Adventures in Nagoya!: Tokyo Day 2 (St. Patrick's Day)!!

Monday, March 17

So I made sure to bring green clothes and everything, but I completely forgot to wear them this morning! Arghhh!!

I wore absolutely nothing green, which is something to be ashamed of when you're Irish. Ah well, at least I wore my backpack today and that has some green on it.

After Rashaa and I showered and dressed this morning, we headed up to breakfast. The hotel provided hard boiled eggs, bread, a toaster, jam, and tea and coffee! Mmmmm!

Rashaa said she hadn't been able to sleep due to snoring in her room too.

But I didn't feel that tired despite not getting my usual 8 hours.

So we headed out. Our first stop was Ueno.

(I had to post this, because this is legitimately the FIRST vending machine with snacks I've seen in Japan. They have drinks, ties, cigarettes, you name it. But never snacks!)

Also, there was this adorable giant panda display at the station! The pandas were holding dango and cherry blossom branches. I got pictures of them on my camera.

We were heading to a store called Mode Off, but we got lost on the way and ended up walking through bits of Ueno Park. So pretty!

(Plum blossoms and lanterns for the upcoming Sakura festival)

(More for the festival)

Rashaa got wifi at one point, so we stopped to see if she could find where Mode Off was located.

(Cute KFC)

I saw this shrine across the street. I wanted to go check it out, but Rashaa didn't. :/

So I'm going to go back on my own tomorrow.

When Rashaa got directions on her phone, we headed off in the direction it was supposed to be.

We happened upon the Lockup Cafe!! I'd read all about this and really want to go, but it's expensive and probably not very good food.

But Japan is famous for it's themed cafés. In this one, you can eat in a cell and drink from beakers and syringes.

There's also a ninja cafe where the whole place is a maze so you can get lost going to the bathroom!

And one place that's a haunted house and someone from your table goes missing before the end of the meal!

Ahhh, so cool!!

We walked until we found a Lawson's with a Book Off on top. That was where Rashaa's phone said the Mode Off was supposed to be, but we didn't see it.

So we went into the Lawson's to ask. The guy was super nice and drew us a little map. It was just on the next street over!

So we walked over, but it didn't open for 15 more minutes. So we walked down the street we were on while we waited.

We were on the street that says "Ueno" (on the right) and next to us, on the left, is "Ameyoko" and in the middle is a cute statue of a cat thing.

At 11, we went back over to Mode Off. They had some pretty good sales, but I didn't see anything I wanted.

Rashaa had some clothes she wanted to try on and plus she wanted to go back to a show store we'd seen along Ueno street, so I told her I'd meet her at Book Off because I wanted to go look at the clothes there.

Saw this sign on the way:

(See? Tokyo knows what's up! Mimi no hi all the way!)

I went back over to the Book Off, but they didn't have clothes there! But I did find two games that were super cheap and looked interesting.

(The one on the left is for practice writing and learning kanji and the one on the right is this game where you arrange bouquets for guys... Something my sister would love. Personally, I wanted one of the weird only-in-Japan dating sim games, but they all had too difficult kanji for me)

When Rashaa was done, we headed back to the station to go to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro.

I first wanted to stop in one of the station's department stores because it apparently had a KitKat store! But it turned out the only KitKat's they were selling were special store flavors. I thought they'd be selling flavors from each of the prefectures.

I couldn't remember why I wanted to go to Sunshine City (I remembered later it was for Ice Cream City, but you have to pay to get in and then pay more for each weird flavor of ice cream you get - lame!), but Rashaa wanted to go to the rooftop aquarium.

First, we stopped in some shops on the bottom floor.

(Engrish! "Beliebe and act as if it were real")

Then we headed up to look at the restaurants on the top. The elevator on the way up also went to the planetarium, so it was outer space themed!

I was really ravenous and kind of wanted to get the 730 yen donburi at this one restaurant, even if it was kind of pricey. But Rashaa didn't want to eat a big lunch since she was going to dinner with her friend later. She said I could eat, but it looked like a sit down place, so I just decided to try to find something cheaper later.

We had to go all the way back downstairs because you had to take a different elevator to get to the aquarium. But this elevator was ocean themed!!

(Pictures on my camera)

When we got up to the aquarium, we took pictures by the water wall. Then we looked at the prices ($20) and Rashaa decided she actually didn't want to do it after all.

So we left. We went out the wrong exit though, because nothing outside looked familiar. We ended up going up this cool zigzag staircase and wound up on a rooftop garden!

So we took pictures up there.

Then we crossed into this tall office building which turned out to be the convention center! There were workers setting up things, so I bet they were getting ready for that anime convention Saturday that a bunch of my friends are going to.

The balcony had a really good view of Ikebukuro, so I went out there with all the office workers on their lunch break and took a panoramic.

Since we realized we were really lost at this point, we backtracked to the bottom floor of Sunshine City and exited out where we had come in.

But the buildings around us still looked different! Finally, I saw somewhere that looked familiar, so we went that way and then I saw the 100 yen store I'd seen on the way over. Yay!

I went in the 100 yen store quickly to look around and then we headed back to the station.

Next stop was Shinjuku! I wanted to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building because I'd read in my guide book that that was the best place to get a great free view of Tokyo.

It was a kind of far walk underground to get there, but we made it!

The building was covered with posters advertising the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. When we walked in, we found we had to take an escalator downstairs first in order to get to the elevator that goes to the observatory. Ugh I hate that, but I guess Japan is pretty smart making separate elevators that go to different floors. But they should really all be in the same general area!

The observatory was on the 45th floor! The elevator only went to the 1st, 2nd, and 45th floor. And our ears popped as it rose up!

The 45th floor was round with windows all around. Every little bit they had a sign pointing out landmarks in the mess of buildings below. There was also a gift shop up there.

I was disappointed that even though it was a clear day, it was foggy in the distance so I couldn't see the mountains. But it was still an amazing view!

I got all the pictures on my camera.

After that we decided to head to Odaiba, somewhere I've been really wanting to go - because of the Ferris wheel!

I wanted to get there at sunset so I could see it both in the daytime and at night.

My feet hurt sooooo badly at this point! But I pulled through. It was a nice long train ride to Odaiba island.

At Oimachi station, the one before Shinagawa Seaside, the usual train approaching music changed to "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid!!

I think because the subway legitimately ran under the sea!! Sugoi!

When we walked out of the subway station, the first thing we saw was the Ferris wheel!! Yay!! It was so beautiful and rainbow!

Right next to the Ferris wheel was Palette Town. So we walked through there. It ended at an overlook over the ocean. So beautiful!! I've missed the ocean so much.

I love water, so I automatically fell in love with Odaiba. I wanted to go to the other side of the island to see the bridge, so we walked over. The island wasn't very big. It only took 10 to 15 minutes to cross.

We walked up along the deck of the mall, which was like a boardwalk. We'd come at sunset, exactly the time of wanted to come!

It was all super romantic with the sunset and the water and the bridge and boardwalk haha. There was even a heart shaped thing you and your significant other could take a picture under!

And all down the boardwalk, they were playing all my favorite American love songs!

We walked all the way down to the fake Statue of Liberty that I wanted to see. And I took a picture of it.

(I put this up on Facebook saying I was kidding about going to Tokyo and I was spending my break in NYC instead and a lot of people totally fell for it, haha)

Then we went down to the shore to take pictures of the sunset on the water.

(I looooovee harbors!)

(Selfie!)

Ahh, it was beautiful!

Rashaa had to go then to take the train to Yokohama to meet her friend. So we walked back over to the station together because I had decided to finally eat some food in Palette Town.

I'd been seriously craving donburi, so I'd looked up a restaurant with donburi in Palette Town and it said there was one in Venus Outlet, which was the top floor of Venus Fort.

So I headed up there. I got lost in Venus Outlet and took a bunch of wrong turns, but I finally found the restaurants.

The first one was a curry place with these Indian guys working there. They shouted "hello!" and then yelled at me to come eat there, like that would actually make me want to.

I found the donburi place is been planning to eat at didn't have fish donburi, just gross looking, expensive meat donburi. So I went to the place next to it that had an oishiisou (delicious looking) tenpura and noodle combo meal.

I ordered in broken Japanese and then the guy gave me a button thing and rattled off a ton of Japanese and I nodded and said "hai" and left with the button thing. Then I realized I had no idea what he said. I'd figured it was a beeper that would light up when my food was done, but then I noticed all it was was a button. I had no idea how to use it.

So I waited a while and then got up my courage to go ask how to work the button. But when I got up there, I saw a tray with rice and tenpura. Then they put a steaming bowl of noodles on the tray so I went up to grab it and they gave it to me. Phew! Crisis averted.

Then I went back to my lonely table.

(Romantic dinner with myself)

The food was really good!

(Nom nom nom! Shrimp tenpura)

The ceiling of the mall was super cool. Halfway through my meal it turned pink!

After dinner I went down to the first floor. I saw a Village Vanguard (the store Keniichiro had shown me when he was showing me around Nagoya), so I stopped in. They were selling a bunch of weird Kit Kat flavors! Yes!!

They had wasabi flavor, rum raisin, and strawberry shortcake!!

So I bought rum raisin and strawberry shortcake to share with my family when I go back to America.

Some other cool/weird things at Village Vanguard:

(Koala March pillow!!)

(Weird bib...)

(Shirt with a phone holder!)

(Strange buttons... The pink one says something about spanking)

After that awesome store, I headed out to go trough the rainbow tunnel I'd seen. It connected to the Toyota display museum. It was so pretty!!

(Ahhh so cool!!)

It changed colors rather quickly, so it wasn't always rainbow. I just happened to get that awesome shot!

(Pink)

(Blue)

In the distance I saw the life-sized Gundam I've read about. I couldn't find it earlier with Rashaa, but I didn't really care since I'm not interested in Gundams. But at night it was all lit up and shining, so I had to go check it out!

(It's eyes are so creepy...)

(Selfie with the Gundam)

After that, I went to see the Fuji TV building because it was lighting up and playing music!

I took pictures and movies of the side of it because I thought that was all that was lighting up, and there was a beautiful staircase up to a Christmas tree there.

But then I realized the front was lighting up too!

So I went around to the front and caught the tail end of an awesome movie made with different colored lights in the windows of the building! And the movie went along with the music!!

I stuck around for a bit longer, hoping to see the movie again, but the lights came on again saying things like "Start Game" and then it played some block game (not Tetris) and then "Game Over."

That was still seriously cool though!

It reminded me of when these kids at MIT made their dorm light up and play Tetris, haha.

After sticking around Fuji TV a bit, I went back to see the Rainbow Bridge again, hoping it would light up rainbow at night. But it was only lit up yellow. Laaame! Why is it even called the Rainbow Bridge?

My feet were seriously hurting and it was almost 9pm, or else I would have walked down to see the Statue of Liberty too, but I kind of just wanted to head back.

So I went back to the station. On the way, a huge group of Japanese girls came out of the movie theater belting "Let It Go" from Frozen, haha!

The Ferris Wheel was super cool all lit up! I got pictures on my camera. :)

I decided I wanted to take the train that goes along the water for the way back because it stopped closer to where my hostel is.

It left from the port, so I walked back through Palette Town.

(Lights in Palette Town)

(Bye super amazingly awesome Odaiba!)

The train station was right on the water and called Aomizu (with the kanji for blue and sea) and had a unique marking of waves all over. It was so pretty!

(See the water beyond the train tracks?)

The way I took the train meant it didn't pass by the Ferris Wheel, but it did get good views of it as we left and we stayed on the water for a long time!

I got back to my hostel a little after 9 and I was pretty exhausted, so I went to bed quickly.

While I was brushing my teeth, though, this guy came over to talk to me and asked me if I was going out tonight. When I said no, he seemed so shocked! I told him about my life dream to go to a host club (not really, but I do want to go!). He thought that was awesome. His name was Ryan.

So I went to bed kind of later than I wanted to, but it's all good. Sleep is for the weak!

~*~PICTURES~*~