My Japan Trip (May 2014): Tokyo

My husband and I went on a trip back to Japan without kids and for two weeks. We were both nervous about having them alone for that long but both are old enough and my college friend was on call :) Luckily, the house was standing and nothing was damaged! HA!

We started off with these gin & tonics before getting on that 12+ hour flight...we needed it! LOL!!!

We took the later ANA (All Nippon Air) flight into Narita Airport (landed the next day at 8:00pm) and ran to get the rental phone as the place closed down at 9:00pm. Made it! LOL!! By the time we settled in our hotel in Narita, it was around 10:30pm. So we ate a light dinner at Watami...more like appetizers. I had a seasonal drink...squeeze fresh orange juice into your drink = YUM & Refreshing :)

The next morning, we took the Narita Express and headed into Tokyo - OY! Note to self: Do not go into Tokyo Station during Rush Hour!! Get off at a less crowded (?) Shinagawa Station and cab it to my mom's! LOL!! But before we headed off, we stopped by Mr. Donuts!! Yes, folks - they are alive and well in Japan! I had a green tea donut - OMGosh! Not as sweet as it looks and oh so yummy :)

Hardly any passengers on this particular train - too early! LOL!

We arrived in Tokyo Station down in the fifth level basement (I think?) - the calm before the storm upstairs! YIKES!

Once we arrived at my mom's, we decided to explore the Azabu Juban area and grab some lunch. We had a craving for homemade buckwheat soba and ended up here at Sarashina Horii (est. 1789, closed due to World War 1 and reopened in 1984). Unlike most buckwheat soba which is gray in color, their soba is white (using the very center of the buckwheat) which they are known to be the first to use.

Did some more walking and then took a nap when we got back. Before we knew it, it was dinner time! We headed back to Azabu Juban and wandered into this funky Izakaya place called Era Kokyu...we had only a couple of appetizer to make room for...

Afuri Ramen! My first time tasting it - they really don't need the Yuzu rind IMHO but that's what they're known for - LOL! It's good without it - the pork was amazing (they grilled it = YUM!).

And that my friends, was our first day/night in Tokyo :)
Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH