Day 20: Sensory Underload

DID: Jason hit the Fish Market while we ‘relaxed’ at the pool. Should have been a nice morning but had trouble locating acceptable pastries in our new neighborhood, and then Rhys had an enormous poo explosion in his bathing suit. Luckily he had gotten himself out of the water before it happened so there were no foreign objects in the pool, but by them time I realized what had happened there was…leakage. Ew. Kind of killed the swimming mood, plus Rhys bathing suit would need a good wash.

Back upstairs caught up on some postcards and Gavin’s travel journal while Rhys napped. Jason returned from a good adventure (he promises a guest post for the blog).

Decided to follow our Luxe guide’s recommendation for a shopping itinerary in Ginza. Got lost several times (note to Luxe editors if you’re reading this: why not give people who buy the guide access to a map online or add it to your iphone app?) For anyone who hasn’t seen these guides, they are very small pocketsized fold-up booklets which give restaurant/shopping/sightseeing suggestions. No photos, no maps, just (very tiny) text. Not exactly Luxe’s fault that the directions were hard to follow – there’s no address system in Japan and there can be multiple names for the same section of a road.

Nonetheless, we crossed off some essentials on the shopping list and enjoyed the walk around Ginza.  Very high end shopping area, much like the mag mile or Bond St London.  Highlight was a chopstick boutique selling sets from $5 - $5000!! Also Sony’s flagship store where you can test out all the new techie toys.

After dinner headed over to Shibuya which one of our guides said specifically is the ‘Tokyo of your dreams’.  In some ways I guess I agree. The train station was massive, impossible to navigate (it took several tries for us to find an exit to the station!) and very crowded. First time that we’ve really felt the crush in Tokyo. Outside, there was enough neon to warrant sunglasses at night.  But I’m still missing the smack of futurism/high tech/sensory blitz.

We were completely out of place in this neighborhood, mostly early 20-somethings in pre-clubbing mode. (read: un-fit and trashy).  Fashion much more conservative than I was anticipating, very little of the crazy combinations and anime-influence. Still lots of black tights with stirups. For the men, big baggy shorts, big t-shirts and big high tops, big whoop.

Got lost on the way home because we got off at Shinjuku Sanchome station rather than just Shinjuku. Kind of a meltdown moment, Rhys had been whining for hours at this point (he still refuses to fall asleep in the stroller and I can’t blame him – it looks uncomfortable) and we were all pooped. I was also getting frustrated that I wasn’t loving Tokyo as much as I wanted to, wondering if it was a matter of being in the wrong places, if I just wasn’t seeing what was front of me, or if I’d gotten it all wrong. A taxi sorted us out as far as getting us back to the hotel, but still feeling lost.

ATE: Breakfast: pastries from shop in Shinjuku station (Jason had sushi at the fish market).

Lunch: at Japanese burger chain Lotteria in Shinjuku Station. Really good. Kind of White Castle like in terms of the softness of the bun, but the meat/cheese were really good. A bit of ketchup was the only topping, this burger stands up on its own.

Snack: Green tea tasting and sake sampling in Ginza (as recommended by Luxe).

Dinner: Japanese version of crepes  (okonomiake)  @ restaurant in Mitsukoshi department store (also suggested by Luxe). Very interesting meal, cooked in front of us on a flat grill. Crepe first, then meat, then bean sprouts and a few sauces, crepe on top. Other items on offer included yakisoba (replace crepe with noodles) and an omelette version (instead of crepe). My favorite by far was the yakisoba.