Tuesday, June 27, 2006. We left the Ryokan around 9:30 a.m. and headed to Ichinoseki Station to catch the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. The train was the Yamabiko50. It took about two hours to get back to Tokyo. Once we got back, a few of us quickly checked in to our rooms (we all got the exact ones we had before we left for Kesennuma) and then headed out. I went straight for the Meiji Shrine. While there, I bought a safe travel charm for my trip back to Buffalo. You can find out more about the Meiji Shrine by clicking here. After, we did some shopping at the Oriental Bazaar and I had a hamburger for dinner (I just couldn’t eat more fish).

I headed out alone to Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Concert Hall in Ueno Park to see JoAnn Falletta conduct the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. For those of you who don’t know, Maestro Falletta is the conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. It’s an amazing coincidence (synchronicity?) that she is here at the same time I am here. Anyway, I made it to the concert after getting a little lost in Ueno Park (the park is very reminiscent of Central Park in New York City) and watched her conduct a Rossini piece, and Respighi piece, and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella.

After, I was invited to a reception held in her honor. There were several women from Buffalo who traveled to Japan with the Ms. Falletta. I also had a nice talk with them and Ms. Falletta’s husband.

I headed back to the hotel after and got some much needed rest. By the way, I felt perfectly safe walking around and taking the subway in Tokyo at night.