ShareI was shooting pictures on the bridge at Uguisudani in Tokyo and snagged some nice shots of a yellow E653 set used for the Fresh Hitachi service on the JR Joban Line. The cool thing about the Joban Line is that it is dual voltage with 1500V DC in the Tokyo area and 20,000V AC [...]
Archive for category Information
Uncommon House in Central Tokyo
May 2
177 viewsShare20+ years ago when I worked for LSI (Logic) our Tokyo office was in the heart of central Tokyo in an area called Akasaka. It was and is a very high-end area catering to business and politics. We were in the west wing of the Kokusai Shin Akasaka Building which is right on [...]
Tokyo 2010 – Top Hotels
Feb 15
473 viewsShareThis is an update to my post last year of the 2009 Tokyo hotel ratings in the Michelin Guide. Notable changes are the Shangri-La displaced the Conrad for #5 in the top tier. The Nikko moved up to four red (from four black).
I’ll repeat the same pitch I gave last year. If you are a [...]
Underground at Ueno-Hirokoji Station
Feb 10
200 viewsSharePeople frequently ask me about navigating the trains and subways in Tokyo. It can be a daunting task. The important thing to do is to prepare properly. First, you should know the area you are interested in, you should know which train or subway lines are in the area and what the [...]
F1 Car at Toyota Factory Tour
Feb 10
304 viewsShareDay 9 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On Day 9 I went on the Toyota Factory Tour. Prior to the tour I went through the museum and found that they are still displaying last [...]
Deer at Nara Park
Feb 10
234 viewsShareDay 8 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On day 8 I made a side trip to Nara. This entry focuses on the deer. The Todaiji and the Buddha is pretty spectactular but the deer are [...]
Osaka Castle Visit
Feb 10
226 viewsShareDay 7 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On Day 7 I visited Osaka Castle. I didn’t pay to go up to the top because I was told it’s a concrete replica and not very [...]
Kagoshima and Sakurajima
Feb 10
189 viewsShareDay 6 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On day 6 I visited Kagoshima. The goal was to ride the Kyushu Shinkansen and to see Sakurajima. The day was a little hazy so the [...]
South Entrance/Exit at JR Shinjuku Station
Feb 1
692 viewsShareThis post is about the south entrance/exit at JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. This is the entrance sometimes referred to as “Lumine 2″
This is looking directly east with your back facing the station. The bridge on the right side is Koshu Kaido. The exact location of these first two shots is here.
This [...]
Toyoko Inn Hakata Room
Jan 21
250 viewsShareDay 5 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
This was my room in Hakata (Chuo-eki 2). The previous room post was in Uguisudani in Tokyo. This one in Hakata is about 2-3 minutes from [...]
Katsuretsu-an Tonkatsu in Yokohama
Jan 21
335 viewsShareDay 3 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
This may be my favorite restaurant in the world. Good, competent tonkatsu (pork cutlet) in Yokohama. Anyone from Yokohama knows about this restaurant. It’s been [...]
Tsukiji Visit
Jan 16
629 viewsShareDay 2 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
I awoke early on day 2 and went to the fish market. I never even thought to bring out my camera until I was well [...]
JAL 001
Jan 15
215 viewsShareDay 0 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
Flying to Japan from California takes a long time. In this case it was about 12 hours due to delays and circling the airport in Japan for awhile [...]
Toyoko Inn Single Room
Jan 15
221 viewsShareDay 1 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
These shots are from a standard single room at Toyoko Inn. Notice that while the bed fills up most of the room there is still adequate space to [...]
Tokyu Stay Nihombashi
Aug 18
453 viewsShareThe Tokyu Stay in Nihombashi is actually convenient to JR Kanda Station in addition to being very convenient to JR Shin-Nihombashi Station, too. The first three pictures are of the hotel facade. The last ten pictures are of the Nihombashi-Kanda area as you walk towards JR Kanda Station.
Royal Park Hotel Yokohama
Jul 14
683 viewsShareProbably the nicest hotel in Yokohama, the Royal Park is highly underrated, mainly because of the remote location and lack of growth in the Minato-Mirai 21 area. I really like the RP because of the quality of the rooms, the views and the service.
The Old Tokyo Station Hotel
Jul 13
309 viewsShareThe Tokyo Station hotel closed a few years ago for remodeling of the Marunouchi side of the station. I dug out some old pictures I had when I stayed there shortly before they closed.
Station Maps
Jun 29
369 viewsShareEvery train and subway station has large local neighborhood maps near the exit portals. In most areas in or near medium and large cities the maps are bilingual and very easy to read. Here is an example of those maps. In large station complexes these are very useful for determining which exit to use.
JAL Safety Promotion Center
Jun 17
455 viewsShareJAL operates their Safety Promotion Center near Haneda Airport. It is a solemn place, open to the public and by reservation only. Photographs are prohibited but JAL maintains a webpage with some photos of what’s inside.
Japan Customs Warnings
Jun 17
435 viewsShareThe departure area at Narita airport has a nice display of contraband. Genuine and counterfeit articles are displayed, prohibited items are also displayed.