Tokyo; tonight tea and symphony

A fourteen hour direct flight brought us almost halfway around the world and just a few degrees off the same latitude from New York City to Tokyo, Japan. The international date line put us a full day and fourteen hours ahead of our departure. 

Rainy and chilly weather greeted us.  Our ride to the hotel let us observe this capital city’s mix of ultra modern skyscrapers along side of historic temples and gardens. Tokyo is seven times larger and definitely more densely populated than New York. More details will unfold as we tour around the next couple of days. 

Exhausted but excited, we dropped our bags and headed to Suntory Hall to enjoy a performance of Beethoven’s Emperor piano concerto and his Ninth symphony. 

Suntory Hall opened in 1986 with the goal of achieving the world’s most beautiful sound. The excellent acoustics have been enjoyed and praised worldwide. It is also the first concert hall in Japan to offer vineyard-style seating, allowing the musicians and the audience to share an immersive music environment. Our seats were overlooking the stage. Coincidentally, we were seated next to the wife of the first chair bass player and she is originally from New Jersey. What a crazy small world we live in! The performance was superb and has left us energized. 

Our adventure has begun in a spectacular fashion. Welcome to Japan!