Sakura!

My first trip to Japan & I got to meet up with my good buddy Emily!

Thanks to Emily, I mostly just followed her around since she can read a little of the Japanese kanji and also she does Japanese-accented English waaay better than me. :)   E.g. Glass museum, you say, gu-la-shi no-mo-ri or something to that effect!  And she can navigate the confusing network of Tokyo's trains cum MRT - every other station is an interchange station between a couple of lines, you really need to pre-plan your route.

We were blessed with really super good weather.  Weather so good, we had an awesome view of Mount Fuji from our room!  And even after we got back to Tokyo, weather was so great, the Tokyo Tower just behind us looms huge!  Today however, it rained and then sleet, and finally snow - maybe slush is more appropriate.  It got below zero.  My right hand got so cold it was painfully tinggling. 

We did it all, most of the touristy things.  Meiji Shrine, City View, Palace, flagship store of Mikimoto in Ginza, Shinjuku, Takeshita, lots of museums and art galleries from Hakone to Tokyo, outlet shopping at Gotempa, dressed in yukata for dinner, gazed at Mount Fuji... I didn't realize we got so much done in so few days.

And I forgot what a shoppaholic Elmo is, she browses EVERYTHING, from socks, to trinklets to touristy souvenirs, even 福 (lucky charms issued by Japanese temples which can be purchased for all purposes, from health to traffic safety!).