We woke up quite reasonably, and at a decent hour actually.  Well, if you consider 5am to be a decent hour, that is.  Not to worry, we need to unpack a few things, contact the kids via Skype, and figure out what we were going to do first.  Breakfast.

The hotel has a buffet-style breakfast which we partook of most days.  It was actually quite good as far as these things go, for 1500¥ anyway (around $15USD).  Both western-style and Japanese-style food were available, and you can guess which I consumed.  Grilled salmon, miso soup, rice, arum root, tofu, and egg, along with a cup of green tea….  Yum-yum-yum….

Our bellies full, I grab my bag with all the essentials, cameras, our copies of the Tokyo City Atlas, and the Guide to the Tokyo Subway, a compass, spare batteries, umbrellas, a bottle of water, sunscreen… and head out onto the street.

The first thing you’ll notice about Japan, at least in July, is the humidity.  Especially if you’ve been couped up in air conditioned airports, trains, airplanes, and hotel rooms.  Yeah we had a brief encounter with it between the station and here, but it was obvious this morning.  It looked like it might rain, as well.

The second thing you’ll notice is the people.  And more people.  And still more people.  Our route to our first destination, Hanazono Shrine, took us right past the main South Entrance to Shinjuku station.  Along with everyone else it seemed.

The third thing you’ll notice is the bicycles.  There aren’t that many of them, but you quickly learn to watch out for them, to look over your shoulder when moving side-to-side on the sidewalk or turning, or passing an alley.  They share the sidewalks with the pedestrians, and expertly weave in and out between everyone.  Everyone that expects them, that is.  A few times we nearly became casualties….

Once past the entrance to the station, though, things calmed down considerably.  Actually it was quite peaceful, relatively speaking, a short distance from the entrance.  A quick glance at the atlas for a landmark (the Isetan building) and a poke at the compass to get our bearings, its off to see our first shrine/temple, Hanazono.

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