June 2023 – Our Trips Around The World

东京独特的东西 Unique Things In Tokyo

2023年6月11日，星期日，东京之行归来后第7天

Sunday, June 11, 2023, the 7th day after returning from the trip to Tokyo

从东京归来已经整整一周了，时间过得好快，一周勤奋的工作，时差已经基本倒了过来。想总结一下在东京看到的独特的东西，独特到我俩在世界各地旅游都没有看到的东西，排名第一当属自动贩卖机！最多就是大街小巷的到处可见的售卖各种饮料的机器，然后就是卖那种盲盒小玩偶的扭蛋机，还有地铁站和商场里的自动储物柜，饭店的自动点菜机，真的是一道很独特的风景线。我俩看到的和拍到的应该只是很少的一部分，肯定错过了很多很多。

It’s been a whole week since we came back from Tokyo, and time flies so fast. After being back for a week at my work, jet lag is basically over. I would like to summarize a few unique things we saw in Tokyo – things so unique that neither of us have seen something similar in our travels around the world.

再见东京 Bye-Bye Tokyo

2023年6月4日，星期日，东京之行第九天

今天回家啦，东京的天气竟然格外的好，阳光明媚，下午5点的飞机，本来买了下午一点的成田特快的票，整理好行李后，觉得可以赶上12点38的那班特快，就去新宿站顺利地换了票。回程顺风飞行，8个半小时的平稳地到了旧金山机场，终于回到了我熟悉的安静的大农村，感觉真好。

Sunday, June 4, 2023, the ninth day of the trip to Tokyo

We are going home today. The weather in Tokyo was exceptionally good, the sun was shining brightly, and the plane was schedule to depart at 5:00 p.m.

东京第八天 Day 8 in Tokyo

2023年6月3日，星期六，东京之行第八天

Saturday, June 3, 2023, the eighth day of our trip to Tokyo

早上还在下雨，我去附近的一个零食店买了一些小零食，11点多雨停了。今天打算去上野公园看看，坐地铁先到了著名的购物一条街，阿美橫丁。来了之后发现，这里的商家和饭店很多都是中国人，经营中国菜和那些便宜货，一时像是回到了国内的某个大市场。随便找了一家不是很忙的饭店吃了午饭，就去了上野公园。

It was still lightly raining in the morning, so I went out by myself to some shops to buy various Japanese snacks. The rain finally stopped at 11am. Today we plan to visit Ueno Park. We took the subway to the famous shopping street, called Ameyoko which is short for “Ameya Yokocho”, meaning candy store alley. After we came here, we found that many of the merchants and restaurants were run by Chinese. There was a mix of Japanese and Chinese dishes and also many shops selling cheap goods. It seems that they cornered a big domestic market here. We randomly picked a restaurant that was not very busy for lunch, and then went to the nearby Ueno Park.

下雨的一天 A Rainy Day

2023年6月2日，星期五，东京之行第7天

Friday, June 2, 2023, Day 7 of the Tokyo trip

今天早上醒来外面就在下雨，参考了一下天气预报，看来这雨是要下一整天的。改变计划，打算找一个能买到票的美术馆看看。很惊讶东京的美术馆这么火爆，本来计划要去的宫崎骏动画为主题的吉卜力美术馆和草间弥生美术馆的票都已售罄，只好选择了不那么火的东京国立近代美术馆。

We woke this morning to the sound of heavy rain outside. After referring to the weather forecast, it seems that the rain will last all day. We changed our plans and decided to find an art gallery that has available tickets. But I was surprised to find that many of the art museums in Tokyo are so popular.

参观东京皇居 Imperial Palace Visit

2023年6月1日，星期四，东京之行第六天

Thursday, June 1, 2023, the sixth day of the Tokyo trip

今天是重返东京皇居的一天，希望我俩昨天的犯错是一个正确的错误。今天也是洗衣服的一天，洗衣室在8楼，洗衣机是300日元30分钟，烘干机是100日元30分钟，还是比较便宜。

Today is our real scheduled day to visit the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. We hope our mistake yesterday was worth it, in other words they will require our passports to get in. Also, today is laundry day. The laundry room is on the 8th floor; washing machine is 300 yen, and the dryer is 100 yen for each 30 minutes – decent price.