Greetings from Tokyo, Japan

Last evening we arrived safely in Tokyo...the view from our hotel room this morning -- amazing, HUGE city.

Hong Kong was a fabulous city and one we'd visit again... Saturday, we enjoyed Kowloon's (the major city on the mainland side of Hong Kong) sites and markets. Despite the huge population in Hong Kong, the city's infrastructure makes it very easy to maneuver around effortlessly -- double decker buses, lots of taxis, wide hallways and sidewalks, etc. to accommodate the flow. Nonetheless, we still had to get used to the "Chinese shuffle" when you are basically pushed about in a crowd when on the streets, etc.... We had to call it an early evening since we both where "over stimulated" from all the physical contact with the locals...:-) Some of the pictures attached are from our visit to the Peak -- offering one of the best views of Hong Kong. It is accessed via a tram, built in the 1800s, that scales the mountainside at up to 27% vertical angles with stops along the way -- the trip up the mountain was kinda scary, but the view was worth it!
Hong Kong is a city of lights and signs to lure in customers, but we found that it can be challenging to figure out EXACTLY where the signs lead... It often took us several tries to find our destination and sometimes it wasn't even on the block where the original sign was or was pointing... Oh, well....

Our good fortune is Chris's recovery from his Korean food poisoning, AND no bouts with food poisoning in Hong Kong! McDonalds and Starbucks on every corner were a welcomed sight in case we needed the comfort home. It also seems the locals like the McDonalds fare... As we peered in from the street, they were usually filled with locals rather than us westerners... There is a pic attached of some McDonald's workers backside -- complete with their "western shirts" and jeans with the "M" on the back pocket mimicking our Levis.

Now that we are in Tokyo – Chris is enjoying the “spa” toilet seat quite a bit – see pic. Pay particular attention to the “instructions” – kinda funny when you think about it! He mentioned this after his last trip here, but I was not quite sure what to expect. I think they sell these things at the Great Indoors. We will have to look into getting one when we get back. We went out with some friends from back home for dinner last night – and tried some Jelly Fish as well as Blow Fish (the kind that will kill you if it is not prepared properly). Needless to say, we are still alive, so it must have been prepared properly.

No meetings today, so we are going to take in a few sites down at the Royal Palace and head to a few temples. We’ve moved from the Korean Won to the Hong Kong Dollar and now to the Japanese Yen. In all the conversions thus far, we know the prices are indeed REALLY expensive in Japan. My tempura meal last evening was $70 and just sitting in a cab is $7 for a minimal fee --- and the fares have been running about $25 in between hotels (10 min commute). We are going to explore the subway today…