Tokyo, originally called Edo, the capital of Japan houses 30 million people within a thirty
mile radius. The city, like many others is divided into a number of districts each with its own
characteristics. Ginza is one of the shopping districts, Roppongi is the entertainment district
and the business district is located in Marunouchi.
Tokyo has experienced many hardships during its four centuries as Japan.s capital city. In
1923 the Great Tokyo Earthquake caused enormous damage, twenty years later the city was
being demolished by air raids. However, the city has survived and prospered.

Why Me God?
At the end of my time in Korea I decided to stop off for one day and night in Tokyo, as you
do. This little detour was not without a logistical problem with regard to my very over-packed
suitcase. The distance of Narita airport from Tokyo city centre negates the use of taxis. So I
used the Narita express (a technologically superior, customer orientated train service) that
most definitely puts to shame the British train service. The latter would be regarded as our
national joke if it were not so dreadfully; dirty, badly run and intermittently prone to tragic
accidents. I duly arrived, on time, at Tokyo central station; quite possibly the busiest place on
earth I have ever been to. I had uncannily picked a time when, so it seemed to me anyway, the
entire population of Tokyo had decided that this was the time they should go to the station to
catch a train; I was walking one way and everyone else appeared to be going in exactly the
opposite direction. It was at this point that my over burdened suitcase, that had offered many
years faithful service, decided to .give up the ghost. and cross the river Styx. The handle
parted company from the bag, and the sides started to split. Not the best place in the world for
this to happen! I let forth a few Anglo Saxon .blessings. on my situation; which most people
around me would probably not have been able to understand and collected myself ready for
the struggle ahead. Therefore with briefcase in one hand and a firm grip on one of the security
straps of my suitcase in the other, I dragged the suitcase and myself through the swarming
masses of commuters. I would also point out that Tokyo central station is very large and, to
the uninitiated traveller, confusing. I spent quite some time trying to find the exit (the as yet
.undiscovered country.).
Joy!, the exit found at last and a taxi queue as well. My, white gloved, taxi driver was very
helpful and put my sorry excuse for a suitcase into the boot. It was at this stage that I realised
my driver did not speak English. Under normal circumstances this would not have been a
problem as I had the address of the hotel on their letterhead which I showed him. However,
the complicating factor here was that the hotel (The Intercontinental Tokyo Bay, which as the
guide book would say offered breathtaking views of Tokyo Bay) was newly built, and from
the gesticulations of my driver not in an area that he knew how to get to; even though he
waved his map of Tokyo under my nose as though to gain a mystical insight into the direction
that we should take. We spent a few minutes fruitlessly talking to each other in Japanese and
English, very good for stress relief but of little practical value. Then after some exceptionally
fluent hand gestures on my part I managed to persuade my driver to ring the hotel and ask for
directions. He went to a nearby phone booth, and returned a few minutes later beaming with a
thumbs up gesture. We were on our way, and duly arrived within half and hour.

A Quick trip to Ginza
The hotel, as I have noted, was newly built and in fact had only opened a couple of weeks
before. Consequently when making the booking I had been able to negotiate a business class
room at a decent rate. I will say one thing for the quality of reception that the hotel offered, I
have not found one that has beaten it. I initially went to the front reception desk and having
given my name was escorted to an upper floor where business class travellers had their own
check in. The remains of my baggage were .escorted. separately to my room by a rather
worried looking bellhop. This was a dedicated lounge and office where a very charming lady,
Miss Wantanabe, introduced herself. I was invited to sit down and sign in; a glass of
something was proffered, which I readily accepted. The formalities having been dispensed
with, I explained to Miss Wantanabe the incident with the suitcase and asked for directions to
the nearest department store where I could buy a new one. No problem, a map would be
prepared so that I could find my way to Ginza district where the main stores were located.
Miss Wantanabe then showed me around the business class lounge. She advised me that very
evening, at 6:00pm, complimentary drinks and snacks were served for their VIPs (which they
seem to have mistaken me for). What a civilised arrangement!
She then escorted me to my room on the 25th floor and showed me around. I can confirm at
that height the room, which faced the harbour, offered a really spectacular view. The room
was very well equipped, the usual fittings (TV, minibar, trouser press etc) were all there
together with an extra phone and TV in the bathroom. The bathroom was very luxurious
offering a double hand basin and a double shower, with wall to wall adjustable power jets
designed to cover you in all directions (shame I was alone!). My compliments to the designer.
My suitcase arrived, and I unpacked what I needed for my stopover. Miss Wantanabe
returned with a map and very detailed directions on how to get to Ginza and back, so off into
Tokyo I went. Needless to say, Tokyo being one of the most expensive cities on the planet is
not necessarily the best place to find a reasonably priced article of hand luggage. I found a
well stocked department store, and ended up paying a small fortune for something that would
have been less than half the price had I bought it in the UK. That being said, I know of no
store in the UK that employs people to open each door for you followed up by a very polite
bow (usually reserved for members of the Royal family in the UK); that made it worthwhile
(well not really).
I left the store and found a taxi to take me and my empty luggage back to the hotel. I was
pleased that this taxi driver knew where the hotel was so no need for frantic hand gestures.
The Meal Cost How Much?!!
As I was feeling a little .bushed. after my unexpected shopping expedition, and knowing that
I had a morning flight back to the UK to face the next day; I decided that taking another taxi
back into town (where I didn.t really know where I would go) for dinner was not on the cards.
I decided to test out the facilities of the hotel instead. Needless to say the bar was the first
point of call. Rather a nice bar, unfortunately because the hotel was new there were no
customers apart from myself. No problem, at least it meant I would have no difficulty in
being served. The barman was quite a character, dressed in the standard uniform of hotel
barmen across the world (dinner suit), he sported an exaggerated Elvis Presley hairstyle
which looked slightly out of place on a Japanese gentleman. However, he was cheerful and
pleasant; so a little eccentricity just added some atmosphere.
 

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