Tokyo Biz Trip October 2017

In October I had a chance to visit Tokyo to attend training with my company's vendor.  It was a great 7 days trip to Tokyo after 8 years.  Yes, that's how long it had been since I last visited Japan.  This time I flew by ANA and took a day time flight to Haneda which is much nearer than Narita.

For this trip I went with my Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm F4R OIS.  I bought that XF10-24 from a friend who wants to upgrade to the XF16-55, not sure if he got it already or not...  Anyway, that 10-24 was a great buy which I really loved from the moment I got it.  I really missed shooting at such a wide angle!

ANA for a change from the usual SIA

Weather was quite bad, there were frequent but bearable turbulences - took this with my G6

Arrival in Tokyo was close to 8 pm.  After checking in at Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome (http://www.hvf.jp/eng/location/shiodome.php), I wasted no time and visited Yurakucho for a quick sightseeing before finally returning back to the hotel to call it a day. 

Grand Deluxe room in Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome

On the following morning I bumped into 2 colleagues from Europe during breakfast and ended up going together.  The funny thing was I had left first but bumped into them again in Shimbashi station so we decided to just go together.

First stop of the day was Asakusa Senso-Ji.  The place was extremely crowded.  Pity that Kaminari-Mon was renovated so we missed a good photo opportunity there.

Hozomon

A statue of Amitabha outside Senso-ji

One of the many small gardens in the complex

Awashimado

And the oh-so crowded Kaminarimon Doori

A parting shot of Sensoji, Kannon Temple

But as far as I can see Senso-ji is extremely crowded.  I should have come at night to get better photos of the complex. 

So, next stop is the Skytree (http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/), a relatively new attraction near Asakusa which makes it a logical next stop in our itinerary.  Again, the place was extremely crowded, most likely due to the public holiday.

When we started queuing we were told that we had to wait approximately 90 minutes to get our tickets, so we decided to get the express pass at JPY 4000 which is double the normal price.

Skytree was a bit bland for me, perhaps because I had experienced Bitexco back in Ho Chi Minh, but Skytree is more modern than Bitexco.  So it felt slightly different.

Skytree from below

Inside Skytree

It was a bit foggy, but view was spectacular

After we were done in Skytree we split ways, the ladies went to a nearby cat cafe while I headed to Suidobashi.  I went to get a Tokaido Karate Gi there(https://www.tokaido.tokyo/).  And after that I headed back to the hotel for a pit stop.

In early evening I went over to Odaiba.  The place was amazing.

Rainbow bridge right before sunset

After the sun sets, the sights become very colourful. 

Didn't have to go far to see the Statue of Liberty, there was one right in Odaiba

One of the main attraction in Odaiba is the 15 meter Gundam statue in Diver City.

1:1 scale Gundam Unicorn, how I really loved this, I could stand here for hours wishing I could get into the cockpit if it had one

Diver City also hosts the biggest Gundam Plastic model shop called The Gundam Base (https://www.gundam-base.net/).

Gundam Base at 7th Floor Diver City

Unfortunately I just don't do these models anymore nowadays....  I still have an uncompleted MG RX-93...  Nevertheless, visiting Odaiba's Diver City was like I died and went to Gundam heaven.  I could stay there for the longest time if I had the chance.

So that was about the sightseeing I did on day 1.  The rest of the days were pretty much training and training and function dinners so I didn't have the chance to go out again until the last day.

Meeting rooms 7 & 8 for our training

But on the last day I only went sightseeing and didn't take any photos.  It was raining anyway...  And finally it was time to return back home to Singapore.

Exploring Haneda before take-off

It was raining again

Here's a closing shot for this entry:

My best take of Rainbow Bridge from Odaiba Seaside Park

~ Photos taken with Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm F4R OIS ~