Hello from Tokyo...
 

Hey there fellow Benz owners - greetings from Tokyo Japan. Here on a business trip for a couple of days. Thought I would share some observations from this side of the world with ya all:

Things are great here - love the culture and the sights. Everything is really well marked, even the sign in the bus/coach was informing us as we proceeded to detour around the heavy traffic areas - keeping us well informed. Everything is so clean - as I type this I see a couple of fellows scrubbing the side walk stairs in front of an office building - can't find a single piece of garbage anywhere - not even cigarette butts. The cabs have white linen seat covers and the drivers are wearing white gloves - compare that to the cabbie in NYC last week whose dinner on the front seat of this so-called nasty 'cab' was making me nauseous to the point that I had to ask him to open his front windows.... and the trunk had left a permanent oil stain on my bag... but I digress.

Everyone I've met here was very courteous, it's very expensive here but food is fantastic: last night I ventured into a bustling area of the city (Tokyo/Shinjuku) to explore it a little - found a great place to eat - it was a self serve type of eatery where you order your Udon noodles, then proceed to pick the tempura items to go with it - squid, conger eel, mackerel, chicken, veggies, etc. It was great to 'hang' out and eat with the locals - love that kind of local experience. Took some photos of the endless neon lights and am trying to soak it all in - too bad it's only for 3 days here then on to middle-east.

I see a lot of high-end MBs - the big bricks (S550s and such) - not sure any of them are diesels but they stand out. I'm enjoying it all here - take care.

Sayonara,
James-san... :)

I am sure you will notice stark differances between big Asian metropolisis,,and American big city's. Notably the cleanliness. Shanghai, China is awsome,, and in terms of freindly people, Thailand rules. You may notice how well thought out everything is, from the infrastructure, to the effieciency of the cab service. Take your time, and absorb the atmosphere, the people, and the food. I would wager that after your business trip,,you will long to return to Asia for another visit~

Oh wow...now I just want to go to Tokyo. I would love to eat Udon noodles! And I am happy to hear its so clean there! Big cities, I think of NY...so its good to know they actually keep things so clean!

So can you actually speak the language, have a translator, or just go with it and point at things and such?

No, I do not speak that language - my colleague with whom I travel does speak it (even though he's Indian - his wife is Japanese) and they really appreciate it and are impressed. But even without the language I can get around here, eat and absorb a lot of it here... many Japanese speak English - even if it's very little and that's enough. Many don't and that's where their service really shines: they have tablets in English with sharp photos and prices next to them and they will guide you along with gentle gestures to help you decide efficiently, stress-free and with a smile - lovely concept... :)

Yes, I already long for a return trip here in the near future... :)

Oooooooh! Bring me with you!!! Haha. Except...I'm kind of sick of long plane rides right now...

But you are going everywhere! Japan and Egypt! Where to next?

Last 5 weeks looked something like this (with weekend breaks): NYC; Washington DC; Short Hills, NJ; LAX (transit), Honolulu, HI; Chicago, IL; Tokyo, JPN; Abu Dhabi, UAE (transit); and now here... .whew! I'm homesick and tired of travelling for so long.

From here I'm flying home to Denver via Frankfurt... then on to Memphis TN next week - to finish it all up (hopefully) though there is some talk of going back to Hawaii (big island) - time will tell.

So long -
James

"WORK" IS FOR FOOLS AND HORSES.


But have fun anyway!!

I've done the road warrior thing. Spent the first 6 months of one job flying around the world; racked up 100,000 miles in that short time alone. It's rough. After a while you realize that the finest restaurants and hotels are needed just to cope.

With that said, if you're in Shinjuku just stay there. That has to be one of the coolest parts of Tokyo. That's the district from which all the stereotypes are formed.

Did you visit the Akihabara thats like otaku central.:D

No, but I asked about it - it was 20 min by subway - and I didn't wanna risk getting lost there.. :) maybe next time.

We did visit another pretty famous electronics store (Yodobashi Camera) - you can't hardly swing a dead cat without hitting some $5000 camera in there.. :)

The large screen flat panel 3D screens were pretty awesome.... crazy place and super busy too.

I bet you were the tallest person in town. :eek:

Oof. It's nice to travel, but that is a LOT all one right after another. I can imagine how nice it will be when you get back home and just get to sit and relax for a bit. Not going everywhere. That is a lot! All those different places. I hope you got pictures!!! Enjoy the rest of your trip and good luck with homesickness. Soon enough you'll be there.

Many thanks D. - I'm looking forward to being home finally - I miss my girls (wife and daughter) not to mention the fact that I've got few small projects on my 300D I need to be fixing... hehe

Y'all take care - cheers!
James

When did Tokyo clean up its act? It had some of the worst pollution in the world.

I don't know - but the streets sure were clean - fist, they have that kind of mentality (keep things clean and tidy about them) and second, they have teams roaming the streets very early cleaning up whatever can be picked up. Lastly, it seems that the business owners clean up the areas directly in front of their property - it really ooks like they are proud of their city.