Excellent Adventures 2003: Tokyo Daze

HEIDI AND LEE'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES

Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan

August through December 2003

Tokyo from Roppongi Hills (October 2003)

HIGHLIGHTS

DETAILS

HOMEPAGE

TOKYO DAZE

Heidi and Lee made their requisite Tokyo trip from Hikone in mid-October, a long weekend visit prior to Lee's taking up his role as Study Leader for the 2003 edition of the Smithsonian's long-running Japan Journey travel seminar which began this year on October 17th.

Roppongi Hills, Tokyo (October 2003) Tokyo has undergone a major transformation on a number of fronts over the past five years or so. Lee took in many of the changes on his second trip to the city this year in June 2003 (his first of the year took place in March) when he spent a week visiting newly-completed major construction projects all across town. He continued his explorations with Heidi in tow this time around, concentrating on the Roppongi Hills area and revisiting the Shiodome area, Odaiba and the Tokyo International Forum.

After Heidi's return to Cleveland, at the end of November, over the long Thanksgiving weekend, Lee returned for yet a third time to catch some museum exhibits, attend a pre-release screening of THE LAST SAMURAI and add Jiyugaoka to his lengthy list of neighborhoods visited in this endlessly fascinating city.

Mansions at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo (October 2003)

The last two visits were made especially memorable by the fine hotel, the Mansions at Roppongi, we managed to book over the Internet for a remarkably low rate (especially considering the luxurious accommodations we found awaiting us upon our arrival).

Roppongi Hills, Tokyo (October 2003)

Entrance to Mori Museum of Art, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo (October 2003)

Our Roppongi Hills visit took up much of two entire days and included HAPPINESS, the incredible inaugural exhibit at the Mori Museum of Art. The museum occupies the 53rd through 55th floors of the Mori Tower at the heart of the residential-retail-entertainment-office complex and offers visitors, in addition to fine art exhibits, amazing panoramic views out over the entire city of Tokyo!

Tokyo from Roppongi Hills (October 2003)

We even returned for dinner our third night in town and hung around for a night time view of what its developers hope will become the new heart of the city.

Night View, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo (October 2003)

It hasn't hurt at all to have had the Roppongi Hills logo designed by Murakami Takashi, by far the "hottest" contemporary artist at work in Japan today; his work was not only included in the HAPPINESS exhibit but on display all over the complex on everything from sidewalks and illuminated billboards to broad expanses of the Big Hat entrance to the local subway station.

Murakami Takashi logo, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo (October 2003)