(01/03/04 - 31/03/04)
| 04/03/04 |
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| 06/03/04 |
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| 07/03/04 |
We ambled about a bit, enjoying the sunshine, the
high-rise buildings, and the quantity of funny gaijin
(non-Japanese) faces! We came across a street performer with a
little monkey. I'm not usually in for that kind of thing, but the
monkey was in very good condition, and seemed to be loving all the
attention. He was a real little performer, and had a look of
absolute concentration on his little face while he was performing the
stunts. Ladies
and Gentlemen, it is now official. I am an executive. I
must be, otherwise I wouldn't have been made an Executive Club Card
Holder for the Keio Plaza. I think all this came about because
we were chatting to the staff at the hotel in Japanese. Just the
basics - where we're from, the fact we live in Japan, what we do,
etc. And then it happened. They didn't even mind that I didn't
have a business card! The
room was very large, and beautiful. And had a pretty damn good view
- of the government metropolitan towers (just opposite), of another
impressive building with a hollow interior (just off to the side) and, in
the distance, Mount Fuji - that beast that defeated me seven months
ago! It was looking mighty beautiful and mighty impressive! After the nap, I had a bath. In a full length tub. Not like the irritating Japanese ones, where you have to either kneel (in which case your knees fall asleep and your top half isn't covered) or sit with your knees up round your ears. I have tried other positions, but to be honest, these are the only two feasible ones I've found. Sticking your legs up the wall is slightly more comfortable, although it means they get a bit cold...). Have you got the idea yet? Pure Luxury! And that was just the bath! Knowing the sheer size of Tokyo, we realised there was no point in madly rushing about trying to fit everything into two days. The purpose of the trip was to get away from Fukui, see a bit of Tokyo and to relax. So we got all dressed up (I mean it! I put a skirt on, and Tom was wearing a tie!!!), and shot (literally) up in the lift to a cocktail bar on the 45th floor. The moon was stunning. One of those seemingly rare moons that look like you could just reach out of the window and touch it. It was a deep golden colour. A bit like a Pringle. We gazed at the view over Tokyo, and at the impressive Pringle-moon, whilst making light conversation ("cor, look at that moon!"), over our cocktails! Andy would have been proud ;) Incidentally,
the cocktails were (to put it mildly) huge! And absolutely
delicious. I can't emphasize enough just how wonderful the meal was. It compared only to (for those who know) Byzantium in Bristol, and L'Horizon and Victoria's in Jersey, and in many respects may actually have been better! The wine was expertly decanted and the food came with silver dish-covers, which were removed (after a pause) with a flourish! And what food! Rich sweet sauces, perfectly cooked meat, etc etc. And for those of you trying to work out how much it cost (I can see you counting on your fingers!), the total bill came to around £140, which is the most we've ever spent on a meal. But only just. It tops Byzantium by about £20. But rarely is a meal like that so much needed and so much appreciated. Not a damn grain of rice or bit of soba in sight. And the food had flavour!!! Ok, enough of that. Suffice to say, we went to bed very happy and contented!
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| 08/03/04 |
Breakfast over, I went back to the room and had another l o n g bath. Extravagant, I know, but it's funny what you miss! We then checked out, left our bags with the bell-boy, and went for a walk to the neighbouring high-rise buildings (including the Metropolitan Government one, and the hollow one - Shinjuku NS Building). Took loads of photos, and visited a few shops before returning to the hotel for lunch. We went back to the place that we'd had cocktails in the night before, and had a very expensive (but tasty) crocq monsieur and a club sandwich. Like I say, funny what you miss. After reclaiming our bags, we went and put them in another storage locker at the bus station, and did some more window shopping, before heading over to a new area of Tokyo (in that it's newly developed, and newly reclaimed land). We visited the Museum of Science and Innovation, which was really good although seemed to be aimed at English-speakers, which was odd. Not to mention the supply of NASA gifts from the gift shop. I felt there could have been more exhibits, although what was there was of a really high standard. And it only cost 500yen (about £2.50) to get in! We then trundled to a shopping centre in the same area. This place was weird. Outside: beautiful, warm, and very sunny weather. Inside: an Italian street at dusk. A very very long Italian street at dusk. The effects were really odd, but quite convincing, if you didn't look too closely at the plastic facades! Deciding that we'd had enough of Italy, we caught the train to Akihabara - the electronics district. Full of street vendors and department stores specialising in the latest electronic gadgetry. And boy, is it expensive! Even the little stalls have huge security cameras on them! So we didn't buy anything, and headed back to Shinjuku (where the bus station is), to find some dinner and a supply of alcohol. In a city as vast as Tokyo, where do you even begin to find dinner?! We wondered aimlessly about for a while, before we realised we weren't even hungry. Standing on a street corner wondering what to do next, I suddenly realised I recognised the street from the Tokyo Orientation when I first arrived in Japan. And what did Tom notice on the other side of the street, just opposite where we had stopped? HUB - THE ENGLISH PUB! Yes, the exact same place I went to with Flick, Edwina, Adam and Hudson amongst others, during those first few tentative days in this strange new country. And yes, it is just like an English pub! With good pubby snacks! Duly installed, we made an attempt to drink the bar dry, and found our appetites! That was our last stop before heading for the bus, and sitting on it for another 8 hours! Back to the snow of Fukui. One last word on Tokyo: |
| 09/03/04 |
Thanks
to: Brandon, Kara, Flick, Laura, Mary, Teresa, Christina, Katie, Adam,
Sarah, and of course Tom, for coming along and celebrating my birthday
with me! It really meant a lot to me to be able to celebrate with
you guys. |
| 11/03/04 |
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| 12/03/04 |
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| 13/03/04 |
Nere's Pantry |
| 14/03/04 |
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| 21/03/04 |
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| 24/03/04 |
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27/03/04 - (05/04/04) |
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