Senso-ji and Ueno; quick post before the road

I have a few minutes to post a little bit about my day yesterday, as we are leaving to get some breakfast and head to the train station where we'll take the high-speed Shinkansen to Hakata. A 6-hour ride across countryside.

Yesterday, while Hiro was suited up at his company's Japan HQ, I visited the Akasaka and Ueno areas of Tokyo. Akasaka (ah cas ka, in case you'd like to pronounce it) has a famous Buddhist Temple, and many crowded, narrow streets full of shops of different kinds.

From Ceiling of Senso-ji

From Harmony and Wisdom

I had a tasty lunch of Gyoza (dumplings) and Asahi "Super Dry" beer, then headed to Ueno. It's a big park with various museums and sights. I watched a dance troupe do cartwheels as they hurled a yoyo-like device into the air.

At the end of the day I headed back to Shibuya where I met JaneAnn, who will be traveling with us across the country. She's full of energy and seemingly unaffected by jet lag! She gets to travel Japan for a week while her husband takes care of their kids. Not a bad deal she has...we had some sushi, and had a great, open conversation. We had a drink with Hiro when he got back from a long day at the office, where he met the honchos at his company, and then it was off to sleep.

And so another day begins...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'll be going about 175mph while you're waking up, and I'll be sleeping while you're probably gorging on Turkey. Cheers! :)