Kanto
Tokyo
Not the most pleasant of mornings. This morning we're off to Tokyo, capital of Japan and home to the Imperial Palace. Ever since 1868 anyways. Before that it was Kyoto, Tokyo was called Edo and the two were linked by the Tokaido (road). I always thought Tokyo and Kyoto were the same place. Anyways, off we go.
I can (just barely) see that today is a lovely day to be on top of the clouds.
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That's better.
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Actually a nice day now.
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Every conceivable slightly flat surface has something on it.
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Some kind of car test track down there.
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You can tell where an old river bed used to be by the farmland using every square inch of flat land.
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Kasumigaura and its bay. Lake Kasumigaura used to be a brackish water lagoon connected to the Pacific Ocean via a couple of rivers, and it has been famous for its amazing fishing back into antiquity. In 1963 a water control gate was built between here and the ocean causing the lagoon to become a fresh water lake. The fishing is now sporadic as species attempt to adapt.
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Here we are for the night, Tokyo. Right in front of us is the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world, at some 80 meters higher than the CN tower. Ours is prettier though.
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Lots of unique buildings in this place.
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Time to head to the airport. Haneda is an artificial island airport built on reclaimed land. These are fairly common in Japan as every square inch of flat land is otherwise engaged at the moment, so making new airports is a bit of a challenge. The other airport in Tokyo, Narita, was built on "Eminent Domain" land and there is such an outrage over this by previous farmers that the airport can never be completed. Japan is now home to several floating airports, although some of them may be considered sinking airports.
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That is by far the prettiest nav aid I have ever seen. It is a pleasure to turn final here.
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So that's another one for the books.
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