For my last meal in Tokyo before traveling to the prefecture of Shizuoka, I chose to eat breakfast in the Garden Court restaurant.

The view from my table was beautiful. It was a perfect day for traveling! We decided to walk in the garden one last time.

In the garden, we found this friendly kitty. She let me pet her, but she was REALLY glad when I offered her a treat!

At 9:30 a.m., we were one of the last groups to leave. Finally, it was time to pack our carry-on bags.

Time to board!

On the bus, Yukiko counts heads to be sure we are all on board.

We arrive at Tokyo Station to catch the bullet train to Shizuoka.

Yukiko counts us again....

The station master watches as we walk through the gate.

A bullet train! My first view of one takes my breath away!

O.K., we admit it. We ARE tourists! We can't resist the chance to pose in front of our car.

We wait a few minutes before our train arrives, so I inspect the tracks.

We take our seats, excited over a new adventure.

One last look at Tokyo Station. All aboard!

I am relieved to see that the train has both Japanese AND western style toilets!

We pass through Tokyo's business and industrial areas....

....then start noticing more rural areas.

We go through much more hilly and mountainous regions. Our train goes through long tunnels as we plow through mountains on our way toward Shizuoka.

We see plenty of beautiful mountains, but Mt. Fuji is hiding in the haze today! We know that Mt. Fuji received its first snowfall of the season last night.

After about an hour on the train, we arrive in Shizuoka.

We are ready to embark on our new adventure!

We're really here!!

We are now experienced travelers, rolling our carry-on baggage through the Shizuoka terminal.

We gather in the lobby for instructions