Let's start from the beginning shall we?
On the 21st I caught the train to Tokyo and hung out with my friend Kazz for the day. We went to Odaiba and went for a tour of Fuji TV and then caught a movie -yes, a real theatre movie!! It was called "Dejavu" with Denzel Washington -it wasn't half bad. Then we watched the sunset before heading back to Ueno where I was staying, and where he lives. We found an Engish pub that serves Strongbow cider and proceeded to enjoy the evening surrounded by die-hard soccer fans.
Thursday Morning we hooked up again and went Shibuya for Starbucks and a trip to Tower Records. I then caught the train to Narita to pick up my Favorite Aunt. I was plenty early for her flight so I took to people watching -it's a great way to pass the time, especially at airports!
She finally emerged from customs and we headed for Ueno. The train was crowded, but we managed. Our hotel was right across the street from Ueno Park -fantastic, well worth the money -thanks Mihoko for the hook-up!
We had a small meal near the hotel and went to bed nice and early. The next morning we took our time getting up, then we explored Tokyo! We went to the National Museum to see Da Vinci's The Annunciation
, then took in the few cherry blossoms that were blooming in the park.
Then it was off to Shinjuku for a view of the city from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. There we picked up a brochure for Mount Fuji Tours and settled on a package deal for the next day! After Shinjuku we went to Shibuya (I can never get enough Shibuya) for Starbucks and Tower Records. Let me just explain what's so special about this place -it has a whole floor dedicated to English literature -everything and anything. It's one of the best selections of books I've ever come across -beats out Chapters any day. As with the visit with Kathy, this turned out to be our afternoon indulgence. We spent a good while perusing and we spent a good amount at the till. It was double points day, so with our combined purchases I managed to fill an entire point card in two days! Yay for me!
Saturday morning we hopped on a tour bus bound for Mount Fuji. The weather was cloudy and cool and unfortunately we only got to see Fuji-san from the bus. By the time we got to the viewing station it was encased in clouds, so we enjoyed a picture of it instead. Then we went for lunch, had a boat ride across a lake in a pirate ship mock-up, and went to some sulphur springs where we were supposed to have a gondola ride -but it was canceled due to high winds.
We took a bullet train back and met up with Kazz and Owen, and his friend Ben who was also here visiting. Beer and izakaya food -yum!
more to come!
