Here Comes the Prince and Princess

Japanese breakfast, no bagels

Nuno

Nabeyaki Udon

Egg and Chicken Donburi

When we awoke today, there was a note tucked under our door, that some of the Hotel elevators would be unavailable in the morning due to security. We went down for breakfast and immediately saw all kinds of additional police.

It turns out the Prince and Princess of Japan were arriving in the Hotel for a meeting. We felt very secure being inside the bubble. After breakfast we departed for the Mori Museum. This museum in the Roppongi area of Tokyo had a very contemporary show that we enjoyed. It is located on the 52^nd floor of the Mori tower with a view of all of Tokyo. Our guide, Keiko walked us to Nuno, one of our favorite fabric stores. After shopping at Nuno and the other stores in the Axis Building we went to a famous Soba Restaurant: Honmura Ah for noodles and Egg Donburi.

We then went to a private museum named the Musee Como. It had an exhibition of Master Ceramic Tea Bowls. They ranged in shape, color and texture but all were amazing. It was also interesting seeing how they were secured against earthquake! They were tied down with what looked like nylon fishing wire.

More shopping was followed by another artistic visit, this time to the studio of Alan West a painter who currently is painting two enormous folding screens. We walked through the neighborhood of Ueno This area of Tokyo has lots of older buildings, houses and temples and is quite charming. We walked over to the Children’s Library which is in an old building that previous was part of the Imperial Library that Tadao Ando (our favorite Japanese architect), has modernized. We love his work!

We then taxied back to our hotel, had a Martini and prepared for supper. Quick word about our hotel - It is an architectural masterpiece. We really enjoy it. The architect for the hotel: Kengo Kuma, is a master. His use of wood, water and concrete, combined with the gardens are stunning. The staff is top notch.

On this trip to Tokyo we have extensively used cabs and avoided the subway. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to do what we did without Cabs and a guide. Tokyo is a maze. Before we left the hotel for any destination, the concierge would print out a map (in Japanese). We would show that to the doorman, who would explain it to the Cab Driver, who would punch it in to his GPS (the GPS in Tokyo cabs is closer to airplane navigation than the GPS you would see in any car in America – it endlessly fascinated me). The cab driver would then head out, constantly playing with the GPS trying to find his way to the destination. We always did, but it was often circuitous and always expensive. We did always get to our where we wanted.