Day 1 - Out and about in Tokyo

Morning always seems to come so very quickly, when you travel internationally. It was easy falling asleep in our nice, cold hotel room last night. 5:00 a.m. or so however, we were awake. Our hotel accommodations are larger than they were when we first came to Japan in 2015.

Since these accommodations include breakfast, we opted to head down and check out the breakfast offerings. The restaurant includes both a plated breakfast, and the ability to get food from the buffet. They had a nice assortment of dishes at the ready. I had the French toast, while Ramona had the Scrambled eggs. It sounds like relatively ordinary fare, however, we will be here for five days and we'll have an opportunity to try something new for breakfast every morning. As with other restaurants we stayed at recently, they had a nifty coffee machine that could dispense a wide variety of coffee - another plus!

After breakfast, we headed back up to our room and planned out the day. We've had a few ideas for different things we could visit, so we mark them on a map and I put them into Google maps.

Today's plan included getting around in Shinjuku, a bustling area to the east of Central Tokyo.  This meant taking the subway, and putting our Welcome Suica transit cards to use. We meandered the street, headed for the Tsukuba Express, a private rail line, but one we could use the Suica card on. For a Sunday morning, the station was quiet. After riding the subway a few stops, then connecting to another line, we found ourselves in the heart of Shinjuku. We first visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, heading up to the observation tower for a good view of the city. The morning was overcast, so we couldn't see much past the edge of the city. Still, the other landmarks of the city, such as Yoyogi Park and the Tokyo Tower, were visible. 

From the Metropolitan building, we walked back towards Shinjuku Station. The BIC Camera store would afford us more shopping opportunities and perhaps some unexpected tech bargains. Sadly, there was nothing that really caught my eye, but Mona and Kylee were free to roam and discover. 

Not too far from this location, we could make our first Hello Kitty! stop of the trip.  The Kinokuniya Book chain had a large location with am ample selection, so headed over. Kylee picked up some souvenirs and paused for a picture with the giant kitty in front of the store.

We wandered back out to the street and wound up near a Disney store. Again, very little enticed us to spend, but it was a worthy distraction. We continued to explore Shinjuku, so a nearby shopping mall was on the agebda.  Lunch beckoned, so it was time to find a bite to eat. The basement of department stores always have food, so we went down for a look. Finding a few snacks, we returned to the street level and stopped under a shady building to eat. The weather today was astonishingly cool - I was expecting higher humidity, but it was quite pleasant out of the sun!

After lunch, we headed towards another part of Shinjuku, making a loop to the opposite side of the Shinjuku station.  The next stop was Hanazona Temple, a preserved Shinto shrine dating back to 1600s. Passers-by leave small wooden placards with a message, so we did the same. 

We continued on to another Sanrio (Hello Kitty) store, this one a little smaller.  OurneAlong the route, we passed the Toho Building, the film company the owns the rights to the eponymous Godzilla franchise. Guess who towers over the side of the building?

The next store, Sanrio Now!, was located in a department store adjacent to Shinjuku startion. As Sunday is often the only day many Japanese do not work, there was an ever-increasing number of people on the streets.  And now, they were joining us in the mall!  The shops and hallways had been getting steadily busier as we shopped.  The Sanrio Now! location was quite small, but still had unique items not at the other locations.  Soon, Kylee found a few more trinkets and we set our sights on Shinjuku station.

Reversing our route from Shinjuku to Asakusa was a "simple" exercise, just taking the same trains back.  However, when we switched from the Oeno line to the Tsukuba Express, I misjudged the number of stops and ended up in Akihabara (which is our destination for later this week).  Ah, well!  Back in the station, we boarded the same train we'd exited and finally continued on to Asakusa.  We really weren't hungry, but passing up the snacks (and the view!) from the 10th floor lounge wasn't an option.  We rested in the lounge for a bit, enjoying the sweet treats and took in the view of the surrounding skyline.

Kylee was eager to explore the neighborhood, so Mona and I ventured off to get massages.  We passed fairly close to Sensō-ji Temple, passing row after row of the shop stalls nearby.  We found a quiet parlor that was open and each got a massage.  My shoulder had been bothering me for some time, so this massage was a wonderful improvement.  On the way back, we stopped by a convenience store for a light snack.  Since we made an extra stop on the subway, the Welcome Suica card I use for the subway was running low.  Interesting fact:  you must use cash to recharge or add money to transit cards in Japan.  This means, you need a cash machine to it!  Convenience stores are second only to train stations as the most popular place to do this.  When I asked the clerk if I could charge my card here, he cheerfully nodded and switched the screen at the cash register.  You select the quantity to add, insert the bills, then just tap your card.  Just like that, I put another 1000 Yen on the card and I'd be ready to travel tomorrow.

Safely back in our hotel room, we began to wind down from the evening.  Another successful day gets us excited for the adventures of tomorrow!