Quick drive from Sunset Blvd to LAX. We were quite surprised as it was very light traffic, probably because we dodged the Freeways. Every time we crossed over the top of one it was jammers. There was some article in the LA times that state the LA Interstates were the busiest in the country and the I10 was the busiest, I can believe that after seeing them. Car dropped off, checked in and up to the Oneworld Firstclass lounge. As it is nearly midday complimentary drinks are in order. A few champagnes and Penfolds wines and we board the plane. We flew over with QANTAS on a refurbished 747, this time we are with JAL on a Boeing 777. Not quite as luxurious as the refurbished 747 but nice enough. No complimentary champagne before take off although they kept the red wine flowing after take off. Its a 10 1/2 hour flight to Tokyo, managed to get about 3 hours sleep and watch 2 movies. We arrived in Narita about 4.30pm local time, clearing customs and immigration was fast and efficient. Now to try out the Japan rail networks, I have to say they are very helpful and it is well signposted. It is an 80 minute journey from Narita to Shinjuku but the trains are very fast and comfortable. We got off at Shinjuku station not knowing which exit to take. I should point out here Shinjuku station is massive, Town Hall in Sydney would not even be a 10th of it. We took the wrong one and trudged around for a while with very heavy suitcases until we finally found the Shinjuku Washington Hotel, again everyone is helpful and willing to assist and give directions. We checked in and were surprised the would only allow us to have one swipe card to the room. Got up to the room and the disappointment set in. It is about the size of a Formula one (bathroom is absolutely tiny) Hotel in Aus. The airconditioning is broken so they had a portable air cooler in the room with all instructions in Japanese. Kept pressing buttons until cool air sort of came out. We actually paid extra for the bigger rooms too. Dropped the bags off and we were starving so we wandered back down towards the train station to see what we could get. There were lots of little Japanese restaurants along the way but we were too tired to try the local cuisine and sit in these crowded spots. Grabbed a good old some western type fast food and back to the room. I can feel a bad nights sleep coming on