Thursday, January 17, 2013

Tokyo Trip Part 1: Immersed in a whole new world..

Tokyo. What a way to start off a car blog, don't you think? 
This trip was the annual DSPORT Tokyo Auto Salon tour and I had the privilege to attend; visiting one of the greatest cities in the world and something Japanese car enthusiasts could call their Mecca.
Leaving LAX and flying out of country alone for the first time!

You know something's up when you're waking up to a sunset.

It got so cold outside that frost developed on the windows!

One of first pictures I took when I got on the ground; JDM spec Honda Odyssey.
After 12 hours of flying, the tour group had to endure another hour long bus ride to the hotel we were staying at.
Just being a tourist and taking random pictures of Narita Airport's parking area. The lights inside the tour bus did not help.


When we finally arrived at our hotel, the Shinagawa Prince, everyone was exhausted, but most were much too excited to just simply go to sleep!
While dropping my stuff off in the room, I HAD to check out the view. Gotta love being on the 22nd floor.

After dropping our stuff off, we were told to regroup back in the main lobby of the hotel. There, we were given the option to go with one group taking the train to eat grilled meats or another group that would walk around Shinagawa and eat locally there.

We were also given itineraries for the trip. It would be very busy. 

I decided on a walking distance, since I assumed trains would take long.
An outside shot of the beautiful Shinagawa Prince hotel. 




The group that walked Shinagawa did not have to go far. This little family owned ramen shop was directly across the street from the hotel we were staying at. The funny thing was I didn't order ramen, but rather, this bowl of rice and...something. It was very good and for only ¥300!

Some of the guys I ate ramen with decided to check out Tokyo for a bit before turning into the hotel, so I decided to tag along.

We made our Suica cards for the various trains that we'd have to use in Japan. Normally, I am against public transportation, but in Japan's case, I'll let it slide. It was THE best experience I've had regarding public transportation. It's ridiculously clean, efficient, and somewhat cheap! (Depending on where you go)

We took the train and hopped off at the famous Shibuya crossing. Yes, everyone, it is just like how it was in Tokyo Drift. VERY CROWDED.

We spent a few minutes walking around Shibuya, checking out the sights and sounds before heading back on the Yamanote Line back to Shinagawa for some much needed rest.

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