What a day! Philip said this was a record number of times he's been on subways, and we walked and walked all day - our little doggies were darn tired at the end of the day. I was even put to the test to get us from one train line to the other. No small task, but a necessary life line in Tokyo. The subway system is similar to London and Paris, with colored lines and end-zone identification, but there are so many of them that there are two or three greens and blues, etc. The exits from the subway are listed on bright gold signs, sometimes from 1A and B on up through 15 exit options, making it necessary to know where you want to come up to the street; otherwise, it's another long walk back to the point of destination. We should get used to the Metro, but not before making some mistakes for sure!
Philip took us to his serviced apartment. It's about 1000 sq ft, quite new and modern, and very light - something that's a must for me. I was quite pleased as we expected something much smaller. Unfortunately, his complex is full but the agents will let Philip know Monday if getting in soon is possible. We went to another lovely complex but it was too late to see a unit. So, my job on Monday will be to follow through with getting us a place to live. This hotel is very nice, but we definitely want to get into an apartment soon.
We had tonkatsu for lunch - a heavier version of tempura - and very good. Even heavier with coating it was lighter than tempura we've had at home, and interestingly served on a small metal grate to let any oil drip to the plate, although there wasn't any.
The underground world of Tokyo is amazing. Beyond expansive, spotless, filled with thousands of shops and small restaurants. I think all Japanese eat their way through life! Every restaurant underground has plastic displays of the meals available, so it's an easy point and select option for us ex-pats, or fairly easy, that is. It's hard to tell exactly what's in a lot of the dishes.
It poured rain all after noon, so underground was a good place to be. Philip took us to an end stop to show us the crowds of Tokyo. All end stops on the Metro are huge complexes of department stores, both underground and above. I took a 30-second movie on our digital camera from above a multi-street crossing, and when the light changed for people to walk, it's a huge sea of umbrellas crossing in many directions, although very orderly. I'll try to figure out how to make a copy to post on an Ofoto site or something similar when I start to make photo albums.Well, it's 3am so I think I'll try to go back to sleep!!!
