They say the longest days are the ones that nearly hit the brink of midnight. But when looking back on Tuesday, May 26, it was probably the longest day of the trip for a different reason.
That’s because it all began — at least for me — at 3:00 a.m. That was the time I set my alarm to go off at. I frantically got out of bed in the Metropark Lido Hotel in Beijing, China, for the final time to shower and put the final touches on my suitcase packing.
Everybody was required to report to the lobby by 4:00 a.m. I was impressed that everyone made it on time, and it was about a 20-minute ride on the coach bus to the Beijing Capital International Airport.
I know previous bloggers had their own opinions, but navigating to our gate was much easier than our last departure from Seoul, South Korea. The luggage minimum weight threshold was much more flexible, and overall, less bags were flagged during security checks.
It was a smooth flight, lasting a little over three hours. I got a chance to sleep for about half of the flight, and we lucked out that it wasn’t a full flight, as nobody was sitting next to me. I enjoyed that privacy along a window seat. We were served a delicious meal of rice with vegetables and a meat of our choice. I opted for pork, and I also nibbled on the salad and some fruit they provided.
We approached Tokyo from what I believe was the north, crossing several scattered islands. It was a smooth landing, and customs were pretty quick. Just some fingerprints and pictures matching our passports were sufficient.
After everybody found their suitcases at baggage claim, we headed toward our next coach bus to pick us up. That’s when we met our Japan tour guide, Riki. I learned that Riki is actually Australian but moved to Japan when he was younger, as most of his family is from here.
We were dropped off at our hotel, Ueno Mystay East, and had about an hour before we were expected to report next, at 3:30 p.m. You might be wondering where all the time went. Actually, we lost an hour, which was crucial on a day like Tuesday that started so early. Beijing is in China Standard Time, 12 hours ahead of Syracuse, and Tokyo is in Japan Standard Time, 13 hours in front.
We had already experienced this time zone in Seoul, so it wasn’t anything new. Nonetheless, my roommate and I took advantage and relaxed. We found that our hotel room has an adjustable temperature on the toilet seat. That was pretty cool and, in my opinion, makes up for its negatives, like its small size compared to our last hotel.
In all three locations, the subway has been crucial to our travel, so Riki gave us our “Welcome Suica” card, which I researched and found was a short-term card for visitors to use for transportation. He said it has about $150 on it per person, so it is important we hold onto them.
The closest station was fairly close to the hotel, and it didn’t take many stops for us to reach Asakusa, where we spent the bulk of the remainder of the afternoon. I did not purchase anything, but I was amused by the shopping environment. It seemed that there was a new alley every direction I turned. There was everything from a steaming well to a sword shop to restaurants with bite-sized pastries.
After about an hour and a half of walking around and sightseeing, it was time for dinner. Having already experienced two welcome dinners for our previous two locations, and my favorite meal of the trip thus far being the China welcome dinner, I knew it would be a good one.
It started off with small mountain vegetable tofu bowls and a a larger bamboo shoot and wakame salad, both of which had some fish. Then, it was a three-kind sashimi platter, including probably the best raw tuna I’ve ever had. Cooking in front of us for the first half hour was a wagyu dish, and when it was ready, it was incredibly tender. A few more plates came out, including some smelt with fries before a strawberry mousse dessert.
I was stuffed. I didn’t know how I could possibly digest this in time for Wednesday, the day of our group hibachi lunch. Nonetheless, it was a great day to be welcomed to Japan and get the vibes of our trip higher in a new location as it nears its close.
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