introduction to Tokyo

October 28 cont.

We didn't have a hotel booked ahead of time, so we took what we could get at the tourist office. The New Izu Hotel turned out to be a simple (probably more on the spiffy side at one time) hotel with a free massage chair in the lobby, english-speaking staff (phew!) and a very uncomfortable bed.

It was great to stay in the Ueno district. We were a short walk from a major train station/mall, a fun shopping district, and some other tourist sights.

Ueno station made me think of the Jetsons with its multiple levels of concrete walkways.

There was an Andersen bakery at the station. It fed my pastry habit nicely (almost every day for breakfast). I tried to have juice or yogurt or something else 'healthy' to ease my guilt. These were the best pastries I have ever eaten in my life. Withdrawl was ugly when I got home.

October 29th

We took the train down to Shinjuku, the bustling business core of Tokyo and home to the Metropolitan Government buildings. We craned our necks to look up, way up at the two towers.

On the way around to find the doors, we came upon a crazy man with a cat. He was shouting at the top of his lungs, so we gave him a wide berth.

My feet were so sore from blisters by this point, I was really tired and it was very humid. It wasn't even lunchtime yet and I was wondering how I was going to make it through the day.

We took an elevator up to the observation deck on the 45th floor (not even the top of the building). This seemed to be a popular place, filled with Japanese tourists milling around in a huge central gift shop.Walking around the windows, the view was amazing despite the heavy smog that day. They say on a clear day you can see Fuji San. I saw a couple of window washers and got nasty vertigo for a minute. We could not see the borders of the city. It was like looking out into the ocean.

The gift shop was almost as fun as the view. We found all kinds of Astro Boy stuff, cool science toys, and merchandise from quite a few popular cartoons. Do you remember Monchichis? I hadn't seen these things in 20 years. What strange little thumb-sucking monkeys, all decked out in little japanese costumes.

We set out in search of a highly recommended tempura restaurant for lunch. It's very difficult to find addresses in Japan, even with directions and a well-drawn map. Tsunahachi was not a departure from this. When we finally found it, there was a long line-up of well-dressed people outside, which we took as a good sign. It was so worth the extra effort! We sat at the counter and watched the other diners to figure out proper tempura etiquette. The flavour & texture were Amazing! Now I'm ruined for the North American version.