Tokyo Wanderings I

"Japanese girls think I'm cute, that is all." 
Sean

We will get to that a bit later.

Today we had a few destinations in mind, the Metropolitan Building Observatory, Shibuya Crossing and the Imperial Gardens.

Firstly the Metro building was within walking distance from our hotel.  We headed up to the 40 something floor and gazed upon a spectacular panoramic view of Shinjuku.  As Sean mentioned above, as I took his photo against one of the windows, a young Japanese lady told him to stay there, took his photo and said he was cute.  I think it's because his outfit screams Australian Tourist but I'll let him have this one.

To get to Shibuya, we needed to catch the subway, tourists can buy a multi-day, multi-subway pass from selected  retailers (Tokyo has 2 subway networks plus JR Trains).  Now going to the Metro Building we went past the Shinjuku station overland, however Tokyo has networks of sub ground level pathways, so we were able to go all the way back (1.5kms) to Shinjuku, underground and even use moving walkways, awesome.  So the retailer who sells the tickets, yes Scott, I will get around to you one day, it was BIC Cameras.  So after buying the tickets, naturally Sean had to buy more camera gear.

We then caught a subway train to Shibuya.  Now Shibuya is known for its seven way intersection featured in many movies include the Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift (love that movie).  We arrived at lunch time so it wasn't as chaotic as expected but I can imagine what it would be like on weekends.  Nevertheless we walked through the crossing at least 5 times.  We then wandered around and looked for somewhere to eat.  We saw a billboard advertising food in front of a grungy elevator.  Ebony did tell us not to be fooled by appearances so we took a punt, got in and up we went to 6F.  It opened out onto a nice entry hall with 3 restaurants facing the elevator.  The food was great as always but again can't tell you what I had but it was yummy and reasonably priced.  She was right.

Back out and onto the subway again.  This time to the Imperial Garden.  Stunning stunning stunning!!  Of course we went through the obligatory bag check but entry was free, however you are given a token on the way in which you must surrender on the way out, its how they account for all persons entering and exiting the gardens.  The Gardens belong to the Emperor and back in the day, housed soldiers to protect him and the surrounding lands.  Some of the barracks are still standing and we were able to go into one which I opted to do.  Shoes off and in I went.  Surprisingly the ceiling was quite low so persons 6ft and over would have to bend.  It was ridiculously cold in the gardens and you'll see we are dressed as if it is Winter.

On a side note, we have had brilliant weather during our holiday.  Osaka was cold but sunny, Hiroshima and Kyoto were like warm spring days and even in Tokyo yesterday it was 27 degrees.  This morning however was overcast and the temperature was only going to get to 15 degrees.  I swear it got colder as the day wore on hence the scarves and gloves in the photos.

Tomorrow we are off to the Sensoji Temple and Ueno Park.  I'm sure it will be another big day but it is our second last day so we are going to make the most of it.


Photos
2018-04-05 - Tokyo Wanderings I