Day 1 Tokyo

We arrived in Tokyo bright and early, and feeling full of confidence, and got on the train to Ueno from Narita airport.  This overconfidence was the beginning of our downfall.  We had somehow caught the slow train, instead of the Express one that we intended to catch, so it took much longer than planned and we filled in the time people watching.  Culottes, sheer stockings and hats are in for ladies in 2016, in case you are interested.
At Ueno station we discovered our next mistake.  Booking-in time was 4,  and we had 4 hours to kill lugging our bags around.  All the lockers were full, so we had lunch and wandered round the shops with our luggage until  2 pm,  when we lost patience and decided to take our chances with the Airbnb
 we had selected.
We elected to take the luxury of a taxi trip.  Unfortunately, our map and address were in English and the taxi driver couldn't understand the map or our instructions.  He finally got a vague idea of where we wanted to go and drove us to a police station in the general vicinity and hopped out of the car, locking us in the taxi which he left blocking the intersection.  Some time later he confidently drove us towards the flat.  We were feeling relieved when he suddenly turned right and started heading off in the wrong direction.  Alarmed, we asked him to stop and let us out.  He seemed convinced that he was leaving us in the wilderness, but since Trish, my partner in crime, knew the way, we hoofed it to the apartment, which turned out to be unusually large for Japan.
We have 2 big bedrooms, each with a queen sized bed and a built in cupboard.  Our kitchen/ dining/living area is roomy enough for 2 people and we have a little verandah, complete with escape hatch and ladder should we have an emergency.  We have a Japanese bathroom : one sits on a stool and soaps and rinses oneself, then hops in the bath for a soak, once clean.  The toilet is also very Japanese, complete with  a spray wash, an air dry, a musical accompaniment, a heated seat and a little sink above the toilet for one to wash one's hands in.  (The water from one's washed hands fills the cistern for future flushing). All very civilised.
After a collapse and a soothing cup of green tea, we headed for the local supermarket.  Heaven.  Not only does it sell groceries, but it has a huge selection of pre-prepared meals.  We selected our choices for dinner, added fruit, teas, edamame, green tea ice cream and mochi for snacks, and returned home in a much better frame of mind.  Dinner eaten, we collapsed into bed and slept like logs.