I took the Narita Express train from the airport to the city of Tokyo – about a 1½ hour ride. Interestingly, the seats on the train provided perfect ergonomic support – my back pain instantly vanished. During the train ride, I eagerly observed my first views of Japan. The journey segues from farms to suburbs to city. My first impression – a surprise – the farms and the suburbs reminded me of Germany! Something about the arrangement of buildings in space, and also the building construction.I suppose a lot of post-war, maybe 1960s buildings – a more solid, square, simple look than is typical in the US.
The one thing that was really different was the roofs. In particular, some of the roofs were a bright turquoise blue! Also, the roof tiles appear to be glazed ceramic tiles, with a shape kind of like the rounded Spanish style – very different from the German roof style.
I couldn’t get a good photo from the train, so this one is from here.
Arrived at hotel, exhausted. Dinner at an inexpensive local sushi place. Talked a bit to an older couple seated next to me at the bar – the wife had lived in New York for four years when she was young.
Hotel room was tiny, as expected. The bathroom was surprisingly roomy though.
