Arrival

I landed at 4:54pm local, and I was out of Narita and on the way to Tokyo at 5:45.  On the drive into Tokyo, my eyes were everywhere trying to take everything in.   Here are a few of the things I noted.

• Narita is pretty far outside Tokyo, so the area during the first half of the drive looks surprisingly rural.
• First love motel sighted at 5:50pm. Or at least I think it was, based on the different rate schedules posted on this huge sign near the road.
• There is more English to be seen than even I expected.  I'd been told to expect to see quite a bit of English, but it is more common than I imagined.
• Patches of farmland seem to show up in the most random places.
• I wish I could get pictures of some of these hotels that I'm seeing on the way in.  Some are downright strange.
• I start seeing signs of more metropolitan development around 15km out; including things like taller commercial buildings, retail centers, and one huge store that looks suspiciously like a Home Depot
• Just saw a sign for Tokyo Disney.
• The size of Tokyo didn't really hit me until I looked up and saw nothing but city skyline in front of me.
• Drove past a huge row of cherry trees overlooking a lit path.  Just wow.  I need to find that place one night.
• I've seen this symbol on a couple buildings now of a cat holding a kitten.  I'll need to find out what that is.
• First McDonald's spotted at 6:37pm.
• The bus just paced along side a commuter train.  Good lord was it packed.  A sardine can jumped to mind.
• The number of different building types is unbelievable.
• Just saw a gas station UNDER a building.  It's kinda just inserted into what I would have guessed had been an entrance to a parking garage.

I'm off the bus at Shinjuku station at 6:50pm. These are some of the views as I walk to the hotel.