Our last day in Tokyo began with the morning light streaming from an incredibly high view of the south side of the city. Here is Millie reading the paper, enjoying living at cloud level:
We headed down to the lobby where we enjoyed a bountiful buffet breakfast, full of Japanese and American style offerings. Brett must have eaten 4 croissants and drank 4 cups of coffee, and Millie may have drowned herself in fresh squeezed orange juice. A great way to start the day.
Bellies full, we hopped over to Shinjuku to visit the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Since it was sakura season, guards lined the entrance and bags were checked for naughty beverages that would disturb the peace.
We made our way in, and immediately fell in love with the park. Of course, the sakura trees were blossoming and we (and the crowds) soaked in the immense beauty.
After about an hour of wandering and obsessive sakura tree documentation, we headed back to the hotel to get ready to travel to the airport. Of course, we stopped at the dessert bar, and grabbed some lunch, since we wouldn’t have time to stop on the way:
We enjoyed our desserts lunch on the N’Ex (Narita Express) train and prepared ourselves for the list of departure activities and long flight home. The best part of traveling on the high speed trains is the amount of room you can use to sprawl out and relax.
On the plane, we tried our best to sleep a bit, but it was futile. The demons of long flights won in the end, and jet lag set in…
Sleep? Maybe? Not really…
On the other side of the airplane ride, we emerged in the past, found our way through customs, and Sunday became Saturday again. Although we felt terrible, our spirits were up from our fantastic vacation and from the anticipation of seeing our children again. Back on US soil again.