As part of my first week working at JAPANiCAN, I was sent on the Sunrise Tours "Panoramic Tokyo" one-day excursion through some of Tokyo's most popular sightseeing spots. Tough job, but someone's got to do it, right? For two years I've lived in the quiet countryside of Ibaraki Prefecture, but the neon-lined alleys and megalithic skyscrapers of Japan's metropolis have drawn me in, and now I find myself a newcomer to Tokyo. So, of course I jumped at the chance to learn about the history and culture of my new home!

Waking up bright and early to get to JR Hamamatsucho Station at 8:45 am (earlier than going to the office!), I found the Sunrise Tours counter pretty easily. Mai, our tour guide, introduced herself to the 20 or so assembled travelers, and we were off! The first stop was Meiji Jingu Shrine. The clean, simple architecture of the Shinto shrine, compared to the more colorful Buddhist temples, was a quiet, peaceful way to start the day. Mai explained to everyone how to properly cleanse your hands, enter the temple grounds, and make an offering, a procedure that can be a bit daunting for first-timers. Everyone on the tour got into the spirit and tossed in a coin or two into the collection box before asking the gods to listen to them for a brief moment. We had to be careful not to throw in a 500 yen coin by accident!

Later in the day, after marveling over samurai statues, towering government offices, Imperial stomping grounds, and more, I began to appreciate the benefits of having a chartered bus take you across town as we headed towards Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. Instead of slugging it out through all the train platforms and transfers myself, I let Mai and the driver handle things. Tokyo is a wonderfully convenient city with public transportation reaching out to basically every place you could possibly want, but by leaving the transportation worries to the professionals I was much more refreshed to explore once we arrived at our destination. Sensoji Temple and the surrounding area in Asakusa was one place I think every visitor to Tokyo should put on their to-do list. Visiting Sensoji and Meiji Jingu in the same day was a good way to illustrate the differences in Japan's two primary religions. Sensoji, a Buddhist temple, was full of bright red lanterns, menacing guardian statues, and many, many tourists. I understand now why Asakusa was once the entertainment capital of Tokyo.

After weaving through the bustling crowds at the souvenir shops in Asakusa's Nakamise Street, I was ready to relax a bit, and luckily lunch and the Tokyo Bay Cruise gave me a great opportunity to do that. I chatted with the other the travelers who had come from Europe, Australia, America and Asia. Everyone seemed to enjoy the breeze and the sights of the Rainbow Bridge and the ultramodern architecture of Odaiba moving past our boat.

Getting off at Odaiba, we had some time to walk around and explore the Fuji Television building, which immediately attracts attention with its crisscrossing walkways and pillars, and giant spherical observatory area. But all too soon it was time for the tour to finish, and we boarded the bus back to the Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal. Concluding the tour, I took advantage of the drop off service, boarding a separate bus which made record time back to Shinjuku. Since I'd been riding instead of walking all day, I was ready to continue my Friday night at some of Shinjuku's bars and clubs!

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