Sightseeing & Royal Treatment

A few notes about my day today... We visited The Diet which has nothing to do with food, but is the Japanese version of our Congress. We had a tour of the facilities and all of its magnificent architecture. From there we went to the Asakusa district for lunch and some sightseeing, and on the way saw the Imperial Palace. Although, I couldn't really get any good pictures of it. For lunch we were treated to tempura, which is simply a variety of fried foods such as vegetables and fish. (Which included the LARGEST shrimp I have ever seen!) After lunch we were free to wonder on our own a bit around the district. I visited a Shinto shrine, and took in the sights around it, including a large shopping area that seemed to be geared towards tourists like me. I didn't buy much, but I did get a wonderful shrine book that I will have to share more about in a later post. I also seemed to be quite popular with some of the locals; an older gentleman came up to me and wanted to take my picture, and a large group of young girls was very facinated with my red beard. They were very funny about it! When it was time to go back to the hotel, one of our group members did not get back to the bus on time, so we left without her! It's an example of how important being punctual is to the Japanese! (She was fine, and actually got to the hotel before we did after taking a taxi).

Now about the royal treatment... We are being put up in a five star hotel in the heart of Tokyo. All of the staff greet us as though we are kings and queens. I have never stayed in such a magnificent hotel! There are hundreds of acres of gardens on the grounds, it is actually three buildings, and has over a hundred shops and restaurants! Check out the video clip to see the view from my room! (sorry about the glare, and shakiness!) The room came with a bathrobe and slippers too!