Day 157, Tokyo, Japan

A view of Tokyo from Tokyo Tower.

Tokyo as far as the eye can see. Notice all the plants on rooftops and anywhere else there is a place to plant something. Not in Tokyo but in one of the first Japanese cities we visited, real grass had been planted between and beside the rail tracks. And yes, it was perfectly manicured as is everything in this country. The Tower, while I'm certain was absolutely secure, swayed in the wind a bit which was somewhat disconcerting to me. I don't mind the gentle rolling of the ship especially when I'm tucked in for the night, but I gave it a second and third thought when I was fifty or so floors up in the sky surrounded by glass. After a bit, when I had satisfied myself that it would hold, I relaxed and enjoyed the view and the architecture. A higher observation deck was available to some, but it was not a part of our tour package. No worries, this is perfectly fine. Their architectural designs aren't quite as far out as Dubai, but then nothing is. Still I found myself again wishing that I knew more about architecture. The structure was somewhat like the Eiffel Tower except painted a University of Tennessee orange and was lit top to bottom at night. For some stupid reason, I failed to snap a shot of it either day or night.

As a rule, I'm not terribly fond of huge cities. From those I've seen on this trip, Tokyo, Singapore and Dubai are exceptions to that rule. Dubai has more money to throw into its architecture, infrastructure, etc. but I dare say the Japanese put more pride, love and precision into their cities, and what can I say about Singapore that I have not already said? It is near perfection also. Tokyo was less crowded than many of the other cities. Appeared to be more efficiently organized too. No snarling traffic jams, yet there was traffic. No horns honking at other drivers to move on. The people are far too polite for that nonsense!

Next stop was the train station. It was necessary to circle around a couple of times in order to find a parking spot near enough to the station that we were not forced to walk more than a block. It was the lunch hour and thus many workers were out for lunch and or exercise in the very pleasant weather, sunny and seventy-ish. Though this station was not named one of the ten most beautiful ones in the world which we learned about in Mozambique (Kanazawa, Japan received that honor), it was nonetheless a beautiful structure covering at least three long city blocks.

Our tour also took us by the Imperial Palace and several other notable landmarks. I, unfortunately, was on the wrong side of the bus to get shots of these. As we rode, our guide spoke of the State of Japan complete with charts, graphs, maps, etc. (Prepared is another one word description for our hosts.) One statistic she shared with us is that the Japanese social security system is based on 2.7 persons per household but now the average family size is only 1.3. Obviously, with the birthrate shrinking there will be fewer workers contributing to the system than those drawing from it. Not good. Attempts are being made to encourage young families to have children, but it doesn't seem to have helped just yet. (More strollers being pushed along the street had a dog inside rather than a baby.) Retirement is mandatory at 62 or 65. Average retirement income from government jobs is just under 6,000 yen per month. "We can't live on that. We must get other job like tour guide. So, please come back so I have job." Most of one's medical care is paid by the government. Medical care is less expensive than in the states, says she. All too soon we arrive back at the pier and she bids us farewell.

Sunset from my veranda. Day two of our stay in this beautiful city, I remained on board soaking up the ambience. Life is tough!

Today Is Someday! Revel In It!