In October I took a work trip to Japan, my first time visiting Asia. Takeda's labs are in Shonan on the outskirts of greater Tokyo. We had another business meeting in Kobe, west of Osaka. Negotiating the country was easier than I expected thanks to Google Maps and Translate. The people and food were delightful and I'd like to return to see more natural and cultural sites.
My first 3 nights were in Yokohama at a hotel right near the train station. Yokohama station is one of the top ten busiest railway stations in the world and is surrounded by 12-story department stores and
We traveled by rail to the Takeda site from Yokohama. Exposure to smokers was not a problem.
The shinkansen, or bullet trains, have dedicated stations with platforms high above the tracks.
They travel up to 180 mph and allowed us to cover the 250 miles between Yokohama and Kobe in 2 hours and 20 min
In Kobe we had an afternoon free to explore the mountainside above the city
Cablecars rode up
for a view of the city
Among the gardens was a hot spring-fed foot soaking tub
next time we'll walk up the mountain and earn the footbath
Later we toured a new lab facility built by our collaborators. Love the green parking spots that allow drainage
Kobe at night. On TV I watched the Japan Series baseball, a week ahead of the "World" Series in the US.
Breakfast spread at the hotel
Duty-free Totoro at Narita airport. Despite mandatory mask-wearing, one of our group contracted COVID on the way home. I did not, even though I returned to a COVID situation in our house that eventually infected Erin, Caroline, Heather, and Grampa Ed. Me, Tessie, and Grandma Joan fended it off.
