On to Japan

As we packed for the last flight before heading home there was a feeling of excitement. This the last time our bag has to be at 44 #. Going home it can be 70#. Yeah. I don't understand how dirty clothes seem to weigh so much more.   Our flight gets in at midnight but we are staying at the hotel that is attached to the airport. This is a great idea but you still have to find the entrance.   For some reason this is always a challenge for us and entails lots of backtracking and a visit to the information counter. In the morning a leisurely breakfast and back to the airport to get local money and a SIM card for Dan's phone. The room is great and the bathroom is even better.  Japan places heated seats in all bathrooms including public places and hotel rooms. Seems the Japanese really like their bathrooms to be decked out. It has a bidet and spray attachment also

We take the monorail and train to transfer to our hotel in the city   No problems,  the hotel hotel our luggage and we set out on a walk. It is still drizzling but we head to the Gonzalez famous for high end stores and shopping. Good thing I am shopped out. This is the first time I am unhappy with the room I booked. It is clean, close to the train station, but the  room is so small there is no where for suitcases and no closet or drawer space to put anything away.  We will be here for 4 nights. Well I guess I need to rethink those double beds of China. We don't spend time in the room but it would have been nice to unpack. The hotel is in an office building so reception is on the 15!floor and guest rooms are below. We do have a small view of the top of the Tokyo Tower. I think I would rather have more space

We spend Saturday exploring although our day starts with another trip to the pharmacy. Dan's allergy symptoms are progressing and he developed "pink eye". It becomes a challenge to explain to the pharmacist what type of medication you want for what reason. We come out with something similar to the US medication I was looking for of course like Mexican medicine it has extra ingredients.

We visit 3 gardens. It is amazing to have thousands of people in line to buy tickets to enter the garden. The good news is we were able to find a little space among the masses. We also visited the Imperial Gardens and took a docent lead tour so we had a lot more explanation of what we were seeing.  Today I decided to follow up on my Cambodia fall by falling again. This time I landed in the mud.  I had no less than 3 "little old ladies". Rush over to help, one even gave me a small washcloth to clean off the mud.  I guess the Japanese are all prepared. I did sport some new bruises just when I seemed to get rid of the Cambodia ones

On Sunday it was raining. We took a trip south of Tokyo to a town called Hakone. This would be a great place to explore if it were sunny and warm. This is the closest to Mount Fuji. Of course in the rain and fog you see nothing. We actually went to see the Japanese woodworkers. This is the area that Japanese Magic Boxes are made and sold and the process to create them is found by talking to shopkeepers. This was a great day trip since it was impossible to see any gardens in the rain. Tomorrow we meet a private guide to see more of Tokyo