John and Leslie's Asian Adventures

DAY 85 - Tokyo, Japan (Day 4) -  Going Home March 22, 2024  As we end our trip and head home, we look back on so many amazing memories.  Seeing so many different cultures, trying some amazing and unique foods, enjoying many beautiful views and meeting many great people.  The map below shows many of the key cities we visited....from Dubai to Tokyo.  Looking back it went so very fast.... Thank you to those that followed our blog....and best wishes to those that see it down the road.  It was a lot of work, but fun to do.  I am sure we will look back on this in a few years and that it will bring back plenty of great memories! The biggest question is "would we do it again"? And the answer would be a resounding "YES!"  But not right away!!

DAY 84  Tokyo, Japan (Day 3) March 21, 2024 The day started out as just another slow starting morning,  We are both really tired and fighting colds.  But with such a short time left we had to push forward!  Leslie went out for some Starbucks in the morning to help us get moving. While John was still in the hotel, an announcement was made over the hotel intercom/phone for an Earthquake alert! Leslie got the same alert on her phone along with everyone else there...but was surprised to see that no one really seemed to care as they happen here so often.  It was concluded 5 minutes later....and on the news they said a 4.0 earthquake occurred about 50 miles from Tokyo. John did not feel any shaking in the building even though the room is on the 36th floor. But it was quite a surprise after laughing about the earthquake precautions listed along with the room service menu! So this is our last day here as we fly out tomorrow.  It was a day on our own trying to find ...

  DAYS 82 and 83 - Tokyo, Japan March 19 and 20, 2024 Our final stop on the cruise was the port of  Yokohama, Japan.  With one day left on the ship before disembarking, we spent all day packing until dinner.  By then we were exhausted and just ate and went to bed!   The next day we left the ship about nine a.m. and rode to our hotel downtown Tokyo about an hour away. Being on our own for the first time in such a big city (over 8 million people) we had hired a tour guide for the afternoon to get a feel for the area and find some places we would normally not have known about. The first stop was the Emperor's Palace and beautiful grounds.  Previously Tokyo was called Edo.  The cherry blossoms (Sekura) were just now starting to come out. Our next visit was to a big outdoor market where we stopped for some street food in a small restaurant.  We then walked to an old area of Tokyo that was not damaged during the bombing of the city and got a feel f...