The plan was to go to Mt Takao today for a quick hike in the morning, followed by a whirlwind tour of a few major urban sprawls of Tokyo. When I woke up and took a look outside the window, the weather dictated otherwise. The garden outside was very nice though 🙂
So I headed out of the guest room at 7:45am. Went over to the reception area, only to be told that they can’t keep my luggage there. They asked me to ask Kana to keep it in her house, but at 7:45am I had no intention of paging her family home and disturbing them. So I decided to stash it in a coin locker at Shinjuku.
The idea was fine and made sense, except once I got to Takaido station and onto the platform, I realised what a challenge I was facing. There were people EVERYWHERE. Overflowing out of the train doors, packed into train carriages, etc. I should’ve known, but somehow forgot. Getting onto that first train, which was already literally vacuum-packed full of people, whilst holding my suitcase was such a hassle. I felt like people were giving me the evil eye (I know they weren’t though). However, as we reached the next station, a lot of people alighted the train and I got dragged with the wave of people and ended up standing on the platform, somewhat disoriented.
#Travelers note: I’m a somewhat seasoned traveler when it comes to Tokyo, but if you are new here this can be overwhelming and quite scary. Try to plan any trip involving bulky luggage to happen after rush hour (around 10am onwards).
After changing trains, I got to Shinjuku and found the coin locker quickly. ¥800. What a rip off! Don’t forget, this kind of necessary expense wouldn’t happen with a regular hotel (but at ¥2500 and able to live near friends, I’m still not complaining).
I didn’t have 8 x ¥100 so I used the Suica card I got as part of the Suica NEX package to pay it. Bringing my remaining total to ¥400. Big sigh!
Then, while walking through Shinjuku, I realised I had gotten pretty hungry. I swung by a McDonalds, and picked up my ultimate fast food breakfast, the McGriddle Sausage and Egg set, at ¥460. You may think I’m mad for choosing McDonalds over everything else there is here, but I still can’t get over the McGriddle! So delicious…
After leaving McDonalds, I decided I’d walk around today, seeing as I spent yesterday stuck in one place for over 13 hours. I bought a one-day “all-you-can-ride” Tokyo Metro Subway ticket for ¥710 and hopped on the train.
Shinjuku -> Shinjuku San-chome -> Meiji Jing?mae
Meiji Jing?mae station is in the centre of Harajuku. I hopped off and went for a wander around Harajuku. It hasn’t changed a whole lot from the last 8 times I was there, but all the same, it has changed.
The first thing that caught my eye was the brand new shopping centre they’d put on one of the major crossings…
Went for a stroll down Takeshita-dori, dodging the African hawkers along the way. Not much was open that early, but I didn’t intend on spending much money today anyway. Window shopped in some clothing stores, then headed over to Kiddyland.
Kiddyland hadn’t opened yet, so I picked up a Dr Pepper for ¥120 from a vending machine across the road. Sat around waiting, sorting my photos.
Kiddyland is the home of toys, games and other generally cute things. It’s a great place to pick up presents for other people, but it’s not so cheap. Still worth the visit. I had a look around until 11:45am, then headed back the way I came, past the long line of people that were waiting to get into above mentioned new shopping mall, and into the station.
Meiji Jing?mae -> Nogizaka
Once I arrived in Nogizaka, I was welcomed by heavy rain. Damn bad timing! Wandered down towards Roppongi with a poker face on, but I was pretty annoyed. So I decided to take (temporary) refuge in Tokyo Midtown, one of the high end retail centres in Roppongi.
After browsing a few kitsch stores (and ignoring all the high end fashion), I wandered out onto the Garden Terrace. Shoot, the rain was still going…
#Travelers note: If you really try, you can spend hours at a time underground, using the subway stations as a means to walk between different places. Great for rainy days. Just watch the signs, and think of the stations as the centre of two different points of attraction.
I headed to Roppongi Station via the underground route, and took Exit 3, which found me just down the road from Roppongi Hills.
Once again, the selection of stores at Roppongi Hills blows my budget out of the water, so I just had a quick look around. You can get a good look at Tokyo Tower from the side (turn left after you get in).
I headed down to the open air space, in front of the big “tv asahi” LED screen. Wasted some time calling Sagawa, who had agreed to let me pick up the microSIM, but only after they checked if it could be handed to me even though the names didn’t match (I booked it under my Japanese name; my passport says otherwise). Sigh. So complicated.
#Travelers note: When having things sent to you at a location you don’t permanently live at (i.e. hotel, weekly apartment, etc.) ensure that the reception are able to accept such goods, and also triple check that the address is right. If the delivery is unsuccessful, it’s a huge hassle organising redelivery – particularly if you don’t speak Japanese.
Now heading back into Roppongi. I’ll show you guys what the city centre of Roppongi looks like, then I’ve gotta head back to Takaido to sort that microSIM mess out. Wish me luck!