mouth unique flavor of Kobe.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” 

― Marcel Proust