Day One - Heated Seats and Yakitori

we hit Tokyo at about 9:45am local time - but with our bodies thinking it was just gone midnight. All was fine until we got out of the airport and into the car. We were both asleep within minutes. Good job the driver knew where we were going....  Checked in and literally flopped on the beds for a good couple of hours. Charlie was resistant to sleeping but to be honest I was so far out of it tiredness wise that I was past caring. He soon got onto the bed and slept.

Woke and had a shower to wash the travel off of us. The bathroom here is stunning and the toilet is quite frankly a technological miracle. There is a control panel for the toilet - how hot you want your toilet seat and the option of front or rear 'washing' whilst in situ so to speak. Freaky in a way that puts the Germans to shame...

The view from our room is amazing - we're not the Mt Fuji side but it was smoggy anyway, so what the hell, and we can see the sky tree and an illuminated big wheel in the distance.  I'll try for photos tomorrow...

On the concierges advice, and because Carlos fancied yakitori, we walked not even one block to Corredo which is (I think) some kind of department store opposite the tower block but one which seems to have many little restaurants - almost like a food court - but not tacky seeming in the least, unlike those at say Lakeland or Bluewater.  So Charlie ordered one of the 'set' yakitori menus. Apparently - and it is true that you learn something everyday - yakitori really only applies to skewered chicken. And boy, do they skewer every single part of it. Amongst the many delights of chicken were 'heart with blood vessels still attached', 'chicken tail', 'chicken testes' (I do not understand how, unless they do THAT differently here too....) and 'pads of chicken feet'.  Carlos went for the one that had the least threatening translation and it looked pretty good.  I fanied something 'easy' so I went for a chicken rice bowl. But there was a problem. Every translation was the same for the 4 dishes, but the price went up with each one. The gracious waitress tried to help to explain, concluding that 'the more expensive the dish, the tougher the chicken'. I smiled (politely of course) and ordered the cheapest one just to be on the safe side. It was DELICIOUS anyway - chargrilled strips of chicken and minced chicken, on rice, with a bowl of chicken broth on the side which you pour over the dish. Comfort central.  Anyway, a kirin beer, a coke and a scrummy tea/breakfast/lunch (who knows?) a short walk along the street in balmy weather (why did I bring a coat) and back to the hotel.

Having secured the directions to the Tamiya model factory (really? REALLY?) and organised our Studio Ghibli museum tickets for the last day, we decided to go and check out the Mandarin bar. Beautiful. And made all the more charming by me being (as usual) in jeans and trainers as was Charlie. There were guests in there but no salarymen as far as I could see. However, given that two drinks here (a lemongrass milk tea and a 'Pink Ribbon' cocktail) were as much as our dinner had cost, I can probably see why. Tomorrow night I'm going to find an Izkaga and eat Japanese tapas. But I doubt the views will be the same.... Not a bad first day. A bit annoyed that we needed to sleep through some of it, but hopefully tomorrow we'll be absolutely raring to go, and start the hunt for frantic Tokyo...