Tokyo Day 1 (Thanksgiving)

We got up early and caught our flight. There wasn't anything too strange, except for the fact that they couldn't get Owl's frequent flyer number to match up with his ticket. They worked it out eventually and he should get his credit. (Mental note that they only use the first half of his last name.)

We got to Tokyo just before lunch and stopped for the YUMMY panini sandwiches in the airport. Those have got to be the greatest reason to go to Haneda. Even with the evil switching to Narita for international flights...you still have time to buy a sandwich at the Live Cafe.

I braved the machine for the bus tickets and managed to get one straight to our hotel. OK, it wasn't that big a challenge since there is an English button on it.

At the hotel, we got upgraded to the business floors - hooray for lots of Hilton stays this year. The guy registering me asked for my checkout time which caught me off guard. I guess I should get used to that until my VIP expires.

After we settled in, we wandered over to Shinjuku station. We browsed the Bic Camera store and Roo had a great time taking pictures with the plastic faux cameras. It was a big game to look at one and then search to trade and it kept her occupied while Chrys and I drooled - LOVE the Cybershot digicam with the flipping screen to make self-portraits easier. We wandered a few other shops, but nothing exciting, really. We just tried to get a lay of the land - walking time, sites between, etc.

On the way back to the hotel, Roo spotted a bookstore and we ended up with an "Anman" (Anpanman) book - how she figured out who he is, I don't know - and a couple of new music books to learn more Japanese songs. That kept her occupied at the hotel.

Craving something approximating a real turkey dinner and not wanting to sacrifice ourselves to KFC for the second year in a row, we headed for the "Thankgiving Dinner" at the hotel restaurant. It was a really nice buffet. They did have some sort of roast turkey brick and some brussel sprouts. They had stuffing (that smelled like pate, but somehow tasted pretty decent) that Roo couldn't get enough of. We picked and snacked. It wasn't the same as home, but it was a good sight better than fast food. The desserts were excellent - chocolate mousse, fruit tarts - and they even had a pecan tart that almost satisfied my pie craving.

After gorging ourselves, we enjoyed the tree in the lobby for a bit and headed back to just unwind and relax. It was a happy day.