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Trains to Tokyo
Today will be a special day.

We boarded the train at Jimmuji and headed through the tunnel on our way to Tokyo for the first time.

We're going to a Nippon professional Baseball Game at the Tokyo Dome.

Motsu Station (KK-51)

Train Operators
The more time spent on the trains, the more we appreciated everything about them.
One of the best spots on the trains is up front, right behind the train operator.

These train operators are responsible for thousands of lives at any given moment.
Millions and millions of passengers ride trains every day in Japan.

The operators take their jobs very seriously, and you can see it, as they physically and mentally go through a ritualistic series of safety checks and procedures at every stop.

It is fascinating, and very reassuring, to watch all of them doing their jobs.

The trains run on time, on a tight schedule, and everything must be done just right for that to happen consistently. And it does.

Looking out the front windows of the train is the best.

Trains come in so many different varieties of styles, shapes and colors.

The underground networks of trains and subways is a whole other complex world to explore.

Welcome to Tokyo
Welcome to Tokyo! A beautiful city in many ways. It was a Sunday. Very quiet and almost no traffic.

Fire prevention and systems are a big deal.

We had a little time before the game.

So we decided to check out the Imperial Palace Gardens first.

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Tokyo FD - The Marunouchi Fire Station
On the way to the Imperial Palace Gardens, Papa decided to take advantage of the nice sunny day.

While doing prior research, Papa knew that the Tokyo Fire Headquarters (tall white building) and the Marunouchi Fire Station were just a block away.

A quick run up the street for some quick photos. Perfect!

Tokyo Headquarters is the tall white building to the left of the Fire Station.

The Fire Station is the Marunouchi Fire Station. It is in in the Chiyoda City area of Tokyo, near the Imperial Palace grounds.

It is so nice to see fire stations with open doors and fire apparatus visible to the public.

The station does not use overhead doors. Doors are on tracks from the side. A netting is kept in front of the apparatus, until apparatus needs to respond, to provide some safety.

Command car for incident commander

Command Truck. Large unit used anywhere in the city for large incidents.

Ladder truck.

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Tokyo Imperial Palace Gardens
The family skipped the fire station visit. We caught up with them at the Imperial Palace gardens.

An overview spot within the Imperial Gardens.

The white building with the large antenna is the Tokyo Fire Headquarters.

Solid construction that has stood for hundreds of years.

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Lunch in Tokyo
A lunch break in Tokyo also turned into an opportunity to get out of the heat for a little bit.

We found this place inside one of the air conditioned high rise towers.
Another Ramon Noodle type meal.

Moving people effectively and efficiently is one thing that Japan is very good at.

The use of escalators, some very large ones, is common. There is also a sort of escalator etiquette, where people ride on one side (usually the left, going up) allowing those who may be in more of a hurry to pass on the right. We rode a lot of escalators.

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To the Tokyo Dome for Baseball
We approach the Tokyo Dome for our 14:30 game.

A pregame rally. The home team wears orange.

The blue team, the Chunichi Dragons, are up from Nagoya to play the Yomiuri Giants here at the Tokyo Dome today. The Dragons fans come with flags, a brass band, drummers, and lots of enthusiasm.

I took a 360 walk a around the inside of the Tokyo Dome to take it all in.

High definition display screens are playing everywhere.

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Play Ball
We had some great seats in the back row of our section.

Cheer leaders part of the pre-game show.

High definition screens go all across the outfield, serving as the scoreboard, and much more.

Beer Girl. She has style. And cold beers on tap over the shoulder!

Cold beer looks good doesn't it?!

We wore our Red Sox shirts on for the game.

Sitting right behind us is a dedicated Giants (orange team) Fan. He attends every game. We got to know him as the game went on. His name, I believe, was YUM.

The Dragons (blue team) are up to bat, and so are their fans, in their sections with a full band.

It doesn't really matter if you prefer the orange team, or the blue team, if you love the baseball.

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Jum - Giants Fan
I believe this man's name is Jum. He is a totally dedicated Giants Fan who doesn't miss a game.

He was sitting right behind us over looking the 3rd base line. We got to know him as the game progressed. He learned it was our first visit to the Dome, and that we were big baseball fans back home. We did not speak the language, but communicated fairly well.

That is Jum sitting on the right in the orange shirt.

Go Giants!
Our new friend Jum soon figured out that we enjoyed baseball, and that it was our first time at the Tokyo Dome.

Before we knew what was happening, he unbuttoned his orange Giants jersey, and handed it to me.

It was a little snug on me, but we were grateful, and proud to put it on!  Instantly, we would be forever Giants Fans!

This complete stranger, helped welcome us to Tokyo, and Japanese baseball, by literally taking the shirt off his back!

How cool was that?!
ARIGATO JUM!

We left a little before the game was over, but the Giants went on to WIN!

"Uncle Jum" Arigato!

Nana's Green Tea

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Heading Home
It is only about an hour or so from Tokyo to Ikego. We just need to figure out our way home again.
Which Line do we start with? Check the map.

We're headed to the lower left somewhere.

We did it once again. Made it back to KK-52 in one piece.
 

END OF DAY 6 - SEPT 10, 2023

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