Yesterday I ventured out to Ueno (only a few minutes from my hotel, the location for this post) to see the Ameyoko market and get some of the good cheap food I was told about there. I went into a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant close by and waited for a while to be seated, but the sushi was delicious and cheap (photo below).

From there I walked through the market and then into the park area where several museums are located. I spent a few hours walking through some very good exhibits of Egyptian, Chinese and Japanese art in the Tokyo National Museum.

I finally met up with Kiyomi last night. She brought her friend Megumi along and we all went to Ginza to join another friend Kazu. Last night near the Tokyo station there was a huge festival going on (Illumination festival?) which involved a series of huge gates made of lights set up all the way down a main street. We all went to see it and took some photos, then walked to a restaurant.

I wish I could remember the name (Wataki? Watami?) - as Kiyomi promised, it was nothing like I’ve experienced at home. The food was excellent and we all had plenty of sake and biru. Tonight I have plans to meet up with Mayu’s friend Shige and Kazu in Shibuya for drinking and karaoke.