April 14 - Tokyo, Japan

We had to meet our morning tour at 8:30 and yesterday on our reconnoiter of the meeting place we saw a Danny's nearby so we thought it would fun to give it a try.  It wasn't busy when we arrived so having only 2 waiters was OK.  We ordered American style breakfasts, although my scrambled eggs with bacon also came with a little lettuce salad.  After a while.e we figured out what all the various bell ringing about - one when the door opened, another when an order was ready and the last when a table wanted something. There was a little plastic gizmo on each table with a button at the top. When you pushed it, a bell sounded, your table number lit up on the wall and the waiter came over.  As it got busier, more and more bells were going off.  The poor waiters were running every which way.  It was like a comedy skit.  I imagine those poor guys heard those bells in their sleep.

Probably 6 or 8 tours left from one central bus station at the same time which is a smart plan, but it was pretty chaotic for a while.  We went to another shrine, a castle and a temple, all of which were lovely.  At the Shinto shrine there was a wedding party coming out which was fun to see.  A couple of times along the road we saw little kids from a daycare or school on an outing.  Several of the teachers escorted the kids (around 1 or 2 years old) on the sidewalk by putting them in what amounted to a large laundry cart like a hotel would use and wheeling them around.  All the kids had uniforms and hats on in bright colors.

Now in the hotel, I figured out how to add photos so I'll throw in some of my favorites.  They are in no particular order.   Look at the left side of the street scene for the kids in the orange hats - I only got it on the run as we drove by.  The stuffed crocodile, Sweetheart, was about 18 feet long.  The five huge apartment buildings are outside Ho Chi Minh City.  The toilet instructions are fun.  There is a replica of the Statue of Liberty near our hotel, not sure why. 

After the tour we had a late lunch and walked around the Ginza area for a while.  It has lots of upscale shops so we didn't make any stops.  Then the train back to the hotel for a bit.  I took a nice bath in the big tub with the provided bath salts and I can confirm that the water drains clockwise now.