Day 15 - Saturday 11 April - Tokyo
Quite a bit better night last night. Stu definitely recovering.
Went out for Maccas again this morning. Seems that they do in fact have McMuffins. Who knew? :)
After breakfast we split up. Stu and I went up to Ochanomizu because Stu wanted to check out the musical instruments stores and the book stores. Had a little bit of a look around. Then sat down at a cafe for half an hour to get a coffee for Stu.
Wandered back to the station the got a yellow train one station to Akihabara. Felt kinda funny to back there again, it was almost like coming home :)
The reason for going was that Vic was in town! I'd mailed him last week but he only just saw his email. So he mailed me this morning followed by a phone call to see if we wanted to meet up. So organised lunch in Akihabara. Anyway so met Vic at the station then we wandered around looking for food, with noone making a decision (story of our trip ;) ). Eventually we came to the green harbour bridge so Stu suggested Denny's. So went there. Sat in the next booth to where we had our first "Japan" meal heh. Well their lunch menu was a lot more extensive, and included a lot of Japanese food. I picked something that looked like it had cheese and tomato in the picture (no English subtitles), and it turned out to be lasagna! So it was very cool catching up with Vic, as had not seen him since I left Sydney. He was on a photography tour which sounded very cool, and with a Japanese-speaking guide, so he got to eat and drink in some interesting places :)
After lunch, Stu and I trained it to Tokyo station and wandered out to look at the Imperial Palace gardens. We didn't get to see it all though, because it was nearly 4:30 and they started kicking everyone out (that, and we'd been sitting around for a while). Went and found the entrance bridge (I'll look up its name when I have my maps out again), and while we were there this old Japanese dude came and started talking to us. I think he wanted to practise his English (which was pretty good). He thought we were joking when we said you often have to pay for toilets in Europe. And we were trying to convince him that Japanese people are very polite (except in crowds) and the place was very clean. He said that older people think the country has gone downhill heaps in the past fifty years heh.
Pressing on, we went to find Godzilla. We had better luck than Nat and Andrew (who tried unsuccessfully to find it a couple of days ago - no thanks to Dave O's inaccurate place marker on our google map - or maybe it got moved by accident at some point). Anyway, that was pretty cool.
Hopped on a train back to the hotel to get my jumper, although we should have walked, we were most of the way there anyway, and probably walked just as far getting to/from stations heh.
Smsed the others and organised to meet up at Shinjuku for dinner.
Found them outside Yodobashi, and then began yet another hunt for food. You'd think that with multiple food vendors on every block this would be easy, but everything was either too expensive or not to people's taste. So we just wandered aimlessly for ages. Eventually ended up at another Italian place. Ordered three pizzas and most expensive beer ever (2500 yen for a jug) and most expensive garlic bread ever (150 yen for the tiniest piece you could imagine). Still, pizza was pretty good.
Went back to find the 8-bit cafe that Nat wanted to see, but it was really just a little night club, that wanted a 2000 yen cover charge, and all the locals there were laughing at us, so we didn't go in.
Wandered back to station, then went to Shibuya so Stu could see Hachiko and the crazy crossing. But after two crossings, I crossed again but noone followed me :( So stood around looking stoopid until eventually Stu came and found me. *sigh*
Then headed back to hotel to crash.
Steps walked today: 19982
Photos taken by me: 125
Photos taken by Stu: 206
Went out for Maccas again this morning. Seems that they do in fact have McMuffins. Who knew? :)
After breakfast we split up. Stu and I went up to Ochanomizu because Stu wanted to check out the musical instruments stores and the book stores. Had a little bit of a look around. Then sat down at a cafe for half an hour to get a coffee for Stu.
Music store in Ochanomizu
Photo by Stu
Wandered back to the station the got a yellow train one station to Akihabara. Felt kinda funny to back there again, it was almost like coming home :)
Bridge from the Chuo/Sobu line of Ochanomizu station
The reason for going was that Vic was in town! I'd mailed him last week but he only just saw his email. So he mailed me this morning followed by a phone call to see if we wanted to meet up. So organised lunch in Akihabara. Anyway so met Vic at the station then we wandered around looking for food, with noone making a decision (story of our trip ;) ). Eventually we came to the green harbour bridge so Stu suggested Denny's. So went there. Sat in the next booth to where we had our first "Japan" meal heh. Well their lunch menu was a lot more extensive, and included a lot of Japanese food. I picked something that looked like it had cheese and tomato in the picture (no English subtitles), and it turned out to be lasagna! So it was very cool catching up with Vic, as had not seen him since I left Sydney. He was on a photography tour which sounded very cool, and with a Japanese-speaking guide, so he got to eat and drink in some interesting places :)
After lunch, Stu and I trained it to Tokyo station and wandered out to look at the Imperial Palace gardens. We didn't get to see it all though, because it was nearly 4:30 and they started kicking everyone out (that, and we'd been sitting around for a while). Went and found the entrance bridge (I'll look up its name when I have my maps out again), and while we were there this old Japanese dude came and started talking to us. I think he wanted to practise his English (which was pretty good). He thought we were joking when we said you often have to pay for toilets in Europe. And we were trying to convince him that Japanese people are very polite (except in crowds) and the place was very clean. He said that older people think the country has gone downhill heaps in the past fifty years heh.
Tokyo Station was being renovated
Flowers in Wadakura Fountain Park, near the Imperial Palace
Wadakura Fountain Park
Swan in the moat of the Imperial Palace
Imperial Palace Gardens
Imperial Palace Gardens
Tokyo Tower from outside the Imperial Palace
I was amazed at how much wide open space there was outside the Imperial Palace
Nijubashi Bridge in the Imperial Palace grounds
Pressing on, we went to find Godzilla. We had better luck than Nat and Andrew (who tried unsuccessfully to find it a couple of days ago - no thanks to Dave O's inaccurate place marker on our google map - or maybe it got moved by accident at some point). Anyway, that was pretty cool.
Godzilla!!
Hopped on a train back to the hotel to get my jumper, although we should have walked, we were most of the way there anyway, and probably walked just as far getting to/from stations heh.
Smsed the others and organised to meet up at Shinjuku for dinner.
Found them outside Yodobashi, and then began yet another hunt for food. You'd think that with multiple food vendors on every block this would be easy, but everything was either too expensive or not to people's taste. So we just wandered aimlessly for ages. Eventually ended up at another Italian place. Ordered three pizzas and most expensive beer ever (2500 yen for a jug) and most expensive garlic bread ever (150 yen for the tiniest piece you could imagine). Still, pizza was pretty good.
Buildings in Shinjuku
Most expensive garlic bread ever!
Went back to find the 8-bit cafe that Nat wanted to see, but it was really just a little night club, that wanted a 2000 yen cover charge, and all the locals there were laughing at us, so we didn't go in.
Wandered back to station, then went to Shibuya so Stu could see Hachiko and the crazy crossing. But after two crossings, I crossed again but noone followed me :( So stood around looking stoopid until eventually Stu came and found me. *sigh*
Starbucks in Shibuya, where they discreetly filmed Lost in Translation
Photo by Stu
Then headed back to hotel to crash.
Steps walked today: 19982
Photos taken by me: 125
Photos taken by Stu: 206
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