Turnbull Family Pacific Tour 2015

On yesterday's bullet train back to Tokyo the train was nearly full, so we needed to split up to get seats. John sat between two business men with Elizabeth sitting one row back. Catheleen and I were further back. I guess John and Elizabeth made an impression since the business men struck up a conversation with John, much to his embarrassment, with Elizabeth piping in to correct his responses. They fed him chips and wanted to know where he was from and his age, etc. One man showed him pictures of his daughter and said John's sister is pretty too, no? John's response was "Meh" which got a good laugh from them. On our way back via the subway from the train station, we needed to cross paths with a seemingly endless sea of commuters at least ten people abreast, all packed in like a parade. We just walked directly across this traffic without so much as a break in stride, all without bumping into anyone. It's amazing to me, in this largest city in the world, that s...

I'm not a big fan of organized tours in general. You're always being shuttled and corralled along on tight intervals, and this tour was no exception. However I was encouraged as the elderly and heavy-set tourists started to slowly lumber onto our bus - clearly there would be no hiking or undue walking today. After a few days of strolling around Tokyo streets and riding the subway standing much of the time, I would enjoy the relative rest and relaxation of this sightseeing tour. As the guide started the trip by singing the praises of the driver in a heavy accent while the air conditioning kicked in, I readied myself for the day ahead with WIFI on the bus and tour ads on the monitor above. Our guide even attempted to sing a song that presumably all Japanese know - I'm glad this didn't lead to Karaoke for all comers. Actually the guide was very good and provided some interesting information along the way. She even had us make miniature origami warrior helmets along one str...

I'm told there are more vending machines here than anywhere else. At one vending machine I meant to purchase water but purchased Pocari Sweat instead. The bottle says this is a "healthy beverage that smoothly supplements the lost water and electrolytes during perspiration." I'm not making this up - somebody in the marketing department needs to be fired or I'm missing something. It tasted pretty good by the way so I bought some more for me and the kids.  This is one orderly country. The trains run like clockwork and everything is very efficient and uniform. Kind of gets on your nerves after a while. Like when you need to shift to the left every time you go up an escalator to let others pass, or when you see the business men all off to work wearing the same white short-sleeved dress shirt. I do appreciate the architecture and infrastructure though as we get around. Makes the journey part of the fun. We took a mono-rail through the city and across the Rainbow Bri...

This morning we visited the Tsukiji Fish Market , which is reportedly the largest fish market in the world. We missed the early morning rush when the catch comes in and is sold off, but we did walk through the market and saw hundreds of varieties of fish and seafood, some being cut up and packaged for transport to who knows where. I learned it was not a good idea to get too close while fish heads were being lopped off lest some spray comes your way. Definitely not the place to wear your best clothes. On the street along the way I ate what we dubbed an eggcycle, which was an omelet on a stick, and then Catheleen and I tried these large scallops which were shucked and fried up for us on the spot with blow torches, and then served with soya sauce in the half shell. Yummy. Later in the morning we visited the Sony building . We started off in a theatre watching the Foo Fighters sing a few songs on an ultra high definition TV which must have been a 15 foot by 10 foot screen. I would need...

Here's some impressions on our second day in Tokyo on another hot humid day on a work day - yesterday was a holiday here. It seemed strangely quiet as we headed on our way to a local café while the locals made their way to work. People here seem to be soft spoken, at least in public. Most of the ladies were walking with sun umbrellas, and some were wearing masks to either protect themselves or others from colds I'm told. There is almost no smoking around and smoking is prohibited on the street - I would like to see that in Canada. I haven't seen many foreigners here. I'm told foreigners come in the spring for the cherry blossoms and the fall for the autumn leaves. The city streets are clean with no litter yet it's rare to spot any garbage cans. Apparently people bring their garbage home with them. The subway is the best way to get around, as is often the case in large cities. We have yet to be on a packed train with the official pushers cramming us on. However we d...

Here we are on our first day in Japan. We've found the food here is tasty enough - we're just not always sure what we're eating. Adds to the surprise. I often get up first in the morning while everyone else is still sleeping - usually because I'm hungry and am looking for a snack. As John and I exited a shop early this morning I passed three teenage boys dressed similarly in muscle shirts, shorts and sandals - they were each fanning themselves with large black fans. Not exactly a cool apparel perhaps for teenage boys in Canada but who knows what the fashion is here. We did a walking tour this morning around some parts of Tokyo, including a Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple. The guide noted that most Japanese are fairly flexible when it comes to religion and subscribe to both Shinto and Buddhist traditions. Shrines are often used for happy occasions and temples for somber occasions. As many Japanese brides like to marry in western-style wedding dresses in churches, t...

I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about washrooms, but I do want to mention one I visited this morning in Nelson Park on our last morning in Vancouver. The facility opened a metal door that seemed to belong on a sci-fi movie set, and greeted me with a one person bathroom that had gone though some kind of wash cycle from floor to ceiling. Even the sink was automated as it provided my hands a soap, water and a dryer sequence like they were travelling through a car wash. You can't make this stuff up. So as we land in Tokyo and make our way to our hotel in the Shinjuku district through brightly lit neighbourhoods, I wonder what we'll experience abroad over the coming months. I don't know, but I'm sure it will be a hoot.