Time for Fresh Fish...

Tokyo, Japan

January 29, 2008
N 35°40.360
E 139°46.600

After Ko Phi Phi we made a quick stop in Bangkok. When I say quick, I mean quick… 12 hours after arriving in Bangkok we were back on a plane on our way to Japan.

Our 6:00 AM flight got us into Tokyo in the early afternoon and we were able to head out and get some local cuisine. Japanese fare is one of the main reasons we decided to tack Tokyo onto the end of our journey—we had dreams of fresh sushi, shabu-shabu, yakitori, tempura and of course more sushi.

After a dinner of yakitori at a dark and smoky little Japanese pub, or Izakaya, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. We had a big day ahead of us with Mr. Mamoru Ito and his wife; they scheduled a full day tour of Tokyo for us, a perfect way to see Tokyo and celebrate our one year milestone.

Let me explain how we “know” Mr. Ito, or Ito-san. We didn’t find him and his wife in the smoky little Izakaya; we were actually referred to Ito by Marc’s dad, Randy. Randy is a retired high school superintendent, but still finds time to travel and perform accreditations of overseas American schools. The schools are normally attended by children of US ex-pats. Ito works at one of the schools Randy visited in Japan and then became good friends with Ito when he had the opportunity to guide Ito around the San Francisco Bay Area a few years later.

Okay, back to our one-year milestone…it has been exactly one year since we left San Francisco bound for Ecuador. It has been an amazing journey with a lot of ups and not many downs. We’ll spend the last few days in Tokyo making the most of our time and enjoying the company of our new friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ito.

The best part is, since there so many great sites to see in Tokyo, and food to eat, we haven’t had much time to think about the fact that we’ll be home for good in a mere three days. We’ll do our best to keep up the blogging, in the meantime, check out a few more Top 5 Lists.

Worst Travel Days

1. Ecuador Bus Ride (What a Pisser!)
2. SFO-Koh Phi Phi Don (40 hours of travel)
3. Vietnam Six Pack with Bob, Teddy and Elise
4. You Go Pak Beng? I Go Pak Beng...
5. The Journey Back to Bombay...

Natural Beauty

1. Halong Bay, Vietnam
2. New Zealand—ALL of it!
3. Patagonia, Argentina/Chile
4. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
5. Iguazu Falls, Argentina/Brazil

Favorite Cities, excluding San Francisco (Marc)

1. New York
2. Amsterdam
3. Rome
4. Prague
5. Barcelona

Favorite Cities, excluding San Francisco (Laura)

1. Barcelona
2. New York
3. Rome
4. Prague
5. Tokyo