Japan Holiday: Day 1 - Arrival in Tokyo

After celebrating Christmas Day at home, we set out for Changi Airport first thing on December 26th for our vacation to Japan. We enjoyed our snowy travels there so much last year that it was an easy decision to return and see more of that beautiful country.

Waiting to Depart Changi Airport for Tokyo!

For the first time, each child in the family had enough miles in her Singapore Air Krisflyer account to redeem her own ticket to Tokyo and back. Those long flights back to the US each summer paid off for our winter travel this year! After 6 1/2 hours in the sky, we arrived at Narita Airport outside Tokyo around 5pm. It was pitch dark outside, our first taste of winter.

I was proud of the girls that we were able to ride the express train into the city, change trains at the Tokyo station during rush hour (with all our luggage in tow) and then walk underground for what felt like a mile to our hotel without a single meltdown.

What I learned during our travel preparation was that Tokyo doesn't really have a city center; rather it's a collection of different districts. We opted to stay at the Park Hotel in Shinbashi because it was close to Ginza (the popular shopping district) and situated on a main train line we could use around the city.

We dropped our bags in the hotel room and ended up dining at a Belgian beer bar of sorts in the complex next to the hotel. Not a bad way to start any vacation in my opinion! When we settled back at the hotel for bedtime, we got our first glimpse of the city and we were eager to begin sight-seeing the next morning.

Tokyo at Night