TOKYO!!!

So we had our first foray into Tokyo this weekend! My buddy Dave and I left Saturday evening and headed into the Roppongi area. The US Army has a facility there called the "Hardy Barracks" which has a military hotel. Rooms there are $35 a night!!! Needless to say you can't even get one of those pod-style "rooms" for that price. Once we got checked in it was time for dinner. And in classic American traveling abroad style we promptly marched in to the nearest TGI Fridays so we could get some of that "local flavor" you hear so much about. We didn't just go for the food but also went for the attitude. Then it was time to socialize. We spent much of our night at a British pub watching soccer and rugby while chatting with British business types who live/work in Tokyo. We learned alot about living in Japan and got some good advice on how to negotiate the city. Sunday was to be our main sightseeing day and of course that meant it was overcast and raining most of the day. So my second attempt to see some sights in Japan was also hampered by rain and clouds. But we able to see the Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple before the rain really started coming down effectively ending our sightseeing efforts. So that was disappointing, but we never really got lost on the trains which was nice mainly because we spent a good deal of time helplessly looking at our train maps in confusion which would prompt some kind soul to stop, offer assistance, and direct us to the proper train. One nice Brit even missed his train to ride with us on the express line to make sure we got to the right place. That meant he had to double back to get to his stop, but he has been living in Japan for 26 years teaching English and was more than happy to help us out. British folks were very helpful to us this trip overall, yeah Brits.