Tag Archives: Shinjuku

Tokyo Trip, March 2015

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So…I didn’t visit any ancient sanctuaries, hot springs, mountains or red light districts on this trip, but did have a few great dinners with some good friends. This was a short trip to Japan with Shinjuku being my home base.

My first day out I took a special express train from the enormous Shinjuku train station to Hashimoto station where I met up with my good friends Yuichiro Kanagawa, Yasufumi Mizuguchi and Ryo Saito. I have known Yuichiro and Saito for many years and I had the pleasure to hike up Mt. Fuji with them 1 ½ years ago. We walked off to a local izakaya (Japanese tavern) and had a chance to talk about old times and chomp down on some delicious local dishes.

After a day flight to Komatsu and back for some meetings we hit another local izakaya but with different group of friends…Nishigaki, Shirakawa, Tokumaru and Watanabe in Hashimoto again. Tetsuya Tokumaru choose Hashimoto area for me because it’s a train station that is direct to Shinjuku without any train changes (easy for foreigner).

This was another lovely Japan trip with sunny days, great food and good friends.

Japan Trip, January 2013

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Sometimes a trip abroad doesn’t necessarily include sightseeing, but merely a dinner out with good friends. This was another short trip to Japan and it was actually cut short by one day because Delta cancelled my flight the day before due to winter weather at Narita airport in Japan. Because of that cancellation, I gave up great seats to the annual Sumo wrestling event in Tokyo, it would have been my third time.

By the time I landed and checked in to my hotel in the Shinjuku neighborhood it was around 8:00 p.m. I decided to check out the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku or often called Sleepless Town. This brightly lit area has many hostess clubs, love hotels, shops, restaurants and nightclubs. Walking through with blue eyes, you are quickly hounded by people in front of their establishment coercing you to come in.

If you have free time on a sunny day, I totally recommend visiting the new Sky Tree tower in Tokyo. It’s the tallest free standing tower in the world at 2,080 ft. / 634 mt.; you have 360 degree stunning views of downtown Tokyo with the beautiful Mt. Fuji in the background.

Japan Trip, July 2012

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A visit to Tokyo in July is not recommended unless you are looking for a wet drenching experience. Not only was the temperature in the high 80’s, the humidity was horrendous; my shirt would get soaked by just standing around. I was staying at Tokyo Hilton in the Shinjuku neighborhood which is part of Tokyo. Shinjuko is one of the 23 city wards of Tokyo, but the name commonly refers to just the large entertainment, business and shopping area around Shinjuku Train Station; it’s the world’s busiest railway station, handling more than two million passengers every day.

The next day I went to Sagamihara for a meeting and later I met up with Norikazu Toyama, Yasuyuki Fukuhara, Chiho Ishine and my good friend Ryo Saito for dinner. We had great food, “few” drinks and a bunch of laughs. We all made a pack to climb Mt. Fuji next year; we will see if it really happens. By the time I got on the train at 11:00 p.m. I was spent; it was a combination of jet-lag, staying out to late the night before and the extreme heat. I was snoozing on the train ride back, napping on the train is typical and I was fitting right in!

My last full day I was off to Nagano by express train for another meeting. I have never been so far northwest of Tokyo before. The landscape was beautiful with numerous mountains and thick forestation.

Japan Trip, June 2011

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I usually make a trip to Japan once a year and the last time I was there was January, 2010 with my wife Linna….so I was overdue. You never know when you are missed until you see your buddies again. It was great to see old acquaintances and meet new ones. This was a short trip, but….still fun as always.

There wasn’t much site seeing on this trip, but dinner out with good friends. The last three or so trips I have been staying at the Hilton in the Shinjuku area, it’s a perfect spot to be; close to Tokyo, shopping and nightlife. The mid-seventies weather was perfect for me; could have been less clouds and more sun though. I am planning to come back in the fall to do some hiking with a few friends.