Blog Archive

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

20231011 AAAA Trip - Tokyo, Japan - Scrambling, Ginza-ing, and Godzilla!

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 25/105 - Tokyo, Japan - The end of Tokyo!


For our last day in Tokyo, we went adventuring once again. We headed first to the infamous Shibuya Scramble Crossing.

At least six separate roadways converge - everyone gets a red light and the masses cross in every direction simultaneously




View 360-degree photo here


It wasn't as busy as usual since we were there around 10:30 a.m. and the businesses don't open until 11 a.m. - something we missed when we planned our day.


The Japanese are still into masks


Interesting items on Mickey D's menu






With no shopping open, we called an Uber and made our way to Tokyo Station. Yes, we could have taken a train, but we have had our fill of trains and the Ubers have been terrific and comfy. We have ridden mainly in Toyota Alphards with incredible legroom, even for us long-legged folks 5'10" and up.


On the drive, we spotted the first graffiti we saw in Tokyo. We have been impressed with how clean the city is, so this was a surprise.


We heard that the shopping at Tokyo Station was worth seeing, so that was our mission. We arrived and took a quick look around.



We went underground and walked around the underground food selection.  

So many choices


We picked up a couple of small snacks - a creamy, breaded crab roll and a fried potato snack, and went back outside to eat and get our plan together. The flakey coating on our snacks crumbled and fell as we ate, prompting a visit from this guy.

A Eurasian tree sparrow

Arlona shook out the rest of the crumbs

The proximity of our legs didn't faze it one bit

Nom nom nom

We saw several of these noiseless wind turbines spinning away, generating electricity

We decided to tour the 13 floors of the Daimaru department store adjacent to the station. They had an amazing selection of clothing, furniture, jewelry, watches, and more. Quite the destination to shop.

We made the requisite restroom stop where Arlona was again entertained by the toilet tech.


I thought this was neat - a rental battery pack to top off your cell phone. They cost about $1.10 US.


Next up was a short stroll to the Ginza District - Tokyo's version of Rodeo Drive.  

An impressive sculpture in front of the Tokyo Midtown Yaesu mall

A pair of mirrored rocks you can walk between

Police museum




Chanel, Tiffany, Coach, Hublot, Louis Vuitton - they have it all




Checking the time in front of the Bvlgari building on by Bvlgari watch




The Seiko Clock





Oh no! Godzilla!

Me, enjoying our final Uber ride back to the Viking Orion

We grabbed a quick pool grill lunch and tossed in a load of laundry.  We have all port days for a while so we took advantage of the time.

This is the end of Tokyo - at least for us on this trip.  

We hit up the Explorers' Bar before dinner and then enjoyed a lovely, albeit long dinner at Manfredi's.  We were seated at 6:30 and wrapped up the meal at 8:45. They really need to speed up the massive lull between courses. That being said, the meal was fabulous.

Thursday morning through Friday early afternoon, we will be docked in Shimizu, Japan. Tomorrow, we venture to Mt. Fuji.

No comments:

Post a Comment

20241001 Western National Parks Tour Day 20/20 - Omaha Zoo and home

American West Bus Tour Day 20/20 - Visiting the Omaha Zoo and the Airport Zoo All good things must come to an end and today is the end of ou...