Sunday, May 06, 2007

Liza and Loredana's visit to Japan - PART 1

The 11-day visit definitely flew by, as expected. Though it seemed too short, we set the schedule to be busy and filled with adventures that only Tokyo can offer. Here's a summary of our day-to-day activities.

DAY 1 - (04/20) We picked up our guests at Narita Airport at 3:30pm, and headed home for a "Supa" dinner and allowed them time to unwind from the long flight in.

DAY 2 - (04/21) We headed out early to Kamakura for the day and visited the grounds of the Daibutsu - "Great Buddha", then headed to one of our favourite Buddhist temple, Hasedera.
After Kamakura we headed back to Tokyo and visited Shibuya to see the busiest crosswalk in Japan. We emerged ourselves in with the crowds of people and roamed through the streets. Liza and Loredana were in awe of the masses of people.

DAY 3 - (04/22) Sunday is notorious for people-watching at Yoyogi Park and Harajuku, so we just had to show them what a typical Sunday is all about in the area. As we walked over the bridge outside of Harajuku Station toward Yoyogi Park, my sister and Loredana were bewildered by some of the people's wardrobes. Most outfits were indescribable...definitely a sight to see for yourself. At the park, we gathered among crowds to watch the dedicated dancing Elvis impersonators, AKA Tokyo Rockabiliy Club. This attraction is always a hit amongst our visitors. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking through Omotesando shopping district and area.

DAY 4 - (04/23) We met up with Keiko-sensei in Shinjuku and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant, a favourite of mine. Then we headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building up to the 45th Floor for a panaoramic view of Tokyo from high atop. We walked around the streets of Shinjuku and did some shopping in the underground mall of Shinjuku Station. I cooked a Japanese dinner at home.

DAY 5 - (04/24) My friend, Yuka spent the day with us. We had an early Japanese lunch at Yuka's new workplace, The Riviera - a convention hall located in Ikebukuro. Following lunch we toured Asakusa and the famous Sensoji Temple, another famous attraction. We then boarded the Sumida River boat cruise. We had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Metropolitan Plaza, Ikebukuro.

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