After clearing customs we took the "Airport Limosine" to
our hotel. Traffic gets bad when you hit the outskirts of
Tokyo Met., leaving a good two hour ride to town. Note to self,
next time take the Narita express train. My hotel, Century
Southern Tower, is in the upper half of the Microsoft building
in Shinjuku-ku and is just beautiful... Stunning modern
architecture and view, views, views!

Grabbed some Ritz crackers with cheese and a Mt. Dew in
the gift shop to hold me over until dinner at Hibiki Dynamic
Kitchen. Had an amazing dinner, with the best filet I've
ever had. You just don't seem to get meat like this in the
States. We also had fried tuna cheek, spring rolls, and sweet
cream fritters. Sumptuous! This was clearly a Japanese
restaurant for Japanese people. Many of the guests found it
amuzing that Westerners would want to eat here. One group of
guests stopped to chat with us about it, reminding us "this
Japanese restaurant". We politely gestured that we understood
and wanted to eat here. I think they were more happy to be
speaking English with Americans, a trend that continued
during my stay in Japan. Hibiki is one of many modern
designed restaurants in the Nowa building, a high rise
full of only top-notch eateries nearby Shinjuku station.

After dinner, walked around Shinjuku. (Check out some video)
Steven and I are the only caucasians around, kinda an errie
feeling having spent most of my life in diverse environments.
Saw this tricked out Lorinser Mercedes coupe, strangely
labeled as a 940, this was one bad-ass car, but it speed off
before I could snap a photo. Neon, lights, toliets that clean
your backside, girls in short skirts in the middle of winter,
everyone carrying shopping bags and taking pictures with
their cell phone... welcome to Tokyo!

The Japanese really don't have breakfast and I'm a carbo
junkie. The only place near the hotel to get a pastry was
Starbucks Coffee. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but
if I wanted a croissant and a caramel donut, this is where
I'd be going. We immediately got lost in the Subway.
Shinjuku station is the largest in the world, handling a
good 2 million people daily. It's really an overwhelming
experience at first, but after a few days I was able to
get around quite well. Everywhere you go, you'll find
vending machines with hot and cold drinks. One favorite
is the warm "Ko Cha Ka Den Royal Milk Tea". I've also
been noticing small "Quick Barber" shops, tiny places
where you can get a Flowbee style haircut in less than
10 minutes. Check out one chain's web site at
http://www.qbhouse.co.jp/.

Met a fellow computer consultant from Michigan on the way
to the Imperial Palace, as well as stumbled onto a photo
shoot with a beautiful Japanese woman on the street. Took
a photo of Steven and I in front of the Wadakura Fountain
Park, then the corner of the Palace near Sakuradamon Gate,
both part of Kokyoaien National Garden. Passed many tour
groups at the Palace, all whom look remarkedbly different
than the locals, who are almost uniformly well dressed.
Fashion and appearance seem to be of utmost importance in
Tokyo. More locals approach us on the street wanting to
practice English, while I enjoy a Coca Cola "Love Body"
tea.

Another confusing subway ride over to Roppongi, home of
many gaijin (foreigner). Much more English being heard
on the street. Passed a Pontiac Firebird in pristine
condition... a sight that would be rare even in the States.
Instead of taking the typical city tour, which would be near
impossible to do in Tokyo, we opted for a visit to Tokyo
Tower, a structure larger than its inspiration, The Eifel
Tower. From the top, you really get a sense how how big
this town is -- immense! Like a New York skyline that
goes on forever.

For lunch we walked to Shisen Honton, a Chinese restaurant
and home of Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi. Nothing what I
would have expected from watching the Iron Chef on the Food
Network. Pretty much standard Szechwan style food, but light
on the spices. Although they had these great fried dumplings
that were almost an exact match to a recipe I have from Charlie
Trotter. Even more apparent now is that everyone in Tokyo
smokes... all the time, no matter where they are... oh and
you can legally buy mushrooms here. No, not the cooking kind,
we're talking hallucinogenic mushrooms classified as a Class
A narcotic in the United States... readily available at most
pharmacies.

Spent a Sunday afternoon, the official shopping day in most
of Asia, in Ginza. The shops were a little disappointing
but for many tourists, it might be a decent place to check
out. Warmed up at a Sake bar and played around at the seven
story Sony store. There was a street promotion for a big
Christmas sale. The guy hands me a bag... thinking I've
received something interesting, I look in to find I've been
given a handful of sprouts. I look up in suprise to a group
of older Japanese women laughing at my experience. They
knew as well as I did that this wasn't what I was expecting.

Stumbled into an Indian food place, also in Ginza, which I
believe to be one of only a handful of Indian restaurants in
Tokyo. The proprietor was a jolly man, happy to have us.
He told us many stories, including the fact that Japan, as
a country, now has more smokers per capita than the USA.
Just as he finishes telling this, he notices our pack of
Sobranie Black Russian and asks for one. He likely doesn't
appreciate their rarity as you still can't get these in
the United States or United Kingdom. Ended the afternoon
in the high fashion district of Omotesando on Minami-
Aoyama street. Comme des Garcons had a gorgeous store
with great men's clothing, while we were shocked by the
in-store music at Dolce & Gabbana. An unknown hip-hop
song who's chorus is "Are we gonna f*%k or what?!". I
wonder if they knew what that means in English...

My last day in Japan was at Tokyo Disneyland, the cleanest
place on Earth. It was a weekday, so lines were short,
however, even the long lines had Fast Pass, an innovative
concept where you secure a virtual place in line, allowing
you to see other places in the park and return as if you
were standing there for an hour. A great concept and it makes
visiting this Disneyland painless. Disney Television was
filming in the boat in front of us in the Small World
attraction. Different from the states is the addition of
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, which was an enjoyable 3D
film. Christmas is a celebration of consumption in Tokyo
and the spirit was evident here too. It was strange to
see the white Santa and elves set against the Asian
crowd. Again, smokers everywhere.

Another great meal in the Nowa building to wrap up the
end of my stay in Tokyo. It's certainly a different place,
one that I enjoy and hope to see again. Check out my local
copy of "250+ Reasons Why We Still Love Tokyo"
to know why.