I'm Going To Japan

arnel98 wrote:

ah, that is nice... yeah, narita sucks... its farther so you pay more for transpo.
i wonder if they open it up to more airlines...
i think united doesnt have clearance to use that airport yet... delta probably does.

I'm sure you are quite right. Yes, my flight was on Delta Airlines. I would have preferred to fly on an Asian carrier like ANA or Singapore but at $600 AND Haneda as the point of disembarkation, one does not complain too much ;)

One morning I was heading to have coffee at Bear Pond Espresso in the Setagaya area of Tokyo and I ran across these adorable little kids being pushed around in a cart by their teacher. Pretty cute.

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I was in awe of the gorgeous cherry blossom trees at Ueno Koen in Tokyo. Here's a short video I took that illustrates the point. A shower of petals is a sight to behold. The video below doesn't do it justice of course.

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Tu_triky wrote:I was in awe of the gorgeous cherry blossom trees at Ueno Koen in Tokyo. Here's a short video I took that illustrates the point. A shower of petals is a sight to behold. The video below doesn't do it just of course.

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Beautiful!! What was the temperature while you were there?

^ Beautiful. :applaud:

Sengo wrote:

Beautiful!! What was the temperature while you were there?

It was overcast that day but it wasn't that cold. The temperature was in the mid 60s.

bmwracer wrote:^ Beautiful. :applaud:

Yeah it's admittedly quite pretty.

arnel98 wrote:

ah, that is nice... yeah, narita sucks... its farther so you pay more for transpo.
i wonder if they open it up to more airlines...
i think united doesnt have clearance to use that airport yet... delta probably does.

It's not an airline thing. There are only a few slots open to Haneda and you had to apply to the DoT.. like a lottery. I have also flown into Haneda and while it is convenient by distance, the time somewhat sucks. All arrivals and departures to/from the US is at late hours. And hence you run the risk of facing nightly train shutdowns.

dochira wrote:

It's not an airline thing. There are only a few slots open to Haneda and you had to apply to the DoT.. like a lottery. I have also flown into Haneda and while it is convenient by distance, the time somewhat sucks. All arrivals and departures to/from the US is at late hours. And hence you run the risk of facing nightly train shutdowns.

ah, never did thought about the train shutdown...

dochira wrote:

It's not an airline thing. There are only a few slots open to Haneda and you had to apply to the DoT.. like a lottery. I have also flown into Haneda and while it is convenient by distance, the time somewhat sucks. All arrivals and departures to/from the US is at late hours. And hence you run the risk of facing nightly train shutdowns.

Yeah I arrived around 4:30am at Haneda. I had to wait for a while before the shihatsu densha (first train) started running.

This new building opened today in Shibuya. It's called Shibuya Hikarie. I took a few pics of it while in Tokyo.

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http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/new-34-floor-commercial-complex-shibuya-hikarie-opens

Awesome video of a day in Tokyo in slow motion. Check it out.

http://www.gadling.com/2012/04/23/video-of-the-day-tokyo-in-slow-motion/

The one store in Tokyo named after me.

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Tu_triky wrote:This new building opened today in Shibuya. It's called Shibuya Hikarie. I took a few pics of it while in Tokyo.

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Interesting... I get a LEGO block feeling when I look at it.

bmwracer wrote:
Interesting... I get a LEGO block feeling when I look at it.

Yeah it's got that blocky, angular look to it. It's a really imposing building that dominates the skyline in Shibuya. It's one of the tallest buildings in that area of Tokyo now. It's also connected to the subway station as with many buildings in Japan which is quite cool.

Seeing it as well as other recently opened commercial spaces in Tokyo only reminded how unexciting developments are here or completely lacking in comparison. We're like in the Stone Age over here. Seriously.

Tu_triky wrote:I was in awe of the gorgeous cherry blossom trees at Ueno Koen in Tokyo. Here's a short video I took that illustrates the point. A shower of petals is a sight to behold. The video below doesn't do it justice of course.

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Terrific!! :applaud:

Like being in a live anime. :victory:

Eve wrote:

Terrific!! :applaud:

It really is beautiful.

This was the view outside of my hotel room at the Conrad Tokyo in Higashi-shinbashi. 31st floor.

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I really dug this famous mural, Myth of Tomorrow, at Shibuya Station in Tokyo. When I was in Tokyo last, back in 2004, this mural had not been made yet.

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http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1859986,00.html

Tu_triky wrote:This was the view outside of my hotel room at the Conrad Tokyo in Higashi-shinbashi. 31st floor.

Even from up high, Tokyo looks exceedingly clean and tidy. :victory: