Back in April of 2020, Ray and Traci had a trip booked to visit some of Asia’s most popular ports aboard a Princess Cruise ship. Unfortunately, the world came to an abrupt halt due to the covid pandemic and cruise lines were forced to cancel all voyages. Five years later, Ray and Traci decided to book a similar journey, this time on the Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas ship which embarked in Singapore and stopped in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea before ending in Yokohama, Japan.
Their journey started with a 16 hour flight from Seattle to Singapore aboard a Singapore Air A350. The long flight was uneventful with Ray binge watching the Amazon series Bosch: Legacy, and also viewing some interesting documentaries in the airline’s library. Of note, Ray found the movie “Cirque du Solei – Without a Net” (also available on Amazon Prime) especially intriguing. It covered the effect of the pandemic on the production “O” in Las Vegas. Ray and Traci started their flight at 9:50 am in Seattle on Thursday and landed 5:10 pm in Singapore on Friday thanks to the time change. Singapore uses the app called “Grab” for transportation and it works as efficiently as Uber, but at considerably lower pricing, at least when compared to Seattle prices. Their Grab driver brought the couple to their hotel, the Conrad Centennial Singapore – recently renamed the Conrad Singapore Marina Bay. Ray and Traci stayed at this hotel back in 2022 and found its location to be terrific – right at the huge Suntec Shopping Mall and the Promenade MRT station and close to the famous Merlion statue and other attractions at Singapore’s Marina Bay. Jet lagged from their long flight, a quick dinner was found at the mall – Ray ended up eating fried chicken from Jollibee (he never ate at this Filipino chain before which has many locations in the US). Ray and Traci then returned to their hotel and quickly fell asleep.
The tourists made their first visit to Singapore in December of 2022 – they were very impressed by this spectacular city. A great thing about Singapore is the small area of this island city-city state (it actually is the smallest country by area in southeast Asia) so visitors can see most of its popular attractions in just a few days. Because of this, Ray and Traci planned only one full day for exploration during this trip. Given the weather (midday temps into the 90s, humidity 88%, and heat indexes well into the 100s), Ray and Traci decided to start Saturday with a walk thru Singapore’s “Southern Ridges.” This 2002 project built a greenway connecting several of the city’s parks including picturesque spots like Mount Faber affording great territorial views. The variety of birds and foliage attracts nature lovers and photographers. Wild monkeys inhabit the parks as well but Ray and Traci didn’t encounter any. Along the 6 mile walk park goers encounter well maintained restrooms and vending machines/snack shops for refreshments. Most of the trails had good tree cover affording shade from the warm sun. Before their adventure, they started the morning with a very early buffet breakfast at Oscar’s Restaurant in the Conrad – a very tasty mix of both western and Asian breakfast food. The tourists used the Grab app to call for a taxi ride to the Marang Trail which starts the pathway and walked up Mount Faber and ended up at Labrador Park positioned on Singapore’s waterfront. Exhausted by the walk in hot weather, Ray and Traci called another Grab taxi and returned to the Conrad hotel for refreshments and air conditioning. They decided to have dinner at the Maxwell Hawker station – Singapore’s popular food court serving fast and inexpensive eats. Ray and Traci walked to the nearby Promenade MRT station and took the subway to the Maxwell stop. One great feature of the Singapore MRT is the ability to use most any chip enabled credit card (like VISA) when entering the subway gate and another tap when exiting to pay the fare – even credit cards stored in an Apple wallet on an iphone can be used without registering for an account or buying advance credits. At Maxwell station, Traci had the famous Tian Tian chicken rice while Ray enjoyed a fried chicken dish.
Their next stop was Clarke Quay, where they purchased Singapore River Cruise tickets and waited in line for their turn to board the boats. By riding a night cruise, they were able to enjoy the lights of the city and see parts of the laser/music show Spectra. The 40 minute narrated cruise gave a nice perspective on the beautiful Singapore skyline.
Ray and Traci took the MRT back to the Conrad and before turning in for the night had some frozen custard treats at the Suntec Mall Shake Shack.
Ray started Sunday morning by walking around the Marina Bay – he encountered dozens of unhoused individuals who seemed to gather along the glass walls of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The Sands hotel/casino is a beautiful three tower structure connected at the bottom by a shopping mall and on top by a “surfboard” boasting a giant infinity pool. Even a nation as wealthy as Singapore has significant unmet social needs. Ray and Traci had a final breakfast at Oscars and then packed up for their move to the Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas ship.
After an initial sea day spent eating and dealing with the tech people to get internet service working in their room, the Anthem docked the next morning at Phu My – a large and active port about 50 miles away from Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City). Ray and Traci booked a private tour with the company “Tour with Xuan” joined by 5 others on the ship. The seven person group was fortunate to have a great guide Thao as well as an experienced driver navigating the chaotic traffic of Vietnam. Thao had excellent command of the English language despite never living abroad. In short, the tour was one of the best Ray and Traci have ever taken anywhere in the world. From Phu My, their van took about 90 minutes to reach downtown Ho Chi Minh City and stopped at the Buddhist Thien Hau temple where as usual, Ray made an offering to the local deity to help the fortunes of Seattle’s baseball team. At this temple, believers write their wish on a tag affixed to a coil of incense which takes days to burn from the bottom to the top until finally burning the tag resulting in the wish being granted from the higher power.
The Temple was decorated in typical Buddhist fashion and was busy with a stream of followers as well as tourists. Outside the temple, guide Thao arranged for 7 rickshaws to give the tour group a ride around the bustling city. Ray was initially wary about the experience – first it was 91 degrees (heat index 101) and second, the chaotic traffic along the roads with motorbikes and cars seemed quite hazardous.
Fortunately the ride was quite enjoyable with the driver showing the wide variety of products from motorcycle parts to exotic live animals. Retail appears to be king in Vietnam and most first floors of buildings boast storefronts. Getting to travel in the rickshaws actually gave a pretty unique perspective especially about the roads. Vietnam is the 15th most populous country in the world with 101 million people, 10 million live in the Ho Chi Minh area and its seems all of them have motorbikes or scooters. Orderly chaos allows the roads to flow but being a pedestrian is frightening as one is at the mercy of the driving skills of the scooter riders. After surviving the rickshaw adventure, Thao led the tour group around many of the market stalls and picked out a selection of fruits – dragon fruit, mango, and apple. Live animals such as chickens and ducks were found at many stalls, and isolated roosters for cock fighting were also on display. Certainly, the lack of refrigeration and storage space for many inhabitants makes acquiring food at these markets a daily need. Another observation about Vietnam is the extreme concentration of wealth in a “communist” country. A short drive from Chinatown brought the group to an unbelievable sights of huge skyscrapers boasting million dollar condos adjacent to dilapidated stilt houses – little more than a shed on a platform over the water. These stilt houses often flood when the water rises with the tides, and have no plumbing so sewage is just released into the water.
While driving into Ho Chi Minh City, Thao showed many areas of ghost housing – modern constructed housing built on speculation and now standing empty. It is pretty unbelievable that whole neighborhood of houses stand empty and yet people live on flooding platforms in sewage water (or some are unhoused and live on the streets) in a country aiming to follow communist ideals. A lunch break followed - the group ate at a restaurant called Pho 2000 – this represents another paradox. In 2000, President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam and enjoyed Pho at this same restaurant. One would think the leader of the enemy country in a war that resulted in 3 million casualties would not be embraced as an endorser for this Pho restaurant – but his visit is prominently displayed on the front like a seal of approval. The eatery was very clean, well air conditioned and had excellent fast service – Ray and Traci both enjoyed chicken noodle pho and some spring rolls. Thao also cut up the previously purchased fruit so the group could sample it. Ray and Traci found the fruit kind of bland, especially the apples when compared to Washington state apples. American visitors to Vietnam are shocked at the price of goods and services – at the time of this writing 100,000 Vietnam Dong = about $4 US. Ray and Traci’s meals with 2 cans of coca cola combined came to US $15. After lunch, the tour group headed to the Ben Thanh market for some shopping. Everyone was advised to bargain for prices 20-60% below the first offer. All of the merchants spoke some English and readily took US currency. In fact, Ray never exchanged for any Vietnamese Dong – just paid US dollars all day. Ray and Traci purchased a pack of 3 colorful travel magnets for $5, certainly a good Seattle price but probably expensive for this market. Having 40 minutes to walk around, Ray also noticed a Shohei Ohtani LA Dodger Jersey by Nike with official tags and patches…he thought he drove a hard bargain and got the “official MLB” jersey for $25 but Traci thought he could have done better. The group assembled after their shopping and went to a very interesting place – the War Remnants Museum. Of course, the Vietnam war represented a dark era in American history. The couple’s visit just happened to occur two weeks before the 50th anniversary of the war’s conclusion. The conflict which has been estimated to cause as many as 3 million total deaths (military + civilians) and 58,220 US deaths, was devastating to all involved. The War Remnants Museum is a large open air building with several air conditioned rooms devoted to different topics of the war. 
Munitions of war from rifles to American fighter jets sprinkle the rooms and grounds but the primary focus is on photos and historical notes with special attention to the role of the press in covering the war. Some feel the museum presents only one side, which is usually the case in national museums. Ray thought the exhibits while bleak and shocking at times were mostly factual. The agent orange photos were especially powerful – while defoliating areas using a chemical made with one of mankind’s most deadly toxins (dioxin) was terrible, it is hard to believe American military officers would knowingly use something that was so harmful especially when it harmed their own American troops. After the war museum, the tour travelled to Ho Chi Minh’s famed Post Office. This very popular iconic attraction, is well, a post office where one can send a letter home. Of larger note, the neo-classical European architecture with some Asian decoration resulted in a beautiful building that attracts many visitors. Across the street from the post office is the Notre Dame Cathedral – built by French colonists with construction starting in 1863, they imported all of the original construction materials from France. Unfortunately the picturesque building with beautiful stained glass was hidden by scaffolding for a refurbishment project expected to last until 2027. Before leaving, the group went to a nearby Highlands coffee shop for refreshments. Coffee is a very important to Vietnam – they are one of the world’s biggest exporters, and locals love strong drip coffee combined with sweetened condensed milk. With constant hot weather, serving an iced milk coffee is very popular. The tour’s final stop was at the former headquarters of the American CIA – one of the most recognized photo of the war was the final helicopter leaving Saigon surrounded by desperate people trying to board it.
This evacuation represented final defeat to many, although looking at the structure which is now a government building surrounded by a high end shopping mall anchored by an H&M and across the street from Tiffany’s (yes, the famous American jewelry chain) one has to wonder did communism win? Due to heavy traffic, the drive back from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu My and the Anthem of the Seas Cruise Ship took 2 hours leaving the group much time to contemplate all they have seen especially the dark and disturbing images from the war museum. Ray thought Saigon was the both the most intriguing and infurating place he has ever visited.
During Thursday’s sea day, the Anthem of the Seas traversed the South China Sea and docked Friday morning in Hong Kong. The passengers visited Hong Kong on Good Friday so crowds and traffic were less congested. Ray and Traci took a tour of Hong Kong organized by Royal Caribbean. 7.5 million people inhabit the small area that is Hong Kong – in fact the land area of Hong Kong is smaller that that of New York City. It however hosts over 500 skyscrapers (taller than 150meters), the most by far of any city in the world. Still a world financial center, Hong Kong was turned over to China in 1997 and now operates as a special administrative region (SAR) – China controls defense and foreign affairs while Hong Kong continues its business as usual. Ray and Traci left the Anthem of the Seas and joined the bus containing 31 cruisers and their guide Wing. Wing was an excellent guide providing a fountain of information about Hong Kong and entertaining the group. She was very funny and had the whole bus laughing at her humor and jokes. The excursion’s first stop was at a Buddhist Temple Man Mo where many visitors were seeking spiritual assistance. The next stop was Victoria Peak – long considered a tourist mecca in Hong Kong, dense fog and drizzly weather unfortunately severely hampered views of the city this day. Wing led her group to the funicular which is basically a train that ascends steep hills. At the 1800 foot summit visitors were disappointed by the lack of any visibility and wandered around the shopping mall at the top.
Munitions of war from rifles to American fighter jets sprinkle the rooms and grounds but the primary focus is on photos and historical notes with special attention to the role of the press in covering the war. Some feel the museum presents only one side, which is usually the case in national museums. Ray thought the exhibits while bleak and shocking at times were mostly factual. The agent orange photos were especially powerful – while defoliating areas using a chemical made with one of mankind’s most deadly toxins (dioxin) was terrible, it is hard to believe American military officers would knowingly use something that was so harmful especially when it harmed their own American troops. After the war museum, the tour travelled to Ho Chi Minh’s famed Post Office. This very popular iconic attraction, is well, a post office where one can send a letter home. Of larger note, the neo-classical European architecture with some Asian decoration resulted in a beautiful building that attracts many visitors. Across the street from the post office is the Notre Dame Cathedral – built by French colonists with construction starting in 1863, they imported all of the original construction materials from France. Unfortunately the picturesque building with beautiful stained glass was hidden by scaffolding for a refurbishment project expected to last until 2027. Before leaving, the group went to a nearby Highlands coffee shop for refreshments. Coffee is a very important to Vietnam – they are one of the world’s biggest exporters, and locals love strong drip coffee combined with sweetened condensed milk. With constant hot weather, serving an iced milk coffee is very popular. The tour’s final stop was at the former headquarters of the American CIA – one of the most recognized photo of the war was the final helicopter leaving Saigon surrounded by desperate people trying to board it.
During Thursday’s sea day, the Anthem of the Seas traversed the South China Sea and docked Friday morning in Hong Kong. The passengers visited Hong Kong on Good Friday so crowds and traffic were less congested. Ray and Traci took a tour of Hong Kong organized by Royal Caribbean. 7.5 million people inhabit the small area that is Hong Kong – in fact the land area of Hong Kong is smaller that that of New York City. It however hosts over 500 skyscrapers (taller than 150meters), the most by far of any city in the world. Still a world financial center, Hong Kong was turned over to China in 1997 and now operates as a special administrative region (SAR) – China controls defense and foreign affairs while Hong Kong continues its business as usual. Ray and Traci left the Anthem of the Seas and joined the bus containing 31 cruisers and their guide Wing. Wing was an excellent guide providing a fountain of information about Hong Kong and entertaining the group. She was very funny and had the whole bus laughing at her humor and jokes. The excursion’s first stop was at a Buddhist Temple Man Mo where many visitors were seeking spiritual assistance. The next stop was Victoria Peak – long considered a tourist mecca in Hong Kong, dense fog and drizzly weather unfortunately severely hampered views of the city this day. Wing led her group to the funicular which is basically a train that ascends steep hills. At the 1800 foot summit visitors were disappointed by the lack of any visibility and wandered around the shopping mall at the top.
From Victoria Peak, the tour group headed to a huge downtown restaurant for Cantonese Dim Sum. Wing commented on how this particular restaurant was usually too booked for the tour groups but because it was Good Friday, the 5 buses of Royal Caribbean cruisers lucked out. Staff served dish after dish of amazing chicken, beef, pork, shrimp dumplings, noodles – suffice to say it was the best meal of the whole cruise. Stomachs full, the next stop on the tour was at Aberdeen Sampans (Boat Ride) along the waterfront. Similar to the Ho Chi Minh Rickshaws, a ride on the water in a Sampan gave tourists a glimpse of life in Hong Kong. Many people live on houseboats, from some very modest dwellings to large floating houseboats that seemed quite luxurious. Fishing boats were seen side by side with huge yachts of the very rich. The spot where the Jumbo floating restaurant was now vacant after it was closed during Covid-19 and later sunk during relocation. A much smaller floating restaurant Tai Pak inhabits the next door location but still hasn’t reopened since Covid.
After the Sampan ride, the group headed to Resolve Bay which is one of Hong Kong’s few beaches and is surrounded by huge condo towers many units costing 8 figures for relatively modest homes. The final stop on the tour was Stanley Market – a large collection of individual shops offering good deals on various knick-knacks and a next door shopping mall with 5 stories of shops and restaurants. Given the high price to operate in Hong Kong many of the apparel companies have relocated from Hong Kong so the exceptional deals of the past seem to have disappeared. On the way back to the ship, Wing gave some very sobering perspectives on the difficulties of life in Hong Kong especially for the youth due to the extremely high cost of living. The limited options in Hong Kong probably promote the acceptance of integration with mainland China by the next generation. Before leaving, the tourists were treated to the nightly light show created by coordinated illumination of many of Hong Kong's skyscrapers.
After a day to traverse the East China Sea, the Anthem of the Seas arrived in Keelung, a port 30 minutes away from Taipei, Taiwan. Ray and Traci booked a private tour with Justaiwantour thru Trip advisor. Their guide Sung-Ping had 20 years of experience with tourists but unfortunately his English communication was a bit of a challenge. He met Ray and Traci in the arrival hall and drove them into Taipei, about 30 minutes from the port. Fortunately the weather was quite favorable for their tour – overcast with a mild breeze kept the very humid warm weather tolerable. The first stop was at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial hall, the large complex containing a large concert hall, theater, and a monument to the leader of South Korea from 1928 until his death in 1975.
The architecture of the memorial is similar to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Hourly, a changing of the guard ceremony by the honor guard of the South Korean Air Force captivates the visitors.
Underneath is a museum highlighting events of Chiang Kai Shek’s rule. Next, Ray and and Traci traveled to Taipei’s famed Taipei 101 skyscraper – for 5 years the tallest building in the world, and currently the 11th.
Still boasting the 2nd fastest elevator in the world reaching over 1000 meters per minute during Ray and Traci’s ascent, the view from the top observatory towers over the bustling city. The bottom floors host a shopping mall while the bulk of the higher floors are office space. A lunch stop at Liang Xi Hao, a restaurant in operation for over 100 years, followed. Before arriving in Taiwan, a cruise ship lecturer recommended visitors try the braised pork over rice, a very popular food in Taiwan. Ray and Traci ordered it and were extremely impressed. The pork belly and rice combination was absolutely delicious, and the couple could not believe the price of 40 Taiwan dollars which is equivalent to US $1.21. Without question, the lunch was the best value Ray and Traci have enjoyed anywhere in the world. Close by, the Longshan Temple was the next stop on the tour.
A celebrated temple originally built in 1738, the current buildings were reconstructed in 1919 and remains a busy Buddhist house of worship. Crowds of tourists mixed with worshippers seeking spiritual guidance and blessings. Traci decided to partake in the complicated rituals and was rewarded with a very positive fortune. Maybe we will be watching a World Series in Seattle this October! From the temple, Sung Ping led Ray and Traci around Dihua Street, full of street markets selling all sorts of products – from traditional Chinese medicines to snacks to apparel. A short walk from the market lies the Tamsui River and a park containing a variety of food trucks feeding the many park goers on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. After the drive back to the ship, rain began to fall and Ray and Traci felt quite fortunate that mother nature again treated them very well during their adventures in Asia.
The Anthem of the Seas reached Jeju Island in South Korea to find rainy cool weather. Ray and Traci were following the weather forecasts and expected to have significant precipitation. They original booked a tour which included a hike to “Sunrise Peak” and decided at the very last minute to cancel. This turned out to be an excellent decision, not only due to the heavy rain during the ship’s arrival but the foggy conditions which made visibility very poor. Jeju island boasts many beautiful natural sites but instead of touring them Ray and Traci joined most of their fellow passengers who took shuttle bus rides to the Maeil Olle Market in downtown Jeju. 
The island is considered the “Hawaii of South Korea” and is known for its sandy beaches, unique oranges, Jeju black pork, and a variety of seafood. While touring the market Ray enjoyed tasty samples of oranges before buying one. They were sweet but not excessively so and had a unique taste that is hard to describe. The couple also bought a bowl of pork meat balls which were very good. The market is very similar to Seattle’s Pike Place Market with a variety of farm and freshly caught foods, many food stalls selling prepared foods and many other businesses selling souvenirs, apparel, cosmetics, among other things. While the market was full of ship passengers on this morning, the lack of English speaking merchants makes one think it must primarily cater to the native community, not tourists. The ship’s stay at Jeju was unfortunately short and the rainy weather further limited the activities but Ray and Traci enjoyed their brief visit and hope to return some day for a longer Jeju visit on a sunny day.
After their final sea day, the Anthem of the Seas arrived in Yokohama, Japan. Unfortunately, due to an afternoon arrival and a long immigration process, cruisers did not have many hours to visit Yokohama. Ray and Traci left the ship via taxi and arrived at the Red Brick Warehouse – a two building entertainment/restaurant/shopping complex in downtown Yokohama. This was Ray and Traci’s 5th visit to Japan one of their favorite foreign destinations. At the Red Brick Warehouse Traci bought a treat from Granny’s Apple Pies. She enjoyed her Dutch Crumble apple pie, Ray, however who is not a connoisseur of fine apple pies was less impressed. From the Red Brick Warehouse, they walked along the waterfront and came across the North Korean Spy Ship Museum. With a name like that, Ray and Traci had to duck into this free Coast Guard exhibition – in 2001 the Japanese chased and got into a gunfight eventually sinking an intruding ship – when it was raised, they concluded it was a North Korean spy ship. The actual ship is located in the museum complete with bullet holes and crew lapel pins of Kim II-sung, the long time leader of the rogue nation. An exhibit calling attention to the suspected and even admitted kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea was also interesting.
From the Museum, the travelers went to a nearby shopping mall – Yokohama World Porters. 150 stores and restaurants are found inside, and a whole wing on the first floor houses several Hawaiian themed shops and eateries. Ray and Traci’s final Yokohama stop was a baseball game between the Yokohama DeNA Baystars and the Hanshin Tigers. The fans previously saw a game with the Hanshin Tigers in the Tokyo dome playing an exhibition against the American MLB team Tampa Bay Rays but this was their first outdoor regular season game. Ray previously purchased the tickets on stubhub.com. Yokohama’s baseball stadium is located downtown and holds about 34,000 fans. The game celebrated “Yokohama Girls Festival” – the first observation Ray noted was the majority of fans at the game were female. Many Hanshin Tigers fans attended the game, most of left field appeared to be a visitors section complete with a cheering squad. Instead of walk up music, each batter from both teams received a different chant by their faithful fans including a drum major and horn player which gave Ray a headache after a few innings. The Baystars gave away promotional jerseys which was a nice souvenir for Ray and Traci. Japanese baseball is now a throwback to how American baseball used to be – there is no pitch clock, pitchers bat in the lineup, and pitchers can prevent runners from stealing with unlimited throws to keep them close. Indeed, the Baystars game was only in the 6th inning when Ray and Traci needed to leave over 2 ½ hours into the game to return to the ship.
Friday was debarkation day for Ray and Traci. They had trouble connecting with their driver who went to the wrong cruise port – Yokohama has 2 different ports, one is downtown near the baseball stadium, the other is across the harbor at Daikoku, a twenty minute drive away. Make sure to clarify which port if traveling on a ship. Ray and Traci finally arrived at their new home for an extended Tokyo visit – the Tokyo Station Hotel. Built in 1915, the historic hotel located inside the Tokyo subway station was bombed in 1945 and then rebuilt with the latest renovation occurring in 2012. It is a very elegant hotel with a large art collection. Ray chose the hotel primarily due to its location two blocks from the Imperial Palace. Upon arriving the staff, many dressed in throwback uniforms in a long past era, was exceptionally formal and polite. Having arrived at 11 am, Ray and Traci checked in their luggage and left from Tokyo Station to Shinjuku to visit the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. One big improvement from their last visit to Japan was the use of phones to store “Suica” transit card information – now entering subways is just waving your phone over a sensor. Ray and Traci boarded a train, the JR Chuo line, the only one that crosses the big circle of the JR Yamanote line, that dropped them off 15 minutes later at the Shinjuku station. Before entering the park, they stopped at Isetan Shinjuku – one of Tokyo’s famed department stores. Passing up Jimmy Choo shoes and Chanel Bags, they headed to the basement with its huge food court. Traci picked out a pork and rice dish while Ray purchased a chicken karaage with rice – both for about US $7 each and they headed to the National Garden. Many of the parks require an entrance fee – Ray and Traci had to pay 500 yen (US $3.50) each. The park is huge, 144 acres – much smaller than New York’s central park, but still impressive in this very urban city. Ray and Traci enjoyed their lunch on a bench and then wandered thru several of the gardens that inhabit the park. Large grassy fields and paved walkways separate the gardens. One area has very traditional Japanese décor around a network of ponds. A different garden has bushes that look like muffin tops. A large rectangular area is lined with different and labeled rose bushes but few were in bloom during this April visit.
Unfortunately, Ray and Traci missed the ultra short sakara (cherry blossom) season with their late April visit. The travelers left the park and took the subway back to Tokyo Station and retired for the evening.
On Saturday morning, Ray and Traci started their day with a run around the Imperial Palace – one of the most iconic running sites anywhere in the world. Located two blocks from the Tokyo Station, runners circle just outside the moats and gates of the palace in a counter clockwise direction (6pm being the gate closest to the Tokyo Station). A lap is 3 miles. Ray actually had been nursing various running injuries since Thanksgiving and restricted running only to running tracks but he thoroughly enjoyed running on pavement for the first time in months. The weather was perfect for running with overcast skies and a mild chill in the air.
After the run, Ray and Traci enjoyed brunch at the Tokyo Station Hotel’s buffet. Like the hotel, the buffet was very elegant with American and Japanese favorites. Ray thought the tiny portion sizes were pretty funny – minimalist – but of course, you can have as many as you like. The Belgian waffles were thin and small, selections of fish and meats were practically bite sized. Appetites satiated, Ray and Traci rode a subway to Ueno station which is home to many of Tokyo’s museums and the zoo. They decided to visit the Tokyo National Museum which occupies a huge plot of land and consists of half a dozen or so buildings. Both Japanese history as well as other ancient cultures – Chinese, Egyptian – were well represented in the various exhibits. From a mummy to Samurai armor, visitors have a wide range of artifacts to study. Ray and Traci returned to the hotel after picking up some snacks at a “konbini” store. Convenience stores like 7-11, Family Mart, and Lawson are a way of life for the Japanese urban dwellers. The wide variety of available foods, microwaves, and ubiquitous locations make it very easy to quench one’s thirst or appetite. Retail, in general, seems so dead in America with numerous vacant storefronts in marquee locations like New York’s midtown or Seattle’s downtown core, but in Japan it is alive and well. It is hard to fathom how some of these small Japanese stores selling one type of knick knack or another manages to stay in business. 27 million people make the Tokyo area home, so there certainly is no shortage of consumers. Ray and Traci planned to take a boat ride along the Sumida River which flows thru central Tokyo but the weather turned rainy and instead they took a subway ride to Ginza to visit the Art Aquarium Museum. The Ginza neighborhood is the high end shopping mecca for Japanese with numerous designer boutiques and high rise department stores satisfying consumer needs for the latest fashion. The Art Aquarium Museum occupies the 8th floor (ticket office is on the 9th floor) of a complex that includes the giant Mitsukoshi Ginza store. The museum is a fun place to visit for all ages – 70 species of goldfish are presented in various aquariums in artful and creative displays. At current exchange rates $18 per person to spend a half an hour looking at goldfish may seem steep but you won’t likely see anything like it anywhere else.
To end the day, Traci picked up a chicken bento box at a train station food establishment while Ray went the more authentic route and purchased a US $4.30 10 piece chicken nuggets and large fries at the traditional Japanese restaurant McDonalds (ha ha!)
Ray and Traci awoke to brilliant sunshine on Sunday. They started the day by walking around the Imperial Palace. Home to Japan’s Emperor, the palace is surrounded by deep moats. On a Sunday morning, hundreds of runners, walkers, and running clubs circled the palace. Afterwards, the hotel buffet was more appealing to Ray today with sausage links as well as beef sukiyaki on the menu. The travelers then went back to the room and watched part of the Mariners game streamed over the internet – 6:40 pm games in Seattle are 10:40 am in Tokyo. The Mariners swung the lumber quite well and won 14-0. Ray and Traci next traveled to the uber popular Shibuya Sky – an observation platform 229 meters above the famous Shibuya scramble – an incredibly busy pedestrian intersection. Photos benefited from the sunny weather and all tickets for the attraction were sold out for the day. Fortunately, Traci made reservations in advance to get weekend tickets.
Next stop on the agenda was a futuristic art show called teamlabs Planets – Incredibly popular, Traci got lucky and found tickets for Sunday evening. There are two different teamlab exhibitions in two different locations – teamlabs Planets and teamlabs Borderless. Ray and Traci couldn’t get Borderless tickets so they settled for Planets. From the Tokyo station they had to ride 3 different subway lines each for one or two stops to arrive at the exhibition. Even on a Sunday night, the place was packed and the majority of people were tourists. After entering the building, guests enter a locker room to store their shoes and socks and any valuables. Then they walk up a “sanitizing” water ramp like walking upstream in a shallow river. Inside the water exhibitions visitors are treated with a wide range of colorful LED art creations often surrounded by mirrored walls and floors. Several of the rooms were full of shallow water adding to the immersive nature of the art. In one area the water became knee deep so wear shorts to the exhibit. Some dry rooms had mirrored floors adding to the psychedelic displays enjoyed by visitors. After leaving the water rooms, shoes are put back on and other areas of investigation follow. One collection is called athletic forest where colorful displays form challenges to test your balance and agility. Another collection is called garden where live orchid plants fill a mirrored room. Another interactive experience uses their own smartphone app to find and “capture” animals to learn more about them. Overall the teamlabs experience was enjoyable, the water immersion did add something to the experience, and Japan is not the only country to have these exhibitions – others including the United States have been operating them.
Ray and Traci finished the evening with dinner at a train station restaurant – Ray had shrimp tempura udon and Traci had chicken oyakodon.
Monday was the last full day overseas. Ray and Traci planned a full day excursion to Hakone, a very popular tourist areas for foreigners and Japanese alike. The mountainous area has beautiful views of Mount Fuji as well as many picturesque Japanese landscapes. Hot springs also attract many visitors. From their Tokyo Station hotel, Ray and Traci took the direct train to Shinjuku - as they noted on previous trips to Japan, the very young age of some of the children on their way to school unaccompanied was surprising. They caught the “Romance” train that takes visitors to Hakone. A great guide to Hakone itineraries can be found at https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/course/244. The site describes the attractions found in the area, how to access them, and recommends the Hakone Free Pass, an all in one package for Hakone tourism. Once in Hakone, a local train, then a funicular that climbs a steep slope, and finally a ski area like gondola ride brought then to Owakudani – a volcanic valley with active sulfur vents and hot springs. As their gondola neared the summit everyone in Ray and Traci’s gondola gasped at the stunning view of Mount Fuji, the famous Japanese landmark.
Clouds and rain made Mount Fuji views very scarce the rest of the day so they were fortunate to get at least one spectacular glimpse of the mountain. Next to the summit area, active sulphur vents were steaming away. 
Owakudani is known for black hard boiled eggs prepared in the hot springs with high levels of sulfur. Ray didn’t think his two eggs tasted much different than white eggs but legend states that one gains 7 years of extra life by eating an egg so he ate two just to be sure. A different gondola brings visitors down to Lake Ashi and its beautiful blue water. Several “pirate” ships traverse the lake – Ray and Traci took a round trip. 
Unfortunately the cloudy weather prevented any further complete views of Mount Fuji. The now hungry tourists decided to take the gondola back up to Owakudani and have lunch at the Owakudani Station restaurant. Traci had their special Owakudani Curry while Ray had a less adventurous pork tonkatsu. The territorial views even on a cloudy day further added to the allure of the very efficient restaurant. Ray and Traci left Owakudani Station and took the reverse route to get back to their hotel. The whole gondola to funicular to train to romance car train and then the limited express from Shinkjuku to Tokyo took about 3 ½ hours. The Hakone itinerary sites discuss available shorter alternative ways of returning home via the Shinkansen.
Unfortunately the cloudy weather prevented any further complete views of Mount Fuji. The now hungry tourists decided to take the gondola back up to Owakudani and have lunch at the Owakudani Station restaurant. Traci had their special Owakudani Curry while Ray had a less adventurous pork tonkatsu. The territorial views even on a cloudy day further added to the allure of the very efficient restaurant. Ray and Traci left Owakudani Station and took the reverse route to get back to their hotel. The whole gondola to funicular to train to romance car train and then the limited express from Shinkjuku to Tokyo took about 3 ½ hours. The Hakone itinerary sites discuss available shorter alternative ways of returning home via the Shinkansen.
Tuesday was the final day of their Asian adventures. Ray started the morning with one more run around the Imperial Palace. Ray and Traci enjoyed a final breakfast buffet at the hotel – this time Ray just ate two large portions of beef sukiyaki and rice, his favorite buffet dish even though it wasn’t exactly typical American breakfast food. Traci had more traditional selections including eggs and sausage. After breakfast, the couple completed final packing and checked in their luggage at the bell desk. First on the agenda was the Samurai Restaurant in Shinjuku. On a previous trip to Japan, Ray wanted to go to the Robot Restaurant after watching Anthony Bourdain rave about it on his TV show. The Robot Restaurant didn’t survive COVID closures, but in its place, the Samurai Restaurant was created. Much of the décor and operation is the same (even some signs outside the restaurant still say Robot Restaurant). As before, the customers were almost exclusively “gaijin” – meaning foreigners - and even the workers spoke fluent English mostly without accents. Like the Robot Restaurant show, it was in your face loud music, singing, dancing, moving floats. 
Ray couldn’t not tell you a single thing about the plot, and wouldn’t praise the choreography or musical performances but he thought it again was very entertaining. Many iconic Japanese things – Taiko drums, Dragons, Tori gates, Samurai sword play were all featured. For some reason the show is for 18 years + only – maybe due to the free sake they give all the guests? Ray didn’t see anything that would warrant even a PG rating in the US. Ticket purchases were given a choice of included meal but neither Ray nor Traci ate much given their hotel buffet feast earlier.
Ray couldn’t not tell you a single thing about the plot, and wouldn’t praise the choreography or musical performances but he thought it again was very entertaining. Many iconic Japanese things – Taiko drums, Dragons, Tori gates, Samurai sword play were all featured. For some reason the show is for 18 years + only – maybe due to the free sake they give all the guests? Ray didn’t see anything that would warrant even a PG rating in the US. Ticket purchases were given a choice of included meal but neither Ray nor Traci ate much given their hotel buffet feast earlier.
After the show, Ray and Traci took the train one stop and wandered around Shibuya to visit Miyashita park – a long elevated platform about the Shibuya scramble where kids skateboard, wall climb, and play other sports on a grass field high above the traffic. After the park, the travelers took the train one more stop to Ebisu and Traci enjoyed Taiyaki – a fish shaped dessert filled with sweet bean paste. Ebisu had a very popular spot called Taiyaki Hiiragi which even on a late Tuesday afternoon had a line of customers attracted to their treat. Ray and Traci’s adventure came to a conclusion with a subway ride back to the Tokyo Station Hotel, then a taxi ride to Haneda airport for the journey home back to Seattle.
