Trip to Japan

I am going to write about my international Trip taken after the great pandemic of 2020 to 2022 . This COVID pandemic was an absolutely new phenomenon for us . I had never seen such a deadly threat to  humanity in my seven decades  of life . 

Actually we friends were booked for our International Trip to Croatia, for August 2020 but the onset of COVID had cancelled our plans . It seemed frustrating but for all Valid reasons, traveling was prohibited & there were strict ban on tourism . 

So when the opportunity came , we went to Japan in October- November 2023 . I had been traveling since 2007 with a group of about 10-12 single women friends but lately the number of women traveling has reduced dramatically. We were 12 ppl in 2007 to Peru &  ,Ecuador . This number reduced to 11,10 ,8, 8,6 ,4, 9 , 3, & 2 to our Trips to Alaska , Africa ,Turkey , Scandinavia,Spain Portugal,South America, Panama ,Russia , Israel & Greece . OMG we used to have a lot of fun — all like minded women . We learnt so much from different parts of world . I am of the opinion that human emotions , thoughts , behavior & character are similar but the socio - Economic factors influence our lives .

So our Trip to Japan consisted of Three friends , many more were interested but due to some unavoidable issues ,could not make it . Our trip was for about 13-14 days . We took the flight from LOS ANGELES to Tokyo on 8th October 2023. We were truly very excited to visit a very beautiful , very small but very modern country . 

Tokyo is a very clean , crowded but very disciplined city . My unforgettable journey to Japan was really exciting . Our spirits were very high & we were all ready to venture out to unknown surroundings. I ,frankly did not feel the discomfort of feeing tightness of my economy class seat where I was sitting for eleven hours . Oh , poor me . 

We reached Tokyo at about 5 pm local time & our Local Guide Eric Menager Shuji met us very warmly . We were comfortably put in our Very grand Hotel —- Keio Plaza Hotel in Nishi - Shinjuku . It was a very grand & Beautiful hotel , very centrally located .I cud judge its popularity as there were lots of travel groups staying in this hotel . 

Next morning , 10 October we headed for our first Tokyo landmark & it was “ The Tokyo Tower “ . This Tower is a communication & observation Tower situated in Shiba - Koen district of Minto , Tokyo. It is a blended color of white & orange .

So our next destination was very interesting, well it was “ Art of Making Sushi “ , it is a special type of Japanese food which has become very popular all over the world 

Its base is rice, sea food ,wasabi & certain type of sea weeds .The master chef ,who taught us the art of making Sushi was an interesting & good teacher —— accompanied by his a very smart son , a kid 8 years old . Child was really very smart , knowledgeable in the art of making sushi .We all made sushi & it was part of our lunch.

We were taken to a local exciting GINZA district, known for its street food & local shopping . We did not like anything as it is full of “ Sea Food “ items . I do not eat sea food so it was not of my taste but market was over crowded & i think local people were doing lot of shopping . 

We visited Asakusa Kannon , most sacred Buddhist Temple. It was a very calm & serene place , but we could not understand the sermon given by a priest as she was speaking in Japanese witch was Greek to us .Then we visited a beautiful Japanese Meiji Shrine which is situated in thick forests . 

Let me explain the difference between “ TEMPLE “ and “ SHRINE “ . Both are the places of worship in Japan . Shinto religion uses the word “ Shrine “ . Shinto Shrine use the suffix “ Jingu “ . In the simplest terms— “Temples are Buddhist” and “Shrines are Shintos “. 

On 3 Day we went to Mt. Fuji , it is the tallest mountain in Japan . We could not go to the Fifth Station as it was engulfed in Clouds but we enjoyed the beautiful weather & splendid country side of Tokyo . Actually Mt.Fuji is a dormant volcano which erupted 300 years ago . 

Our day concluded with a scenic boat ride on the lake “ ASHI “. Later we had a góndola Ride on the “ Komagatake Ropeway . I found it scary but it was an adventure . 

Next day was a free day for us , we just went to local markets ,not taking the risk of getting lost as language was a barrier . Most people were speaking Japanese ,& we did not understand it . This put us in a really difficult situation as we nearly got lost in one of the railway stations. You know ,in Japan , Shopping malls are situated on the Railway stations . We landed in a very difficult situation on the station , we had to take Bullet Train & there was some free time so we decided to roam around the shopping mall but kept on walking the wrong side —- we tried to ask ppl about the platform for our train but nobody could converse in English. Thank God . One girl guided us in the right direction & we took our journey.

I will like to appreciate the punctuality of Japanese Railways , these are punctual up to a second . It is really a great deal .There are vending machines on the platforms we had very tasty ice creams before getting on the train . 

 So next , I will catch later , Goodbye,