Four great cities (DC, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney) in ~20 days. Great opportunity but glad to be back home.
D.C - great time to be there with the cherry blossoms still in bloom.
Shanghai - Didn't even see a hint of sun for the three days we were there and mile after mile of ~30 story apartments/condos that all pretty much look the same.
The head of our China Government Affairs team took us out one of the nights. First to a traditional part of Shanghai with all sorts of shops and restaurants (and many people selling watches).
Then to the banks of the Huangpu River. It divides Shanghai into Pudong (east) and Puxi (west). The Pudong skyline is notable. Apparently every building has been built in 20 years.
On the west side of the river is an known as the Bund which has many former bank and trade buildings dating from the early half of the 1900s. The architecture is much more European the only place in shanghai with such a look and feel I was told.
Tokyo - going from Shanghai to Tokyo was like going from black and white to High Def (HD) TV. Everything was so crisp, clear and clean - amazing for a city of some 38 million in the outlying metro. area!
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden - more Cherry blossoms!
Yasukini Shrine - founded in 1869 commemorates those who died in service to the empire of Japan. There is a book of souls that contains >2 million names of individuals who died for the empire of Japan. Around 1,000 who were considered war criminals after WWII makes it somewhat controversial.
On the grounds is a war museum filled with all sorts of samurai and WWII relics. From what I could tell they either didn't mention or severely glossed over Pearl Harbor.
Sydney - with its harbor area (skyline, opera house, bridge, boats, street performers, shops, pubs, restaurants etc) and beaches Sydney is tough to beat.
On Monday (easter holiday) we headed to Bondi Beach (about 10 miles east of Sydney) and did a coastal walk to Bronte.
