Pakdokter had not been back to Tokyo for more than one year. The last trip was for the family to celebrate the 2011 New Year when Raena came home for the Christmas and New Year vacation. We all joined Rastam in Tokyo for about 2 weeks.
2011 was remembered as the year when Japan was struck by an enormous earth-quake and the tsunami thereafter. Rastam, who was traumatised by the event, came home for a 3-week break. He again came home in September when he was on leave prior to joining the current company where he is now employed. As a result pakdokter had not made the usual trips to Japan last year.
The RSGC has an annual 'home and away' golf match with the Biwako Country Club in Kyoto. Since Rastam's move to work in Tokyo, pakdokter had regularly joined the RSGC Golf Tour of Japan to take the opportunity to also visit and spend some time with him there. Last year the RSGC trip to Biwako was cancelled due to the earthquake-tsunami. So when the programme was resumed this year, pakdokter decided to sign up and make the tour again.
A total of 34 golfers signed up for the tour this year. 19 of us took up the full programme of playing 2 rounds in Tokyo and 2 rounds in Kyoto at the Biwako Country Club. Pakdokter was one of the 19 who took the full package.
Raena, who had just returned home for good after 2 years of work in Edinburgh, came along with pakdokter and would spend some time with Rastam after pakdokter returned home. Raena has yet to decide what she wanted to do.
The MH flight from KLIA was delayed by 2 hours due to malfunctioned air-conditioning system. Half-way through the flight the entertainment system broke down and an hour before touch-down, the passengers were told to switch off their electronic equipment as the electronic system atthe cockpit had also malfunctioned. Luckily we made a safe landing at Narita. By the time we checked out and took our bus to town - we only arrived at our hotel at almost midnight.
Our hotel, the Mitsui Garden Hotel in Ginza was really conveniently located. Rastam, who finished work at midnight, came to join us at the hotel and we walked out to Shimbashi for a late night or rather early morning supper. We each had a bowl of ramen and shared a plate of gyoza.
the comfortable room at Mitsui garden Hotel, Ginza
a bowlful of prawn miso ramen
a happy reunion of the two siblings
delicious prawn curry noodle soup
father and son
the lobby of the Mitsui Garden Hotel is at the 16th floorit gives a panoramic vista of the city
the Tokyo Tower seen in the background
come this May, the twice as tall the Tokyo Sky Tree will be open
view of Odaiba from the 16th floor of Mitsui Garden Hotel lobby
1 comment:
Rastam seems to have a twisted smile now.
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