day three

We were so exhausted the next day we decided to make breakfast our first priority.  We set off in search of a place that had great ratings for their French Toast and Eggs Benedict, but finding it was not easy and we nearly gave up.  It was one of those giant mall areas with multiple floors and stairways that go a different way on Tuesday with secret passages leading somewhere else…..kinda like the Hogwarts castle!  But it was our lucky day!  Not only did we find it, but after we got in line, about 20 more people got in line, most of them non-Asian.  I’m telling you there is a real market here for IHOP!  The food was delicious and filling–the best French toast either of us had ever had, light and fluffy with fresh strawberries, butter, and maple syrup.  It was expensive as I’ve found before with breakfast food, about $30 total; if a breakfast place with slightly lower prices got in here it would make a killing!  Sometimes only breakfast will do.

When Katie was here in August it was raining a lot, so we decided to explore some of the places she had only seen in the rain.  We walked to an area of dozens of beautiful, modern, government and corporate skyscrapers.  Unlike Osaka, the buildings here look new and more cosmopolitan. 

One of the buildings, Katie and her friends had discovered, had a free observation level on the 45th floor. 

Lucky us again, as soon as we got on the elevator the line grew behind us.  From the top you could see in all directions.  As far as the eye could see, there was city……..on and on and on, 37 million people. 

There was a Japanese man who was volunteering there and giving information in English.  Turns out that the beautiful skyscraper made of angular glass just a few blocks away was the hotel (now office building) where Lost in Translation was filmed, with the city scenes filmed in Shibuya and Shinjuku!  

Today we walked more slowly, wandering into buildings and relaxing outside in the courtyards, enjoying delicious iced tea in a modern lobby that had a Tully’s Coffee inside. 

Next we took the subway to Roppongi, a hipster area with cool shops and restaurants.  It is all outdoors and since it was such a lovely day it was perfect for exploring. 

It is so hilly there that one area is called Roppongi Hills.  Sometimes I think I’m in pretty good shape until trips like this one.  There were times my legs were just burning, and Katie’s were too!

We discovered we were close to Tokyo Tower from here, so we set off in that direction. Almost identical in design and size to the Eiffel Tower, there are shops underneath and an observation deck, which we skipped because it was $20 each.  It is quite the tourist attraction, but free is definitely better!  It opened in 1958 and is used for radio antennas.

Katie knew of another area called Harajuku.  On another day we would have made the 50 minute walk, but this time we took the subway.  Harajuku is another happening area full of trendy restaurants.  We had 2 main reasons to go there:  Mexican food and a Cinnabon!  Both were, of course, fabulous!  (Katie ate the big one, haha!) 

In Tokyo, everyone rides the escalator on the left, opposite Osaka 🙂

Harajuku is not too far from Shinjuku, so we got back to our capsule around 5 p.m. to rest and freshen up.  We were so tired neither of us were really in the mood to go back out.  But as it was our last night there, by 7 p.m. we were back outside checking out the night life.  When we exited the building, I was surprised to see it was still light outside–but I was wrong.  The lights from the thousands of signs were so bright it looked like daylight all night long.

There was an area not far from our place that was several little alleys full of tiny bars, which Katie and her friends had visited before.  We meandered through the dark walkways and read the signs, each mini-bar with a special and most with cover charges, but we both agreed that sitting in a bar with 4 other people might require more social interaction than we felt up to.  It was actually a really cool place and looked like apartments that had been converted.

We decided the one thing we could do that would not require walking was karaoke, and I couldn’t think of anything more representative of life in Japan!  We scoped it out but the first place was too expensive–Tokyo is definitely higher than Osaka.  We found another place and played rockstar for 4 hours 🙂

Even with that we were in bed by midnight.  I sat in my capsule trying to unwind and looking at my map again.  It had been an amazing few days, but as I saw my blue dot hovering over Tokyo, I felt really ready to move the dot back to Osaka. 

Photo: Tokyo from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building