Trip to New York - part 6

On May 3rd, hubby, his cousin, and I visited former World Trade Center site and Central Park. Then at about 5 pm we went to Times Square. It was raining on and off throughout the day. But by evening weather had improved and the rain stopped completely. So we decided to go for double-decker sightseeing bus tour of New York City. The tour was for about 2 hours and the bus returned back to Times Square. Later we did sightseeing of Times Square in the night time.


New York City downtown loop double-decker bus tour
New York downtown loop double-decker bus tour takes us to most of the major sightseeing spots of New York City. The neighborhoods on the downtown loop are some of the oldest and some of the newest in Manhattan area. This bus tour is a perfect introduction and a great way to get an overview and orientation of New York City. It is a guided and fully narrated tour. These double-decker tour buses operate daily from 8 am to 6 pm from Times Square (Broadway between 47th and 48th Streets), depart every 10-15 minutes, and return back to the same place. The tour ticket costs 44 dollars per person and is valid for 24 hours. The double-decker buses make many stops along the loop and provide us unlimited hop-on hop-off opportunities. At each brief stop, we can get off the bus and do sightseeing up close, then hop back on another double-decker bus at the same stop (or a different stop), and head to a different sightseeing location. Full loop takes about 2 hours without any hop-offs.

New York City double-decker sightseeing bus (we did not go by this bus but used a similar one)

Open-top double-decker sightseeing bus

We bought three tickets from a staff of the tour bus, and at about 6 pm we boarded the open-top double-decker bus. The guided bus tour started almost immediately. It was really fun to listen to the tour guide explaining about various famous sightseeing spots of New York City downtown area. We were thrilled to get a panoramic view of the best sights of downtown New York City. The bus started from Times Square 47th Street and passed through Broadway and Theater District. We saw multipurpose indoor arena Madison Square Garden, main office of New York City United States postal office, department store chain Macy’s, 102-storied Empire State Building, 22-storied Flatiron Building, H&M clothing store, and many more interesting places and buildings. We took several photos and videos during the sightseeing tour. The tour guide gave an excellent narration about various places and buildings, which made the bus tour very interesting. However, the guide’s explanation was not recorded properly and the video had a lot of background noise probably because it was a very windy day. So I have compiled the videos based on modern Japanese music.

One Times Square Building and digital advertisements

Times Square

Hubby’s cousin and I enjoying the views from the double-decker bus

Main office of New York City United States postal office

Macy’s and the Empire State Building

H&M store

The Empire State Building

A compiled video of our bus tour (part 1)

Next, the double-decker bus passed through Union Square shopping district and artsy Greenwich Village where the literary past comes alive and is home to many musician, artists, and writers. We also passed through SoHo which has a greatest collection of cast-iron architecture. We took a few photos and also compiled a video of these areas.

Hubby’s cousin and I enjoying New York City views

Hubby’s cousin busy taking photos

Another H&M store

A compiled video of our bus tour (part 2)

The bus then passed through ethnic Chinese enclave China Town and enchanting Little Italy that consists of Italian stores and restaurants. New York City Hall was also in the route of bus tour and we saw the City Hall Park. Next, the bus toured the Finance District which comprises of offices and headquarters of many of the major financial institutions of the city. Soon we reached the site of World Trade Center and then reached Battery Park at the departure point for Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferry. A few places were new to us but it was fun to see some of the places that we visited just 1-2 days ago. A few photos and a compiled video of these places are posted below.

Hubby enjoying city views from open-top double-decker bus

City Hall Park

Ongoing construction at the site of former World Trade Center

A compiled video of our bus tour (part 3)

The tour bus passed adjacent to Staten Island Ferry Terminal and one New York Plaza office building, and then made a brief stop at South Street Seaport which is a designated historic district. We saw a four-masted sailing ship named The Peking at the seaport. We could see the Brooklyn Bridge also but could not get a proper view. As the bus started moving, we got a beautiful view of the Manhattan Bridge and stone-covered archway beneath the bridge. The bus then passed through Lower East Side which has traditionally been an immigrant working class neighborhood but has undergone rapid socio-cultural changes in recent years. The Lower East Side is bordered in the south and west by Chinatown. Next, we passed though East Village, which is to the north of the Lower East Side. East Village is known for a diverse community, vibrant nightlife, and artistic sensibility, but in recent years this area has also undergone drastic socio-economic changes. After passing through East Village, the bus did not stop for a long time and we passed many residential areas. Then, the bus reached the United Nations Headquarters which is a distinctive complex and serves as the official headquarters of the United Nations. Here are a few photos and a compiled video of these places.

South Street Seaport

Sailing ship named The Peking at the seaport

Stone-covered archway beneath the Manhattan Bridge

Manhattan Bridge

A compiled video of our bus tour (part 4)

The building of United Nations Headquarters looks stunning. We saw Good Defeats Evil monument in the ground of UN Headquarters. As the bus moved forward, we saw the famous Smith and Wollensky Steakhouse restaurant at one corner of a street. Next, we passed through Rockefeller Center, which is a complex of 19 commercial buildings. We loved the rows of colorful flags in sunken Rockefeller Plaza. Next, the bus reached Central Park to the south, where we had done sightseeing just a couple of hours earlier. The bus then reached NYC & Company Visitor Information Center and finally returned back to the 47th Street of Times Square. Here are a few photos and a compiled video of these places.

Building of United Nations Headquarters

Good Defeats Evil monument in the ground of UN Headquarters

Smith and Wollensky Steakhouse restaurant

A compiled video of our bus tour (part 5)

We loved the New York City downtown loop double-decker bus tour. The wonderful explanation of the tour guide helped us to learn and get a lot of information about the history of many places and buildings of the city.


Times Square at night
It was about 8 pm when we returned back to Times Square after the double-decker bus tour. Next we went to a few shops in Times Square and purchased many souvenirs to give as gifts to friends, relatives, and colleagues in Japan. We also bought a few souvenirs for ourselves. Although we had been to Times Square during day time the previous day, we wished to see how the place looks at night. So after the shopping, we walked at the Times Square and were dazzled by the beautiful and colorful place. Times Square was crowded with tourists and locals, and the place radiated vibrant energy because of innumerable electronic neon displays and digital screens. The huge animated neon and LED signs and digital advertisement billboards are iconic images of Times Square, and contribute to the immense excitement and popularity of Times Square. The advertisements at the famous one Times Square Building were so bright and colorful that we had some difficulty in taking photos of them. We loved the place and almost went into a trance seeing all the colors and lights around us. Times Square is simply exciting. Hubby took a video of the place.

Times Square at night

Times Square at night

Hubby and I at Times Square

Hubby and I standing at Times Square with One Times Square Building in the background

Hubby’s cousin and I at Times Square

A compiled video of Times Square at night

New York City subway
We used the railway subway system a lot during the sightseeing of New York City. Travel by subways itself is a real New York experience. We loved travelling by New York City subway, which is considered to be rather efficient transport system in the world. Although we have travelled a lot in the subways of Tokyo which is much superior and extremely clean ultra modern system, but travel by New York City subway was a unique experience that we loved and enjoyed. Hubby compiled a video of our New York City subway travel.

Hubby’s cousin and I standing at a subway station next to a huge poster of the movie ‘Sex and the City-2’

A compiled video of New York City subway ride

Dinner at a deli
It was almost 10 pm when we finished sightseeing and shopping. We all were very hungry and had dinner at a deli near Times Square. It was a restaurant cum convenience store. We picked our dinner from the display of various prepared food items, packed them in take-out plastic packet containers, and paid for them by the weight of the packets. We had our dinner at the deli itself.

Deli dinner in take-out plastic packets

Hubby having dinner at the deli

Hubby’s cousin and I having dinner at the deli

We returned to Marrakech Hotel at about 11.30 pm. We were really tired due to sightseeing and shopping the entire day, so as we retired to bed soon afterwards.


Return to Japan
The next morning, on 4th May, we packed our baggage and checked out of the hotel at 8 am. Then we hired a taxi and reached the departure terminal of JFK international Airport at about 9 am. We had breakfast at a restaurant at the airport terminal. After completing the departure procedures like security check, customs, and passport control, we waited at the boarding area of our flight. The flight took off at about 2 pm.

Hubby’s cousin and I at the departure terminal in JFK International Airport

Waiting at the boarding area to enter the flight back home

After 14 hours of flight, we reached Narita Airport at about 5 pm (local time) on 5th May. From there we took a train to Tokyo railway station. At Tokyo we said goodbye to hubby’s cousin who took a train bound for Nagoya where she lives. Then hubby and I travelled by Akita Shinkansen train and reached Akita railway station at about 11.55 pm. After an hour of car ride, we finally reached our home at about 1.30 am on 6th May. Hubby and I were very tired due to the long time it took to travel back to Japan and our home, but we really loved our sightseeing trip to New York. We love New York!

Trip to New York - part 4

On May 2nd at about 8 am, hubby, his cousin, and I had breakfast at my relative’s home in New Jersey. Then we packed our baggage and left my relative’s home to stay at a hotel in New York City for the rest of our stay in New York. At about 10 am, my relative dropped us by his car to a railway station named Princeton Junction. From there we took NJ transit train and after about 1.5 hours of train ride, we reached Penn Station. We hired a taxi and reached Marrakech Hotel after another 15 minutes or so. We had already reserved our rooms at the hotel, so we had to just check-in.

Hubby’s cousin and I at Princeton Junction station

Marrakech Hotel is located in Upper West Side of New York City, and is situated at one of the trendiest emerging neighborhood of Manhattan. The hotel is set into the style and colors of Morocco. We paid 720 dollars for two rooms for two nights, which seems to be reasonable as the hotel is located in the middle of New York City and is within walking distance to several sightseeing attractions, stores, restaurants, and night spots. The lobby of the hotel was vibrant and colorful. But hubby and I were a bit shocked to see the rooms. Although the hotel has been recently renovated, the rooms were not so clean, window curtains were not washed for a very long time, and the lighting of the rooms was rather poor. I guess hubby and I are used to ultraclean rooms of Japanese hotels (even inexpensive ones; less than 70 dollars per night). Well, we were very busy sightseeing the whole day and went to the hotel only to sleep. So it was ok, I guess.

One of our rooms at Marrakech Hotel

After check-in and keeping our baggage at the hotel, we left the hotel and took a New York City transit bus to downtown. After about 20 minutes of bus ride, we reached near Times Square, which was about five kilometers away from the hotel. We got down the bus and started walking towards Times Square.

New York City transit bus

Times Square
Manhattan's Times Square is undoubtedly the heart of New York City. ‘The Crossroads of the World’ has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and Unites States. Times Square is a commercial intersection in Manhattan at the junction of Broadway avenue and Seventh Avenue and stretches from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Although the entire extended Times Square area may officially consist of blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets, the triangle created at Broadway and 7th is the whirlpool that attracts more than one million visitors each year. Times Square was formerly named as Longacre Square but was renamed in April 1904 after the New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly built Times Building, which is now called One Times Square. The X-shaped area created by the intersection of two famous avenues is the area where thousands enjoy the legendary ‘New Year's Eve’ celebration when the famous, sparkling, Waterford Crystal ball is lowered atop One Times Square building. Times Square radiates vibrant energy because of innumerable electronic neon displays and digital screens. The huge animated neon and LED signs and digital advertisements are iconic images of Times Square, and a symbol of the intensely urban aspects of Manhattan. These neon signs and billboards contribute to the immense excitement and popularity of Times Square amongst tourists as well as the locals. Times Square is a cultural hub that features music, nightlife, and limitless shopping options. Upscale hotels, theaters, music halls, stores, restaurants, quality shops, and many attractions are located in Times Square.

After getting down the NYC transit bus at 50th Street and Broadway Avenue, we walked up to the southern end of Times Square just in front of One Times Square building which is a 25 story, 110.6 meters high skyscraper at 42nd and Broadway. It was originally built to be the headquarters of The New York Times. The famous New Year's Eve Ball drop tradition at this building began in 1907 and is continued till date. Because of the extensive cost of renovating the building, in recent times the building has been vacant except for occasional tenants in the retail space, and is only used to hold dozens of colorful advertisements. It seems that the building makes more revenue as a collection of advertisements billboards than it would if it was full of tenants. The digital signs on the building are considered to be the most valuable and the rental rates of these billboards are most expensive in the world. We took a few photos of the building along with the billboards. However, it was an extremely bright and shiny day and we had some difficulty to take photo of the building as it looked rather hazy.

Hubby at Times Square with One Times Square building in the background

One Times Square Building and digital advertisements

Me along with One Times Square building in the background

Afterwards we started walking back towards the northern part of Times Square. On both sides of the street, there were huge displays of colorful billboards. Traffic lanes along Broadway from 42nd Street to 47th Street are nowadays transformed into pedestrian plazas, and so it was really fun and exciting to walk in this area. After walking for about ten minutes, we got a wonderful view of the northern part of Times Square along with the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel (also called Two Times Square) in the center. There were many tourists enjoying the amazing views of Times Square. Many colorful billboards of Broadway musicals were on display. Times Square is simply exciting. We enjoyed the views of the northern part of Times Square for about fifteen minutes, and then had lunch at a nearby restaurant.

One Times Square Building and surrounding area

Huge advertisements at Times Square

Northern part of Times Square along with Two Times Square building in the center

Northern part of Times Square along with Two Times Square building in the center

Times Square

Billboards at Times Square

Hubby in front of Two Times Square building

Colorful billboards of Broadway musicals

People enjoying at pedestrian plaza of Times Square

Lunch at Sbarro restaurant
We had lunch at an Italian restaurant named Sbarro. It is a must-visit location to enjoy the freshest and affordable Italian food in New York City. There was a wide variety of salads, hot pastas, deliciously cooked meats, rice recipe, fruits, and several kinds of pizzas to choose from. We had a hearty meal and loved the food here.

Huge advertisement billboards above Sbarro restaurant

Sbarro restaurant

Our lunch

Hubby having pizza

Hubby’s cousin having pizza

After lunch, we walked up north along Broadway for about five minutes and reached between West 50th and 51st Street where Winter Garden Theater is located.


Broadway musical at Winter Garden Theater
Broadway theater (or Broadway) is theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theater District of New York. The Broadway Theater district is very popular tourist attraction in New York City. We saw Broadway musical Mamma Mia at Winter Garden Theater. This theater is located in midtown Manhattan, and is owned by Shubert organization. The main entrance of the theater is located on Broadway which is connected via a long hallway to the 1526-seat Seventh Avenue auditorium. We took a few photos at the entrance of the theater.

On our way to Winter Garden Theater

Broadway musical Mamma Mia at Winter Garden Theater

Hubby’s cousin and I in front of Winter Garden Theater

Winter Garden Theater

Another view of Winter Garden Theater

We had already purchased online tickets for the 2 pm show. The tickets cost 165 dollars each as we reserved seats in the Orchestra section very near to the stage. We were right in front of the stage and enjoyed the musical to the fullest. The inside of the auditorium was very gorgeous and glittering. We took a few photos of us sitting inside the theater auditorium before the start of the musical show and at intermission, as photography during the show was not allowed.

Curtained stage inside the auditorium of Winter Garden Theater

Hubby’s cousin and I at our seats inside the auditorium

Beautiful roof of the auditorium

The original Broadway musical production Mamma Mia opened on 5th October 2001 and was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony van Laast. Mamma Mia has over 20 of the Swedish super group Abba’s greatest hit songs woven into a plot set on a Greek island. On the eve of her wedding, a bride wished to discover her father's identity, which brings three men from her mother's past back to the place they last visited 20 years ago. Hubby, his cousin, and I are all Abba fans and we loved the musical performance. The show was full of high-energy enthusiastic performance by the starring actors and had lots of ballads and drama. The musical performance was for 2.5 hours with one intermission. The musical was really fun and we enjoyed it so much that as the show came to an end, hubby and I had tears of joy and happiness in our eyes. It was almost 5 pm when we left the theater.

Walking and shopping at Times Square
After seeing the Broadway musical, we returned back to Times Square. Hubby’s cousin wished to do shopping in Times Square, which seemed to be limitless in that area. A large variety of shops and stores offer clothing, toys, sweet products, electronics, and every sort of consumer good imaginable. The different and varied merchandise available can fit any sort of budget. At about 5.15 pm, hubby’s cousin started shopping with full enthusiasm. Since hubby and I are not much into shopping, we decided to meet up with hubby’s cousin again later that evening at a certain time and location in Times Square. After that hubby and I started enjoying the evening views of Times Square and its surroundings. We again walked the entire way from the northern end to the southern end of Times Square, and back. The sun was not so bright in the evening, and so we again took a few photos of Times Square along with its neon lights, digital billboards, crowds, and energy. Hubby compiled a video of our walk.

Walking back towards Times Square

Huge advertisement billboards at Times Square

Times Square with One Times Square building at the center

Me at Times Square with One Times Square building in the background

Hubby at Times Square with One Times Square building in the background

One Times Square building with advertisement billboards of Toshiba and TDK companies

Another view of advertisement billboards at One Times Square building

Yet another view of advertisement billboards at One Times Square building

Times Square

Police officers on horseback at Times Square

A compiled video of our walk at Times Square

While walking in Times Square, I saw a cosmetic shop named Bare Escentuals, and entered the shop as I wished to buy a few cosmetic products. In Japan, I have a big problem of finding makeup and foundation base for my skin color and texture, and I often end up with a completely wrong face makeup kit. So it was really a pleasant surprise and great relief to see so many varieties of makeup shades at Bare Escentuals shop. A staff at the shop helped me in finding foundation and makeup that matches exactly my skin color and tone. It feels unbelievable. I have fallen in love with these products!

Bare Escentuals shop

A shop staff trying a foundation makeup on my face

At about 7.30 pm, we met hubby’s cousin who was very happy after a lot of shopping in Times Square. After that we all took a taxi and went to a shop in SoHo where hubby’s cousin wished to shop for something. Unfortunately the shop had closed for the day, and so we decided to return again the next morning. It was almost 8 pm and we all were hungry. So we had dinner at a restaurant named Hooters.


Dinner at Hooters
From SoHo, we walked for about five minutes and reached Prince Street railway station. At this station, we took a subway and after 12 minutes of train ride, arrived at 57th Street Station. After walking for another two minutes or so, we reached the restaurant Hooters located at 211 West 56th Street.

Hooters of America is an Atlanta-based international franchise restaurant chain with a casual beach theme establishment that feature oldies jukebox music, sports on television, and a menu that includes seafood, sandwiches, burgers, salads, and spicy chicken wings. An element of female sex appeal is prevalent in the restaurants, and the Hooters Girl uniform consists of orange shorts (scandalously short) and a white tank top. Hooters chain is considered to be a neighborhood place and not a typical family restaurant. But we did see a few children around.

Inside Hooters restaurant

Menu of Hooters restaurant

We ordered several kinds of burgers and sandwiches along with a side dish of curly fries. We also ordered cold drinks and beer. The food was ok but the portions were too big. The service was ok and the price of the food was reasonable. We enjoyed having typical moderate American food in a relaxed atmosphere and hubby enjoyed watching the cleavage of the Hooters Girls! The restaurant chain is rightly billed as ‘delightfully tacky yet unrefined’.

Our drinks and a Hooters Girl in the background

Our dinner

Me having dinner

Hubby having dinner

Hubby’s cousin having dinner

We left the restaurant at about 10 pm, and after walking or about five minutes we reached 59th Street Columbus Circle Station. We took No. 1 subway train at this station and after about 8 minutes of train ride, we reached 103rd Street Station. After coming out of this station, we saw Marrakech Hotel right in front of us. We were all tired due to sightseeing the whole day, and so we retired for the day soon after reaching our rooms. The next day we visited Ground Zero and Central Park about which I will write in the next post.