Weekend Roundup

  WE ARE TRAVLLING UNTIL DEC 22, I WILL LINK UP IF POSSIBLE. BUT I EXPECT LIMITED INTERNET/WI-FI.

As I am away, and will have limited wi-fi access, I have scheduled Weekly Roundup, not knowing what Tom's choice will be. Therefore I'll choose something!!

Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "V"
2. A Favorite
3. - Chosen by Tom me!

Starts with V (BIGGEST/SMALLEST/LONGEST/SHORTEST/OLDEST)

VOLKSWAGON VAN small Lego New York City

FAVOURITE

VINTAGE Kensington Market

MY CHOICE

VAN HORN TX 2025

Happy Anniversary!

 November 27, 2025

Well, who would have thought that we'd be here in Hanoi Vietnam on our 38 wedding anniversary +9 years together!! 47 years!

It's been a good travel year so far!

Tokyo - Hanoi Wednesday Nov 26

 Wednesday Nov 26 2025 - Tokyo Japan - Hanoi Vietnam

Previous posts can be found on the right side under BLOG ARCHIVE.

STEPS not many TRANSIT 1 cab 

WEATHER sunny

TOUR DAY 1 airport transfer

You have to be early to catch Mount Fiji from our room. 

We had a later breakfast and then hung around our room.I tried the vegetable and mushroom dumpling this morning along with the rose ham.

 I used the business centre to do some blog updates..Have I mentioned I HATE this chromebook!!

We arranged our airport transfer for 12:30 PM even though the flight is at 6. Hotel checkout is 11 and I arranged for a 12:30 checkout. 

As we were going to checkout the driver messaged to say he was early and we could leave when ready. We got in the cab and he was away running. It took 1.5 hours to get to the airport compared to the 2.5 when we arrived.

Narita airport is amazing! Check in was quick and efficient. Then through priority security, it was so quiet and it was mainly women working there. Immigration was a matter of scanning our passports. Then to the Sakura Lounge. It is two floors. 

There was a good selection of food. Beer and wine were dispensed by machine! The bathroom was the most technical we've seen! 

Boarding was ar 15:50 PM and it was seamless. The gate attendants made sure boarding was orderly. Some tried to skip the line and were sent back! Our tickets, through Air Canada, said Premium Economy so I assumed upright seats like AC with no amenities! WOW what a surprise! 

I would love to see JAL business class, nevermind, first class! 

We were offered Japanese sweaters, yes, please. A full bar and menu selection, both Japanese and western. Seats that fully reclined to flat. Yikes, they had built in massages.

John, in his sweater and slippers, fully looked like an English lord of the manor.

The head flight attendant greeted each of us with a series of bows. The service was outstanding.

After a Japanese whisky, I chose the Japanese meal for the experience. I enjoyed parts of it...I chose Japanese red wine. John had the steak which he said was meh. 

I watched a silly movie Something from Tiffany's and rewatched Juror No.2.

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Tour description

Welcome to Hanoi! You will pass through immigration (have your visa ready) and then go to baggage claim. Our representative will welcome you outside the arrival’s hall holding a sign with Wingbuddy's logo. The representative will brief you about the tour and advise the pick-up time for your first activity. Transfer to the hotel and check-in.

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It is a 6 hour flight and we gained 2 hours.

We landed about minutes late and headed to Immigration, where the lines were long. Passports stamped, and we never had to present our visas. It was probably already in the system. Luggage picked up and Vinnie met us with his sign and called for the car. It is about a 40 minute drive to the hotel so it was around midnight when we got our room.

This is considered day one of the tour although the actual tour doesn't start until Nov 29, as we booked two additional hotel stays to be spent on our own.

The hotel is the Thang Long Opera hotel in the French Quarter. It is called the French Quarter although the French left the city nearly 70 years ago.

ITALICS TOUR DESCRIPTION

Make your way to your hotel for check-in. (To ensure your airport transfer is arranged, please make sure to send us your flight details - only if you are arriving that day.)

After arriving in Hanoi, the rest of your day is free for you to relax or start your exploration of the night markets and bustling streets of Hanoi.

Quick facts about Vietnam

Population: 97.34 million

Currency: Vietnamese Dong

Capital city: Hanoi

Major airports:Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) and Da Nang International Airport (DAD)

Language: Vietnamese

Tokyo Tuesday Nov 25

 Tuesday Nov 25 2025 - Tokyo Japan

Previous posts can be found on the right side under BLOG ARCHIVE.

STEPS 15,000 2 cabs

WEATHER 13 raining and damp

We thought we had the correct name for a temple we wanted to see in    .But the cab driver spoke to a bellboy who said that was the wrong address, duh, yeah, it was seven hours away! So we opted to head to Akihabara.

— often abbreviated as Akiba — is among the most internationally famous neighborhoods in Tokyo. As you probably already know, it is THE place to go for all kinds of geekery. Akiba has the highest concentration of manga, anime merch, and maid cafés you can find in any one place on earth (not even an exaggeration). Also: electronics shops, arcades, and go-karts.

Akihabara feels like a Tokyo fever dream. It’s dense, built-up, and crowded (like much of central Tokyo), but has added touches like whole blocky buildings in bold primary colors; advertisements for virtual idols that stretch several stories high; and a clanging soundtrack courtesy of the numerous arcades, pachinko parlors, and discount electronics retailers in the area.

Akiba is one of those Tokyo neighborhoods that is a whole culture unto itself. Beyond the ubiquitous merch shops, the neighborhood is known for: gatchapon (capsule toy machines), regular-looking vending machines that sell things like bread in a can, and maid cafés.

Maid cafés are cafés where the wait staff dress in maid outfits. Specifically, those kind of ~sexy~ “French maid” costumes normally seen on Halloween. Maids (cute, sexy, demure, or otherwise) have long been popular characters in manga and anime. Then somebody had the clever idea to open the first maid café and it became a whole THING. Initially the cafés were otaku haunts but now they are popular tourist attractions.

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It started raining as we were having coffee and never really let up.

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We wandered, John tried his luck at a clamp machine, a few times, with no luck.

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We found an egg sandwich place, but didn't want to eat standing in the rain.

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Crepes

Vending machines everywhere.

A food hall we wandered through.

Instead we found a British pub, perfect for a rainy day. They had a selection of lunchtime specials at a great price. John had the hamburg spaghetti and I had the beef curry.

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Then we set out to find the Don Quixote store. That was an experience. John bought a t-shirt. We had planned on going to the bar in the hotel for nightcaps but we discovered we  could buy alcohol that was only 1,600 yen for two small bottles. A shot of scotch at the hotel was 35,000 yen, $35 CAD!

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Capsule hotels consist of tiny pod-like rooms – or sleeping pods — stacked together, providing the bare minimum in terms of space and amenities. The first capsule hotel, designed by Kisho Kurokawa, went up in Osaka in 1979. They are also sometimes known as sleep pods, cube hotels, or cubicle hotels. Inside, there’s just enough room for a person to crawl inside, lie down, and (maybe) sit up.

It was not a great day for sightseeing so we were glad that our river cruise was so early at 4:50.

Around 4 we found a cab to take us to the pier for our 4:35 river cruise. The driver took us to the wrong place and said it would be faster for us to walk to the spot.

WE ARE DOING NON - TOKYO TOWER TOUR

This tour was run like a military expedition! At first it looked like we were the only passengers but then another couple arrived. We set off at precisely 4:50. 

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We boarded a Yakatabune houseboat with a history dating back to the Heian period (794,1185) which was used for entertainment by nobles and merchants during the Edo period (1603,1868).It had tatami mats so we had to remove our shoes before entering. Then the chairs were soooo low to the floor.

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The two tables were set for us to cook our food asukiati or hot pot.We ordered two sakes (1,000 yen), the biggest glasses ever. I suspect they were watered down as neither of us felt anything.

At 5:23 we were told we could go upstairs while they cleaned the tables. If you wanted to keep your food, you could place your chopsticks across the top of the hot pot. No one did.

We were told to be back at 5:45 for the entertainment.

It wasn't raining and the views were wonderful. The Rainbow Bridge. The Rainbow Bridge (Japanese: レインボーブリッジ) is a suspension bridge crossing northern Tokyo Bay between Shibaura Pier and the Odaiba waterfront development in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its official name is the Tokyo Port Bridge (東京港連絡橋, Tōkyō Kō Renrakukyō). The English name "Rainbow Bridge" was chosen by public vote. The bridge carries road, rail and pedestrian traffic on two decks and is a prominent element of the Odaiba waterfront skyline.

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Karen, the guide, took photos.

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Dessert - almond tofu.

Then the entertainment. It was a little awkward with only four of us, as she tried to get us to sing along, which John did with full gusto, earning her approval!

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At the end, we could get photos with the entertainers. Then off at 6:25! 

We found a cab. Most drivers would take the highway back to our hotel, no he didn't. It ended up being an hour long trip and 60,000 yen.