Tokyo - NOT a guest blog by Geoffrey

Your work is very well received, I argued.  The people would like to read some more.  But G decided he would rather (a) sleep and then (b) pack than blog, so you're stuck with me.  Some of you will have seen the first picture already, but these images capture something of the spirit of our new favourite place to eat.  It's probably just as well we are leaving as we have become seriously addicted to the food, booze, service and general atmosphere of this bar.  Also we nearly felt like locals by our third visit, with friendly greetings (we stood out a wee bit as the only gaijin in the joint) enthusiastic service and suggestions re food, etc.  Warm handshakes all round marked the conclusion of our final (sniff) dinner last night.

It wasn't all booze and food here tho - we took a spin around the outer reaches of the imperial palace and were lucky to see some of the staff abseiling into the moat in order to do some weeding...

As ever, the Tokyo metro is a breeze - it's the large stations that are a challenge.  No one ever tells you which exit/entrance to use and there are often about seventeen.  Fortunately there are shops, cafes, etc, down there and sometimes even friendly helper people. So, we never starved, and we always made it above ground, eventually.

Seeing a baseball game has been on my to-do list since before our last trip (which was sadly rained out).  This time, being wiser to the weather, we didn't book ahead, but rolled up on Thursday night on the off chance.  Not only did we get tickets to the Swallows (at home) vs the Giants (another Tokyo team) but we got brilliant seats near first base, once we had convinced the ticket-seller that we wanted the best PLACE to sit, rather than the best PRICE.  In fact, we paid quite a lot.  Worth every cent.  This pic shows the crowd walking towards Jingu stadium, many stopping along the way to buy food and drinks.  That's what we'll do next time, even though the beer girls and boys do an awesome job, bringing backpacks of beer right to your seat.

I didn't realise when I took this lovely selfie, but we were sitting in front of the boxes - so a very good position to see the game.  Everyone has a great time - lots of singing and chanting - but without any hassle.  Every seat has a beer (or other drink, I suppose) holder, rubbish is collected regularly and people look after their stuff.  It was heaps of fun.  A particular highlight was the 'lucky seven' routine everyone participates in at the seventh innings - it involves waving tiny umbrellas (swallows umbrellas) and singing a special song...

One small disappointment was being unable to buy a swallows t-shirt that proclaimed UNION IS STRENGTH.  Which it is.  Apparently they were for members only.  Bugger.  I am going to pursue this online once we're home.  Where there's a will, etc...

But enough about the baseball.  There was also culture.  For some reason I've omitted pictures of the temple at Asakusa, which we visited yesterday.  It was lovely to go back.  I first went there in 2009 with an Aotea College group and decided then that I'd like to come back sans kids, plus husband.  I suppose a six year turn around's not too bad.  

I can't include pics of the "Kyosai - master painter" exhibition either, as photos were banned.  But here's the ticket:

I include the paper clip, below, in honour of stationery heaven (or hell, I suppose, for some, naming no names, Geoffrey) Ito Ya, in the Ginza district.  Wow, what a glorious place.  I was very restrained tho, given our bulging luggage.

And so our 2015 adventure draws to a close.  If I can prevail upon G to make some concluding remarks while we wait for the plane there could be a final entry.  Otherwise, thanks for sharing the ride. It's been a blast.  See you in Aotearoa...