1/3/2010
Waking up in Tokyo is exciting because I know that I’ll have something planned for the day. That morning I felt refreshed, after a night of drinking, and adventurous. I decided to fly solo that morning and check out Harajuku. I got off the train and followed the hordes of people. I had originally planned on window shopping in Takeshita street, but decided to see where everyone was going.
Followed the crowds to a torii gate...hmmm
Sometimes being a follower does take you places. I ended up at the Meiji Jingu, one of the most visited shrines in Tokyo. THIS is what I had imagined New Years Day would be like at the Osaka shrine with people crowding around the bell, tons of people lining up to buy arrows and omikuji, and plenty of families spending the first few moments of the new year together.
I found Meiji Jingu
After tossing a coin in and after I bought an omamori, I headed to the original destination: Takeshi street. This shopping area is known for pop idol merchandise—mostly for the ladies’ viewing pleasure. There are also a lot of clothing shops, including sock wear. I checked out a couple places that were devoted to selling socks, tights, leggings, etc. I had to cut my shopping trip short, because I would have been late to a lunch appointment otherwise, but I did manage to snag three pairs of long socks for 1,000Y.
Around 11am, I met up with an old college friend, Kiel, in Shibuya. We went to a café where I had my first decent experience with Japanese pasta. Saizeria, a pasta place in Komatsu, is pretty terrible. It was nice catching up and next time I’ll remember to take a photo together!
Kiel had to run an do some errands, so I called Hiro to see what he was up to. I met up with him, the other guys, and Maki, a new acquaintance, to check out Ginza. Henry was set on buying tea omiyage, souvenirs, so we went to a tea shop to get green tea. Outside of the shop, the Tokyo marathon runners were passing by on the main street. It was little coincidences like this one that made the trip feel like I got a taste of everything. After that we walked around Ginza a little more and then headed to Odaiba to take some pictures.
Odaiba is beautiful. Definitely make sure to go to Odaiba on a nice day and take some photos of the Rainbow Bridge, the water, Fuji Television Station, and the Statue of Liberty. No joke. They have a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty. It was as if we got a 2-for-1 deal to see Tokyo and New York all in one go. Odaiba is also home to the big giant ferris wheel. I love ferris wheels. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to go, because I had to get some stuff from my hotel room.
Dinner took place in an izakaya in Ebisu at the same shopping area I went to the first day. The beer glasses were huge! Unfortunately, beer didn’t seem like such a good idea for me when ordering drinks, so I missed out. We tried to hit up Roppongi Hills for clubbing that night, but everything was closed since it was Sunday. The observation deck was the plan B, but it was $15 to get in and it would have closed within thirty minutes. We found a café instead and had some coffee with desserts.
It was a good day for touring Tokyo.
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿