The plane arrived just at dusk, so there wasn’t much to see outside the train windows in the dark. I had reservations at the same hotel as in the summer, so I knew that I would have to change trains at Tokyo Station.

From there, it was only a short hop over to Tamachi Station. The station gates are up over the tracks. Walking south, there’s a small cluster of restaurants down the escalators.

Diana and I tried some of these restaurants last time. The map of the surrounding area provided by the hotel listed an additional cluster of restaurants and shops a little further south in Shibaura, so I went there looking for a noodle shop.

As I had encountered previously, selecting a purchase is done by dropping coins into a vending machine. Since I don’t read Japanese, knowing which button to press is a challenge.

Fortunately, this noodle shop had a full display of samples. I’m at least sufficiently familiar with Chinese characters that I can match up the sign in the display with the words on the vending machine.

I’m not uncomfortable with the basics of getting around in Tokyo: navigating the trains, finding the hotel, and getting local food. This may be as much as I can expect as a business traveler, and certainly the minimum requirement. I’m glad that the Japanese are very helpful to a person who looks lost.