"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy ..." -- W.B. Yeats
Begins with a lot of last-minute, "ohmigod, did you remember to bring ... ? You're not bringing that, are you ... ?" stuff.
Bob and I get our act together at 5 am HK time for an eight-day trip to Japan, highlights to include Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and a visit to the Miho Museum, designed by I.M. Pei. We dreamed of going there for years ...
This is part of what makes Hong Kong pretty amazing. From downtown Central you can check in for your flight, drop off your luggage and then jump on the train for a comfortable 30-minute trip to the airport.
Also, this trip costs about US$13, so it's a steal. The flight on Cathay Pacific is booked solid, so no window or aisle seats for Bob and I.
While Americans don't need a visa to go to Japan, getting in and out of Hong Kong (SAR) and China does involve filling out lots of little forms.
I gots ma papers in order, but Bob is traveling through the region on tourist visas.
Picture proof that I actually go on these adventures. Someone pointed out that there's not a lot of pics of me from this sojourn in Asia. Waiting in the Hong Kong Airport Terminal 1 Departure lounge using incredibly slow, but free Wi-Fi.
If there's one thing they do well in Hong Kong it's lining people up to get them we're they need to go. It's inspiring in its efficiency.
Whoever created the people-mover single-handedly made airports boring the world over. I hope you're proud of yourself ...
Getting through customs was surprisingly easy and it didn't take us long to trade in our Japan Rail vouchers for the 7-day rail pass.
It's funny, we're on the Narita Express into Tokyo and we'll be passing through Chiba. When I see the name I remember the first chapter of William Gibson's Neuromancer was called Chiba City Blues, a 21st Century version of Shanghai or San Francisco in the early-19th Century. I was nodding off when Bob asked, "don't you want to look out? See what's going by?" Just as I sat up we passed a Sports Authority, which was a bit of a letdown. Still we saw pagoda roof of a temple soon after and that was comforting. Bob's father was in the tie fabric business and in the 1950s, around '55, '56, he came here to buy silks. He marveled at how nothing was wasted and how rice paddies and fields came right up to the edge of the roads. We passed some fields like that and it made Bob think about his father.
We're staying at the Park Hotel located in the Shiodem Media Tower right next to the Shimbashi metro station which is pretty handy because we want to try and hit either Ginza or Tokyo Tower later.
It's a red wine made with Muscat Bailey A grapes developed and cultivated in Japan.
Not a particularly robust red to go with a steak dinner, but refreshing.
