I have finally arrived after an 13 hour flight! I took a cab to my hotel which cost me fourty-five dollars. I settled in at one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I was staying in the Palace hotel which I really recommend to anyone who travels to Tokyo. It is located in Tokyo's central bussiness and financial districts, Marun...

I have had breakfast in the hotel early this morning. After I finished, I got ready and took a cab to the Meiji shrine. the Meiji Shrine is known to be Tokyo's most impressive Shinto shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the emperor who ruled Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After being destroyed in World War two the shrine was...

Today i visited the Imperial Palace. It is the former site of Edo Castle and now the residence of the Emperor of Japan. The Palace is mostly out of sight behind a moat, high walls and trees. The East Gardens are lovely and the circuit around the moat is popular with joggers. The only problem was that I was not allowed pass the bridge o...

Today I had my long awaited for day trip. It was the Mt. Fuji and Hakone Day Tour. I left the hotel at about 8:30 a.m. Mount Fuji is Japan's highest mountain. Fujisan's perfectly shaped volcano slopes are a Japanese icon and can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days, however this is quite rare.The site of this giant mountain amazed ...

Today I visited the Gokokuji Temple which is a Buddhist temple that is not well-known. Dating from the 1600s, is one of the oldest structures in the city. If you happen to be in the city on New Year's Eve you will get a talisman to prevent bad luck. It was too bad that I was not there in New Year' s Eve. This temple looked very peacefu...

Today was the best day ever beacuse I went on a shopping spree in Ginza!!! Ginza is an area minutes away from my hotel where there is a lot of stores. I wnet to almost every store in that area. I bought many things for me and some souveniers for my family members. This was the best!!! Today I spent $3,000 bringing my budget to $5142...

Today I leave for my flight back to Chicago at 10:45 a.m. and I will have to say goodbye to this wonderful experience. I wish that one day I will be able to come back and re-live this. I will really like to caome and learn more about this city's history. Today I will finish paying my hotel fees which was a grand total of $3,450 leaving m...