Craven Asia 2023 TR

[craven morehead]

Deplaned and headed for immigration. Well, it was quite a line up! By the time we were next in line this dopey sheila from who knows where hadn't done her paperwork in advance and or properly, and we stood there for friggin' 20 minutes at least waiting for our turn. Once it was our turn, we were through in 2 minutes. Off to collect our luggage which we figured had long since thought it had been abandoned Bugger me dead we get to the carousel and it's sitting on a trolley waiting for us to collect and head to taxi rank. Not sure if this is normal or just for OWE's.

Caught a taxi to the hotel. Taxis if you don't know aren't what you'd call cheap in Tokyo. It was an easy ride in traffic wise at that time of night.

Next up Mercure Ginza for 4 nights. Paid for courtesy of 36k ALL Points



In the foyer:



Up to level 2 for check in: This was just to the left of the check in desks.



Staff were great and we headed up to our room which we were advised had been upgraded a level



It had been 15 years since we had been in Japan, and I remember on that trip our rooms were tiny. This one was not too bad at all.





Some trinkets for Mister Accor Diamond



They are all sorts of kit packed into this little unit: Even the Power point for the kettle. Well done!



Strangely, they had soap, shampoo & conditioner dispensers along with numerous tubes of the stuff. Which they dutifully replaced every day after I bagged it So when the survey comes out and they ask me what I think about them saving the world, I'm not sure what to tell them



And the Shub, not my favoured showering method, especially when full of sauce. Anyway, I survived this stay

 

[Flyfrequently]

Great TR @craven morehead! Love your sense of humour and your appreciation of a glass or two of the bubbly stuff . We’ll be transiting through HKG early September (have a 5 hour layover) and can’t wait to visit the various lounges and sample the champers.

Agree, a great report @craven morehead !
We also have 5 hour layover in HKG enroute to Lisbon 6 September @Scash - we come off CX178 - think we'll miss each other?

 

[craven morehead]

Agree, a great report @craven morehead !
We also have 5 hour layover in HKG enroute to Lisbon 6 September @Scash - we come off CX178 - think we'll miss each other?

Many thanks @Flyfrequently
I do enjoy doing these TR's, even, as we all know there is some effort involved. However, it's great to share our stories.

 

[Scash]

Agree, a great report @craven morehead !
We also have 5 hour layover in HKG enroute to Lisbon 6 September @Scash - we come off CX178 - think we'll miss each other?

Yes we will unfortunately. We fly LHR-HKG on the 8 September and arrive in HKG around 7:40 am on the 9th. We then depart HKG 12:30 pm for BNE.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Yes we will unfortunately. We fly LHR-HKG on the 8 September and arrive in HKG around 7:40 am on the 9th. We then depart HKG 12:30 pm for BNE.

Happy travels

 

[craven morehead]

Some more photos of all the gear they pack into this handy little storage unit. Very well thought out.













Ice Machine on every floor. Very handy if you want to whack your beer into the ice bucket provided and chill before consumption.



Good Japanese beer in 600ml cans for ~AUD$3.00 at any Lawsons, Family Mart or 7-11. I'd normally grab 2 or 3 of these each day for pre-dinner drinks.



We were on level 9 of the 12 Storey building.



Heading down for our first breakfast here at Mercure Ginza.

 

[craven morehead]

Not a large dining room by any means and could get hectic depending what time you turned up.



Strong Black Coffee to start the day for me There was 2 of these machines on the go.



Japanese Options: Miso Soup & Rice



All the extras to suit your taste.



The pastry section has been flogged today





Western Options: Some days hot salmon or other fish along with chicken skewers, potato gems etc would be available as well. Variety was ok.







No egg station here The spread would change slightly each day.

It wasn't the easiest thing trying to get decent photos with everyone milling around.

The breakfast offering was solid without being spectacular. Certainly, no complaints when ours was free anyway!

 

[craven morehead]

Some of the breakfast tucker we tried.

We don't normally have prawns or quail eggs for brekky.



Mrs. CM loves the pastries





Had some fried Lotus Root for a change.



A quieter morning.



One of the juices on offer - Rosehip Cassis Vinegar, like what the Had to try it but didn't taste much good to me.

 

[SuePa]

Hmm, Brussels sprouts for breakfast. Not sure I could manage that.

 

[craven morehead]

Hmm, Brussels sprouts for breakfast. Not sure I could manage that.

I think it was a first for me the things you do for a TR

 

[craven morehead]

Off we go to Tokyo Skytree:

I reckon at least 90% of taxi drivers are still wearing masks.





Useful for some







Booked skip the queue tickets again, but it turned out to be not the same as the tickets at Taipei 101.

Basically we "skipped the queue" of ticket purchasers but it didn't give us straight up access to the lift.

Scanned QR code and received paper tickets then join the line. I would guess about 80% of the visitors were Japanese.

We lined up for a good half an hour before it was out turn to head up. With the Japanese being so polite and respectful, there was no argy bargy and even the conversations were quiet. Definitely no rambunctious behaviour whatsoever.

Plenty of people around.



Saw this sign and thought maybe they were having a cook off competition. No, it's a buy your platter and cook it yourself type of a turn out.







Looking out over the back of the Skytree complex.

 

[craven morehead]

So, another day spent looking down on people

The superb views showed just how vast a city Tokyo is with a population of ~37 million, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise.







We started at the 350m Tembo Deck.









Time for a feed.



A very basic menu but hey, it's lunch with a view.



I ran with the vegetable curry which was very tasty and a beer to wash it down. It's not every day you have lunch up 350m.

 

[craven morehead]

Some more views, this time from 450m and at times, different angles.















A glass floor for those that wish to look straight down. It was interesting to see some people go out of their way to avoid this section





Once you're on the top level you wind your way around the tower in a gentle upward spiral to get to the lift to head back down.



We enjoyed the views and our visit here. You do need to be aware that one has to line up for basically everything. This is all made a lot more bearable by the very polite nature of the Japanese patrons

 

[ellen10]

Late arrival ti this trip report. But I have enjoyed the catch up!

 

[craven morehead]

Late arrival ti this trip report. But I have enjoyed the catch up!

Many thanks @ellen10 I'll keep doing my best to make it interesting or at least informative.

 

[Lat34]

Many thanks @ellen10 I'll keep doing my best to make it interesting or at least informative.

on both from my perspective

 

[Flyfrequently]

Dare I 'fess up @craven morehead , I am one of "those people" who avoid the glass floor section - I have gotten worse with heights as I age.
Had to retreat quickly from the slightly swaying Columbus Monument in Barcelona and Burj Kalifa had me glued to the back wall!
Loving your TR and great photos.

 

[OZDUCK]

Dare I 'fess up @craven morehead , I am one of "those people" who avoid the glass floor section - I have gotten worse with heights as I age.
Had to retreat quickly from the slightly swaying Columbus Monument in Barcelona and Burj Kalifa had me glued to the back wall!
Loving your TR and great photos.

Great photos from up above but my sort of reaction as well.

 

[craven morehead]

on both from my perspective

Cheers for the feedback @Lat34 much appreciated

 

[craven morehead]

Great photos from up above but my sort of reaction as well.

I guess it's not for everyone @OZDUCK