Natural wood seats at the train station. Not a mark on them!
For rate comparison purposes.
The cure for when there's more rice than shredded beef: self-shredded salmon!
Not very appealing, but this is blister #5. Had three at first to start, then one and then this last one. Managed to find medicated band aids at a convenience store and they helped immensely.
Interior of my home room at the APA Hotel. Brass-plated control panel built into the headboard controls the electrical devices in the room. Interior shudder cover for the window on the left. Immediately on the left is the bathroom.
Small desktop wedged between the bathroom wall on the left and window wall on the right.
Front of the room. Barely enough space for a suitcase between the bed and the shelving housing a small refridgerator. TV was about 23" hdtv.
On the wall, behind the shirts, is a wall-mounted card holder for the magnetic room key card. The card must be inserted to activate the room's electrical, inclusive of the AC unit in the ceiling. Bathroom door on the right.
The bathroom. Make that the entire bathroom, about 4 feet by 6 feet. Sign inside warns not to open door when bathroom is full of steam because it will trigger the ceiling mounted fire alarm above the bed.
Generously-sized shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion. Creative handheld shower fixture handles height issues of different occupants. Control runs off the sink's feed on the right. Has a timer for auto shutoff after 5 minutes.
If you're 4 or 5, this would be a great time...
The legendary Japanese multifunction toilet. Controls on the right; enjoy a quick wash while in a lazy position...
Close up of the device which routes water to the sink or the tub. The top rotates slowly for 5 minutes until it shuts off. Re-turning it to open gives another 5 minutes and so on... Temperature control on the right. Instructions on the wall behind.
The bed as viewed from the bathroom. Bed was very comfortable. Nice comforter, and the AC unit in the ceiling could drop the room temperature 10 degrees in 5 minutes..
This room was about $100 pernight on Expedia.com, with another $9 upfront per day for a buffet breakfast. Buffet selection was good and the food was tasty.
AC unit in the ceiling--highly effective with reasonable amount of noise.
The desk area. Shoe horn on the left, free water bottles on the desk (maid would leave one per day after servicing the room.)
Cover for the window. The window opens about 3 inches, and has a view of the corrugated metal siding of the next building over, which is all of about 8 inches away.
The view! Better hope there isn't a fire.
A more direct shot of the view...
Bathrobe to wear when going to and coming from the hot bath room on the top floor. Tub areas segregated into men's and women's. Didn't try.
A competing hotel located a half-block up on the other side of the street. Just as highly regarded as the APA, but a little bit cheaper.
A suit store. Figure 100 Yen per dollar... then these sport coats were $21 US. Not sure whether or not they were free of manufacturer defects. Didn't believe the prices so I got permission to take pictures from a clerk.
Another chain of 100 Yen stores (known as dollar stores in the U.S.) The "1F" means first floor.
Took the subway train down to explore the famous Ginza shopping district.
Lots of umbrellas out to block the sun. Quite the crosswalk too!
Quick photo from the center of this massive intersection in the Ginza district.
More English than Japanese on this Sony outdoor aquarium display.
Attempt to get some better pictures of the fish.
Finally, a good shark picture!
View looking back at this massive intersection. Pretty hard to photograph without traffic.
View looking down the main drag in Ginza.
A bit of a head-scratcher: sun umbrella in use, but then why wear black???
The famous fish market is just down the road from Ginza.