Tokyo

In December 2005 I was extremely lucky to get the opportunity to visit Tokyo on a work educational. I never imagined that I would ever go to Japan, as I had never given it a second thought before, but to this day I am so thankful to have had such a brilliant opportunity to visit this wonderful City.

The trip really did start in style, as we travelled out business class with Japan Airlines from Heathrow. We stayed at the Conrad hotel which was in a perfect location to explore the city. The hotel itself was top notch with all the latest gadgets including the very plush toilet with its heated toilet seat. Heated toilet seats are very common in Japan! The views from the hotel of Tokyo Bay and the City were amazing.

Some of my highlights from my trip included visiting the Tokyo Tower, which is Tokyo's answer to the Eiffel Tower where you can even see Mount Fiji on a clear day. We visited the Meiji Shrine, located in a woodland park area, an imperial shrine that was dedicated to Emperor Meiji. We then visited the Imperial Palace East Garden. This was once part of the Emperor's private garden. The gardens are located in the centre of the city. It is such a lovely area to explore and walk through with its carefully tended gardens and water features. I then spent some time in the Ginza neighbourhood, which is the shopping district and where you will find all the designer shops. It is very much on par with New York's Fifth Avenue.

On our second night in Tokyo we were taken to a Karaoke bar, which is a must do, as it was in Japan that Karaoke was first introduced. It was great fun and we had our own booth for the evening.

The next day we started off with a river cruise along the Sumida River, where we made our way to the old quarter of Tokyo called the Asakusa district The highlight was seeing the Asakusa Kannon Temple, Tokyo's most famous and popular temple (built in the seventh century) and the five storey pagoda. It was really easy to explore the area on foot; however there were rickshaw's available offering guided tours as well. It is also well worth visiting the Akihabara District - This is where all the electrical stores are located and many a bargain to be had. The end of my trip included going to Yokohama stadium where we watched Liverpool play.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Japan and have many happy memories.