Time to head home. Weather and distance conspire to give British Airways scheduling an element of randomness .Thankfully, the flight is shown as going on time. The flight out from Heathrow was delayed by an hour and three quarters due to freezing weather and the need to de-ice the wings. Fog in Japan added another hour. That's how a 14 hour flight becomes a 16 hour plus ordeal.
We've had a great time. The weather has been changeable and at times the winds have made Scotland look balmy. If we'd come three weeks later we'd have got warmth and cherry blossom time. We'd also have faced even bigger crowds. Tokyo has pretty much the same climate as Atlanta so we wouldn't be happy sightseeing in July or August. I'm guessing peak times for tourism are March/April and September/October.
On our way to dinner we pass a golf store. From the number of golf stores I can only assume the Japanese are mega keen on the sport. This is not the attire one would wish to be associated with in St Andrews if you wanted to blend in. The shoes and the golf bag are perhaps a tad too modern for rural Scotland.
Highlight of the trip the temples in the mountains outside Kyoto.
The less visited temples ( devoid of tourists ) also a delight.
'The Font' keener on street food than Angus. In fact it can be said that 'The Font' is much keener on street food than Angus who has a staunch Presbyterian reticence when it comes to 'exotic' fare.
Having said that there are some things that neither of us feel the need to try. Octopus in quails egg being among them.
Our last night in town and the discovery of a large hotel with a lobby frozen in the 1960's . How cool is this ? In the bar on the top floor , which is also deserted, we are served plates of small star shaped biscuits that turn out not to be biscuits but pure sugar. A glass of Champagne is two thirds of the price charged in London . Go figure.
8 comments:
Hari Om
Wishing you fair winds for the return flight! YAM xx
It doesn't seem more than a few minutes since you told us you were going! A safe journey home, and can we now anticipate the arrival of a furry addition to the last wee house before Denmark?
Welcome home, thanks again for taking us along. Always sample the local delicacies, if the locals are eating it, and surviving, what do you have to lose?
Welcome Home! It was a delight to see your pictures; I agree with everyone, it was like we went along!
I'll admit I'm anxiously looking forward to meeting your furry new friend.
Abby and Mom from Ohio
It's been such fun to follow you in Tokyo. The Janu Tokyo luxury hotel is quite impressive.
I so enjoyed your photos. I'd agree with the octopus and quail egg, but the shrimp look tempting! Hope you've brought plenty of reading material for the flight home!
The last photo looks like the bar on Star Trek.
Love the photos, thanks for sharing.
Have a good flight home. I've enjoyed virtually traveling with you this week. You've taken me from homesick to remembering why we left and back again to homesick. I've never been to see the "old" lobby in the "new" Okura, but they have really captured the original vibe. When I first arrived in Tokyo as a young law firm associate, the Okura was the place to be, and the Okura and the Imperial were both on all the lists of top ten hotels in the world.
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