Destination: Tokyo

Off on our own (tear), Josh and I headed back yet again to the fabric market to attempt to pick up his shirts for yet a third time. Somehow, the magical tailors made the revisions and the shirts seem OK, so after a little bit of end negotiation to cut the price and pay for the hassle, we were finally done with tailoring and 12 shirts stronger.

Given that we had only a few hours remaining in China, we elected to make the most of it by wandering around the little alleys behind the fabric market, where tons of people were out selling their wares (fruits, veggies, tofu, blood sausage—you name it). We opted for the “if it has sesame, egg or scallion and is fried, we will buy it” technique, which quickly resulted in our having at least 8 different street food treats. Some were weird, but most were absolutely delicious. An excellent send-off.

We headed back to the hotel with a little wander through the French Concession and then were off to Pudong airport where we did our best to burn through our remaining RMBs by buying every candy in sight. Our flight to Tokyo was uneventful (though they did serve salad as part of the in-flight meal. Salad? That we haven’t seen in weeks).

As usual, arrival in Tokyo was exciting if overwhelming. We opted for the cheaper and slightly slower train into the city and then spent much of the 70 minute ride into the city desperately trying to decipher the subway map after 3 people gave us 3 different suggestions of which way to go. We finally hopped on the subway, and made our way close to the hotel. We were immediately reminded of the joys of the Tokyo metro as we got out the wrong numbered exit and so were wandering the streets until we recognized where we were (we stayed at this hotel when we were here 2 years ago) and checked in.

Hungry as always, we changed and headed out for a hip dinner out at Rainbow Roll Sushi in Azabu-Juban, where the chefs create sushi roll creations with amazingly fresh veggies (including shiso leaf, yum). We had tuna, sea eel, salmon, and a rainbow roll creation all their own with many different fish. It was a yummy and funky way to kick off the food-fest that will be Tokyo.