August 2006
10 posts
Tokyo Diary: Sayonara
After completing my assignment on 25th Aug, I attended a traditional Japanese dinner hosted by my client. As usual, I had fish and vegetables. The food was nothing much to speak about but the overall ambience was excellent - low tables, no shoes, a few traditions and Japanese tea. In retrospect, I found the people hospitable and the transportation system - the commuter trains, exceptional. The...
Tokyo Diary: Imperial Palace and Akihabara
The last tourist spot that I visited in Tokyo was the Imperial Palace where Emperor Akihito lives. The palace is open for visitors only twice a year and was closed when I went. I had to contend myself with pictures of the palace gardens and surroundings. More pictures are available at this Flickr link. Earlier, I had also visited the electronics town Akihabara and bought some stuff. Almost all...
Tokyo Diary: Shibuya
Shibuya is an up-market shopping area in Tokyo. It has a lot of jazz to attract the yuppy (possibly spendthrift) crowd. It also has the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing. More photos at Flickr
Tokyo Diary: Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower is modeled on the Eiffel Tower and serves as a TV and radio broadcasting antenna. It also has observatories and other tourist attractions such as a wax museum. More photos at Flickr
Tokyo Diary: Zojoji Temple
Zojoji Temple is a historic Buddhist temple associated with the ruling dynasties of the bygone era. Frankly speaking, I was not aware of its significance and was generally attracted to it as it stood out among the other modern buildings in the Daimon area. More photos at Flickr
Tokyo Diary: Yokohama
Yokohama is a satellite town of Tokyo and is home to Japan’s tallest building, the Landmark Tower (see picture below). I had to visit my employers office in the 9th floor there, the building apparently has 60 odd floors. More photos at Flickr
Tokyo Diary: Gotanda
Here are a few pictures of the area where I am staying - Gotanda. This area is supposed to be a conservative neighborhood with relatively few tall buildings. UPDATE: Photos moved to a page at Flickr
Tokyo Diary: Food
Food is a major problem if you do not eat chicken, pork or beef. Only the name of the food is in English (which is sometimes just the brand name) so it is difficult to tell what it contains. The contents and everything else is in Japanese. A colleague who knows Japanese and has been staying here for long helped me get some seafood and vegetarian stuff. I had Sushi during one of the lunches, which...
Tokyo Diary: Airport, Hotel
Arrived at the Tokyo Narita airport around 6.40 AM, the flight was right on time. Since I had clear instructions on how to get to the hotel, I did not face any difficulties. If you do not know the language nor have the instructions, it is going to be really tough for you. People speak very little English and sometimes they understand only specific words. For example, I was looking for a calling...
In Tokyo, Japan
I am in Tokyo, Japan for 3 weeks on an assignment. The weather is pretty good here, similar to Bangalore. Work is expected to be hectic but I will try to squeeze time to post on things here.