Hello Tokyo! From memory, it must be well over 13 years since we last saw each other. It's great to be back even if it meant having to get up at 4am this morning to come and see you.

記憶中闊別東京大概有超過13年。 縱使今早要凌晨4時起床來見你，我也很樂意。 多年沒見，你依然同樣繁榮，同樣友善，同樣是一個一級大都會城市。 先進的你，在電梯上能抓緊我30公斤重的行李，絕不用我動一根手指。 火車車卡外，非常熱情地為台灣歡呼。 走在銀座街頭，有人見人愛的三麗鷗旗艦專門店， 林立四周的大廈後面， 仍然有不少傳統的居酒屋。 這樣跟老朋友重逢，也不錯噢！(你有見到我朋友劉美女嗎？)

ESCALATORS

My impression of you being a modern, efficient and friendly city hasn't changed all these years. From the moment I came out of the airport, your advanced escalators miraculously gripped on tightly to my trolley and 30kg load of suitcases as I went down to the train station. You took care of everything and I didn't have to lift a finger during the ride.

As the train came, what a welcoming sight! Did I tell you I'm living in Taiwan now? I'm so pleased that Japan and Taiwan are still the best of friends.

SANRIO

I couldn't wait to go out and see what you had lined up for me. I'm still a Little Twin Star fan and I heard about the new Sanrioworld at Ginza. It's every Sanrio fans dreamland, bringing out the young at heart from everyone, me included. The range of products there was just surreal, and of course I couldn't resist leaving without some goodies.

ELEGANCE

Next stop was Hibiya Midtown Tokyo. This complex wasn't around last time we met. Your beauty and elegance is certainly reflected in this area, so I'm not surprised that it was very busy on this Friday evening.

DINNER

You're new and modern, but you still maintain your tradition and character. I stumbled into a little izakaya down an alleyway because there were lots of people sitting outside. The vibe here was such a contrast to Hibiya Midtown Tokyo.

I was squeezed in between two groups of locals. One gentleman was out with his colleagues who were from England. What a coincidence! Gentleman helped me to order my drinks as the waitress rushed me to start ordering. She became much friendlier as the night when on as me and my party ordered our fourth round of drinks. After a very satisfying meal, I bid farewell to my neighbours as I was starting to get a bit tired. By now the whole izakaya was jam packed with customers, as was all the other izakayas nearby. I love your vibe.

HELLO TOKYO

Hello Tokyo. I've only seen you again for less than 12 hours. But its like we haven't been apart for that long.

Hello Tokyo. I'm going be around for a few more days. I hope I'll get to see more of you this time. Looking forward to see what you have in store for me.

 

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://livinguktaiwan.com/hello-tokyo/

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Check out all my travel posts here on Steemit Worldmap, and also my latest project @LadiesOfAsia where we share fun and cultural diversity across Asia Pacific.