Well, we are on the fourth leg of our journey.  We left Tokyo around 6:15 this morning and took a bus to the airport. Then we look a flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. It was about 7 hours, but the time passed pretty quickly (I watched Harry Potter, Kindergarten Cop, and a few episodes of Modern Family).

Then, we had a connecting flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.  As soon as we stepped off the flight from Tokyo, I could tell that Thailand was going to be a much different experience than Japan.  Japan is so orderly, organized, and disciplined. The airport in Bangkok was difficult to navigate and poorly labeled. I’m not going to fuss about this too much.  We were able to make it to Chiang Mai without any major issues and our bags were there too (my biggest fear!).

Although, I couldn’t believe some people’s behavior in the Chiang Mai airport. I actually thought a few people were going to get in a fight at the baggage claim area. It was pretty crowded and there was some pushing and shoving going on.  Unfortunately, I think these people were Americans, and they were being extremely rude to a couple of Asian men.  It was disgusting.

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Yesterday, we went to watch some Sumo wrestling! This happens three times  a year in Tokyo (and three times a year in other locations throughout Japan). Luckily, we happened to be here during one of the 15 day tournaments.  It was sooooo cool.

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Well, we made it to Tokyo a couple of days ago and it has been great so far! There is something about the Asian culture that I absolutely respect.  The service, cleanliness, and hospitality is something that I have never experienced. After the bullet train, we took a taxi to the Park Hyatt. WOW!! This hotel room is AMAZING. We are staying in the Park Suite, and we are loving all of the space. Our hotel room overlooks Mt. Fuji, and it is so beautiful. Justin said that we will probably never stay in a hotel room this nice again, so I better enjoy it……let me assure you, I am LOVING it. Everything about this hotel is incredible.  Apparently, this is the same hotel that the movie Lost in Translation was set in.  I never saw it (because I don’t like most movies), but Justin seems pretty excited about it.

We had a few glasses of wine at the New York Bar on the 52nd floor before our first Tokyo dinner at Yoro Niku. This restaurant uses a cooking method called Shabu-Shabu. Basically, they brought out raw meat and cooked it for us on a fire grate built into the table.  Everything was delicious.  We ate heart for the first time!!  The idea of this kind of grossed me out, but I did it anyway.  It was good but sort of chewy.  We also had tenderloin, shoulder, tongue, thigh, and a few other things.  Most of it just melted in our mouths.  We also tried a few different ice creams at the end.

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