11/1 - 11/6 tokyo

The most densely populated area of the world, Tokyo is busy, busy, busy. We stayed near a subway stop that processes three million people per day! Thank goodness for their orderliness - people keep their distance, cell phones are rarely used in public, and everyone queues for the subway—all stark contrasts to India and China. Even the cab drivers wear white gloves!

Tokyo is also a place of incredibly high fashion and everyone dresses the part. Electronic displays advertising everything you can imagine, often with sound to match. One of our favorite shopping areas is Harajuku (i.e. Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls), which we thought well-deserving of its reputation for setting the latest, and most bizarre, trends. There are also streets and streets of electronics, but definitely no bargains for foreigners.

We loved wandering Tokyo's very retail-oriented streets, and we were reminded of the approaching holiday season seeing signs wishing us a “Merry Hearty Christmas.” The weather was also much cooler than we’ve had in months. Besides being rainy the first day, we had fall days with blue skies and clear air—it reminded us of college football games and Thanksgiving soon to come.

Other favorites included:
- seeing Japanese culture at the many shrines, especially the Meiji shrine, which happened to be the festival day and was packed with families paying their respects (the women and girls donning beautiful kimonos)
- the crazy fish market (30% of the world’s tuna is consumed in Japan), where we had fresh, fresh, fresh sushi (like, almost still quivering)
- the war museum - always interesting and educational to see how they view their own history, especially WWII
- the food! Nearly every meal we had there was incredible

Outside Shibuya station - Japanese everywhere!
Yeah, try figuring that out
Harajuku fashion ... right
Meiji shrine offerings

Wedding at the Meiji shrine
Traditions in the foreground, and rockers in the background

Shopping, shopping, shopping! As far as the eye can see.
Another shrine, this one where millions of Japanese war dead are enshrined
War museum
Yes, those are sea cucumbers for sale

Huge tuna for sale - it took all 3 of them to pull it on the table
Fish market closing down - massive