Sunday we rose early to make the most of our last day in Tokyo. After opting for the Japanese breakfast at our hotel rather than the continental and attracting some bemused glances from other patrons (probably mostly due to my poor chopstick skills) we made our way to the train station where bought tickets to the airport for later that afternoon and arranged to store our bags for the day.
First stop on the list was Kokyo, the Imperial Palace and home to Japan's incredibly reclusive emperor and imperial family. Apparently life in the palace is rigidly controlled by an agency known as the Imperial Household Agency, who keep any potential scandal under wraps. Needless to say the grounds are strictly off limits to visitors, but it is possible to wander around the perimeter and visit the gardens, which we did. Despite the season, the gardens were quite pretty, and Tim enjoyed experimenting with his new camera.
Later that morning we caught the metro to Harajuku to check out the cos-play (costume play) crowd that are said to hang out there on sunny Sundays. I think we must have been a bit too early for all the action though, as we only saw a handful of bizarrely dressed Japanese-style goths, French maids and aime characters, but it was still an interesting place to visit. From here we continued our walk towards Shibuya, on a mission to ogle the legendary Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo's answer to Picadilly Circus or Times Square. Shibuya Crossing is famous for its throngs of people, blazing neon lights and enormous video screens, and did not disappoint. It was one of those "wow - we're in Tokyo!" moments. We had read on tripadvisor.com that the best place to truly appreciate this spectacle is a Starbucks which is situated directly above it, so we nabbed a prime spot overlooking the crossing while we sipped our coffee.
By that stage it was nearing lunch time so we found a popular looking spot to eat (we could tell by the queues outside). This place was the sort where you select what you want to eat by using a press button and pay machine outside the door, which then prints out your order before you take your seats, so that when you sit down your food is pretty much ready to go.
So it was a delicious and filling noodle-soup lunch for both of us, before a quick last look around the madness that was Shibuya. Honestly that place makes London look quiet, the sheer number of people around even on a Sunday afternoon was amazing! Then it was time for a quick photo in front of the Hachiko statue - a famous dog that used to wait patiently for his owner outside the station each day, even after he had passed away.
Then it was time to catch our train out to the airport, this time we splashed out on the highly efficient express train, meaning the trip only took 30 minutes. Tokyo had been a blast - absolutely crazy, but such fun and a well worthwhile stopover.
And for those of you who are wondering, despite Tim and I both learning Japanese at school, the only words we used the entire few days was "konnichi wa" and "arigato gozaimasu"! French would have been much more useful!
Later that morning we caught the metro to Harajuku to check out the cos-play (costume play) crowd that are said to hang out there on sunny Sundays. I think we must have been a bit too early for all the action though, as we only saw a handful of bizarrely dressed Japanese-style goths, French maids and aime characters, but it was still an interesting place to visit. From here we continued our walk towards Shibuya, on a mission to ogle the legendary Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo's answer to Picadilly Circus or Times Square. Shibuya Crossing is famous for its throngs of people, blazing neon lights and enormous video screens, and did not disappoint. It was one of those "wow - we're in Tokyo!" moments. We had read on tripadvisor.com that the best place to truly appreciate this spectacle is a Starbucks which is situated directly above it, so we nabbed a prime spot overlooking the crossing while we sipped our coffee.
By that stage it was nearing lunch time so we found a popular looking spot to eat (we could tell by the queues outside). This place was the sort where you select what you want to eat by using a press button and pay machine outside the door, which then prints out your order before you take your seats, so that when you sit down your food is pretty much ready to go.
Sounds like an amazing city - must make London feel small! Keen to see a photo of this teeny tiny hotel room.
ReplyDelete