Day 16 - Hakuba - When Do I Olympics?

Today was a pretty straight up day - Skiing! It was Adelaide's first time, and kinda mine too. I've only been skiing once before and that was close to 6 years ago, when we spent a day in Queenstown, so I was really in the same boat as Adelaide.

We had a bit of a disruptive night, despite the double glazed windows, noise still came through, and the few cars that went up and down the street outside was enough to wake us up. At 4.30 a bus drove past, and a little later many people in the town got up to clear their drive ways and the streets using the snowblowers. The room also has central heating though so the air got quite dry and Adelaide and I woke to stuffy heads.

When we did get up, we were excited to get going, so we were early to breakfast. Not wanting to feel too eager for breakfast, we went back upstairs until Yakata called us down just a few minutes later. It wasn't what I was expecting! In my mind, I had anticipated a continental or buffet style breakfast, instead, we were treated to a small omelet topped with onion, potato and sausage, with a side bowl of freshly cut fruit, and a bread basket which had a fresh, home baked croissant and breadroll each. Adelaide seemed most excited about the coffee which came too, and we drained the pot quite quickly. The meal also came with a freshly squeezed apple juice too. We were both very impressed with breakfast, and it was a great start to our day. We look forward to subsequent mornings here because of it, but it's a shame we won't be staying for longer (isn't that always the case?).

After our thoroughly satisfying brekkie, we went upstairs to change into our Ski-Gear. In future, we'll have to do so downstairs in the drying room, but as it was our first day we had the privacy of our own room. Because the house is heated, we got a uncomfortably warm, but once we went down stairs to put on our boots and pick up our skis, we knew we were well prepared.

The walk to the bus stop seemed safer, thumping around in our big ski boots, despite it had less tread than our casual shoes, the weight seemed to play a bigger role in keeping us upright. It was a quick, 2 block walk down to the "Weather Report" sign - which doesn't actually tell you the weather - which appears to have unanimously become a bus stop for the upper part of Echoland. We set our skis in the powder while we waited - it had been snowing all night and there was around another foot of snow, so everything was quite fluffy, and all tracks had faded. We watched a few buses go past, confident that they weren't ours, until one turned up and the driver swung his head out the window, beckoning us to board.

I couldn't tell you what route we took to Imori, as we snaked through some back streets, and double backed down others when the path was blocked by snow blowers and diggers. After about 20 minutes and a few more stops, we made it to Imori. The Imori section is on the Goryu side of Hakuba 47(can you tell I'm relaying this off Adelaide yet?), and is very popular among newbie skiiers and snowboarders as the slopes are gentle, but the place also as the options to safely step up. We arrived around 9.30am, and as our lesson wasn't till 10.30, we went into the Rest Stop for a morning coffee and hot chocolate. It was at this point that I regretted not going to the loo before I put on 3 layers.

Because we wanted to be prepared for our lesson, we also cashed in the first of our three day lift passes, and got the square chips they use. After which, we went over to the snow school and waited by the 1st level flag for our instructor. Adam showed up after a few minutes wait, and we met our other 'classmates', Steven and Imman(?), who were both financial workers on holiday from Hong Kong.

Adelaide "hydrating"

Snow Selfie!

Adam was a kanuk from Vancouver, and he was a brilliant teacher. We started our full day lesson by going around to the most gentle slope the hills had on offer, and learnt the basics about our skis and the different stances before he got us to go down the hill on one foot to get a feel. Adeladie and I were confident, and so we then moved into the infamous snow plow. On the first exercise on two skis, Adam had us just ski into him, and he was our brake. I hesitated and by reflex went into a snow plow to slow down, so he used me as an example (Adelaide: "Mr. Showoff... Sooooo naturally talented").

The first half of our day consisted of improving our snow plow, then having to edge our way sideways back up the hill. It was fun the few slides we got, but after a while having to walk back up got tiresome. Our classmates seemed to have some difficulty once we got on two skis (scratch that, once we put skis on), but Adam could see that Adelaide was picking it up quickly, and he spent a little longer with them, but didn't neglect us altogether, often challenging us with some more 'advanced' techniques (woo! turning!).

It stayed snowing all day, although during the morning it seemed to back off and start harder again repetitively. At one point, we think because a gust of wind accompanied it, there was nearly a white out, as heaps of snow fell off the trees. Even the other classes near us exclaimed at what was happening, but just as quickly as it had started, it passed.

Half an hour before lunch, Adam deemed us ready to tackle the big slope which we had been learning in the shadow of all morning, so we went up the chair lift for the first time. I still don't like getting on them as I find it a little hectic, but we were all fine, and no one got eaten by a chair. Once we made it to the top, we had a bit of a breifing, before we were left to our own devices to make it down the hill, snowplowing and practicing our turning. Adelaide and Steven both wiped out after they hit the powdery snow on the right side of the run - Addy's first fall (but I don't think any of us would've been able to make it through that at that stage). Afterwards, it was smooth sailing.

I missed Adelaide's Gondola!

Again, we didn't take many pictures, but we took heaps of video!

Down the bottom, we broke for lunch. It was an awkward 100m walk back to the Rest-stop, where we bought some Mos Burgers to fill us up. We made some small talk with Adam in the packed dining hall, where Adelaide nervously watched some unattended children try to monkey their way to the top of the playground set up for them. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Keen to get back out there, we met by the snow school hut again, and headed over to the newbie run. We continued skiing down the entire starter run all afternoon, but often spent some time working our way down slowly, refining our turns (specifically, shifting our weight onto our outside foot) by leap frogging each other down the hill to give us a target. It wasn't too bad, I enjoyed the critiquing, however with Steven and Imman still struggling somewhat (Imman didn't get the hang of standing up till mid afternoon), progress was slow, and standing still was quite cold. Adelaide will definitely benefit from remembering her scarf tomorrow!

Look at her go!

Towards the end of the day (3.30pm was when our lesson finished), we had a few more freer runs down (again, waiting till Adam got to the end with Imman), before we finished up going down a different direction, on the central run which lead us straight back to the snow school hut, which eliminated the need for an awkward walk. This run was populated with much more experienced skiiers (which was nice, actually, the beginner slope appeared to have been booked by a special needs class. Some of them were very competent, but the thought of having to look after all those kids on the slopes gave us the jeebies), and it even had a few jumps on the way down. These gave us a nice backdrop to watch while Adam was giving us his wrap up points, seeing a few people wipe out.

We slid into the 'lobby' area, and dettached for the day. After thanking Adam and saying goodbye to our fellow classmates, we returned our lift passes before heading to our bus. It was a short, agonising wait, as across the road there was a crepe and coffee stall teasing us (post ski Kahlua and Coffee? Yes please!). The driver eventually showed up, and drove his half full bus back. We only made three stops, finishing up at the "Weather Report", where we all got off. As we were disembarking, we heard the driver get into an argument with some other snowboarder who was trying to get him to drive him up the road to the hotel which crowns the street. After we were almost a block away from our turn off, the snowboarder passed us, the driver had won.

We dumped our gear in the drying room, and came back to our room to figure out our evening. We were tempted to try an Italian place we'd seen on our walk home from dinner the night before, but when Yakata advised us that we didn't need a reservation there, we figured that we'd be fine to wing it, and just find a place eventually, restaurant hopping if need be. Adelaide and I also realised we'd run short on clean clothes again, so we decided to put on a load of washing.

On our way to the Hotel which did laundry, we stopped off at the Konbini for washing powder, and I took my skis in to be looked at. During the day, Adam had noticed my right ski's coupling was still digging into the ground by a few mm's (no wonder I was so good at stopping!). It wasn't noticeable, but Adam urged me to get it checked. On the bus on the way home, I also noticed that part of the same one was warped. In seeing this, I figured it best to get it checked out. When I went back to the rental, the guy working there hadn't seen the issue I had before, so he got me a new pair of skis and set them to the same measurements as my other set. I'm a little dubious though, so I might try them on before we leave tomorrow.

We put on our load of washing, and as we were leaving our Hotel, we ran into Donnie, who went to Hillbrook with us. It was good to see a familiar face, and he said he was heading to the Samurai Kebab for dinner with Sam IC's group to watch the Asian cup final. We came back to the pension and rejigged our plans for the evening, fore-going our evening soak for dinner while our washing was still on.

The Samurai Kebab joint is 3 blocks from our pension, and one block from the washing, making it the advantageous choice for dinner. Once we got there, we met up with Sam IC, Jordan, Sean and Donnie. Adelaide and I had a banquet of a kebabs, pizza and wedges, and Adelaide finished her evening off with a lava cake. We spent a little over a half of the asian cup final there, cheering with the rest of the mostly Aussie make up of people there when we scored, before we left to pick up our washing which had now finished drying in the dryer.

Of course, because we didn't take a bag with us, we stopped at the Konbini for dessert... and a bag. I bought two pastries and some grape gummies which I'd seen about the place, always wanting to try them. Turns out, they're pretty delicious, and I'll try and bring a pack back home. We picked up our washing, and had a tender walk home, as it was much colder, so most of the paths had frozen over.

Once back, we had a soak in the onsen. Tonight, it was hotter than last night (Adelaide reckons only a little, I reckon a lot), but it was quite pleasant once we opened the window to let in the freezing air. We might try and get our next soak in once we get back from skiing, as I'm sure our bodies will appreciate it. We're not too sore just yet, but I'm sure that'll change over night.

Tomorrow, we've got another big day of skiing ahead of us. Perhaps we'll even do a flip? You'll find out about success or our health insurance claim tomorrow! Until then, Goodnight!

Day 15 - Hakuba - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Depsite we're past christmas, I think listening to this song while writing this is very fitting. We've made it to Hakuba, and the weather is beautiful! We didn't get up to much else other than commuting today, arriving at Pension Belnina around 4ish. Once we were settled we braved the cold, and walked down the main street to pick up our ski gear, before having dinner there too.

This morning we woke up a little earlier than usual to leave, and I was roused awake by Adelaide's exclamations that it was finally snowing. While we'd seen it forecast, we weren't entirely sure that it would - but after a weary look at the slim view we had from our hotel window, down onto the snow topped cars in the carpark below, we could see that it was, in fact, snowing. And at quite a rate too, the flakes were quite big in size.

We spent a while marveling at the sight, before we got up, showered and prepared ourselves for the cold day we had ahead of us. All rugged up and warm, we headed to the lobby to check out. (Adelade paid for a room service pizza we'd chalked up on the first day too!). It wasn't too windy which was very welcome, but it was a little bit "sleet-y", so it took me a minute to get used to the traction once we were outside the hotel. We wondered down to the local Doutour for coffee, and then to the Konbini for warming snacks (more pizza/riku-man and a hash brown). While Addy went into the Konbini, I huddled near the elevator up to the foot overpass, out of the way of the precipitation. Once Addy had bought all our snacks, we'd managed to time it well as an elevator was coming back down, so we stuck with the tradition in Japan, and stepped aside to let the people off. The man coming off the elevator was super grumpy, and for some unknown reason, felt the need to kick Addy's bag out of his - very clear - way. Not sure why, it wasn't a very good kick either. His Wife (?) seemed to follow after him at a bit of a distance. Not the best way to start such a cool day, but we have bigger fish to fry, and Karma came back around as an old couple held the elevator down, off the overpass.

Anywho, we went through Shibuya station one last time and waited for a Yamanote train to leave as it was chocco-block, before getting on the next one. During peak hour JR runs smaller services to ease congestion on the busier, longer routes (Hint hint Translink), and we accidentally boarded one of these, which terminated in Osaki. It was only two stops short of Tokyo, so we changed over to the next train. Again, with the brilliant timing of the trains, combined with the fact that we'd left earlier than necessary anyway, we arrived already ahead of our planned time.

Still, this left us 45 minutes at Tokyo station, so we waited near our Shinkansen platform. I minded the bags while Addy went and had a scrounge around the stalls, and returned with some juice, before I went and had my own look and purchased another bento box - this time it was just a hamburger one with two strips of capsicum and some rice. It hit the spot once we were on the train. I'm not sure why but the Japanese seem to have a thing about 'hamburgers' which are really just meat paddies - you can get it in curries, in your Udon, etc.

Our Shinkansen (Asama 527) was eight cars long, and we happened to be in the front carriage. We seemed to get squeezed out of the line we were making on the platform, but the people behind us let us back in. I loaded our bags into the space between the back seats and the wall - the only place we've been able to find a spot that was big enough for our bags - and I certainly don't intended on trying to heave our bags over our head... which would then make me stress about it falling on us. We didn't end up needing to notify the crew about it, but we were tempted to.

While everyone was boarding and I was sorting (read: jamming our bags on an angle they wouldn't rock around on), we ran into the couple we'd met before going into the Quest Bar on Australia Day (we didn't see them again), but I gave them some directions about where they were meant to be. They hadn't booked reserved tickets, and so they had to go all the way to the back four cars. This in turn confused us more about how long they'd been here; we hadn't caught a time or date when we first met, but they'd been talking like they'd been away for a while - yet still weren't sure how to board a shinkansen?

I digress. The train left Tokyo and once we were out of the skyscraper district the snow seemed to set in more, with most places sufficently caked. We had many stops on our way to Nagano, and it was interesting to see the difference in landscape between them, as some places seemed to be a white out, while others were just receiving some light rain. The mountains also picked up the further away from town we got, and before long much of the time we spent was in tunnels.

Arriving at Nagano, we rugged ourselves adequately, and disembarked the train. Because Nagano is a bus trip away from Hakuba, we booked our return Shinkansen tickets (to Mt. Fuji), and it appears it'll be quite a day of travelling - but that's for a future post. I was also in need of a loo, so I went on the hunt while Addy phoned our accomodation to inform them of our expected arrival time (she also had a fight with the phone booth - curse this old technology!). We needed to get a bus from Nagano station, so we booked return tickets for 5600 Yen (for both of us), before waiting at the stop, and I played in some "snow".

We only had a 20-odd minute wait before the bus turned up, during which time we got to appreaciate more of the snow. Boarding the bus, it was obvious that there was quite a higher portion of Aussies in the immediate area, and as we made our way to Hakuba, I learned that at least the ones behind us were very unprepared for their trip (not knowing which stop to get off at, where there hotel was, or if they'd even got a connecting bus to it). The bus was nice and warm, so I found it hard to stay awake - despite being mesmerised by the outside conditions. Addy was content with reading more of her book.

By the time we got close to Hakuba, there had been some serious snow-falls, and they were using machines on the road to clear it up, but it seemed they had a big job ahead of them - and with more snow expected to fall in the next week, I wouldn't be surprised if we see them on our way out. Eventually we arrived at Hakuba Happone. While it wasn't the last stop, most of the bus departed here.

While I got our bags, Addy met with our driver to Pension Belnina, who we came to meet as Marni (we're 90% sure). He's a nice ex-pat, who works at our lodging, along with Yakata, who owns the place. It was a quick 5 minute drive from the station, but with our bags, would've taken us more than an hour to navigate through the treacherous snow on foot. When we arrived, we were shown into the common room, where we met Yakata and his wife (name forgotten). They were all very generous people and were keen to hear about what we wanted to get out of our next few days here. Yakatas wife served us some Japanese tea and Mochi, best described as Japanese turkish delight, which was quite nice, albiet a little different.

Once Yakata had run through the accomodation and surrounding area very clearly with us, he took us on the tour. The three storey building has the rooms at the very top, the breakfast and common room on the middle level (as well as womens ONLY toilets, I think Adelaides a little relieved), before taking us downstairs to the Drying room, as well as the Onsens and showers. The showers can be used at any time of day, however the onsens are only available between 5 and 10pm. With that complete, we got ourselves settled in our room.

I should note at this point too - we didn't take many stills, but we took plenty of video.

When we were ready to go back out again, and pick up our gear, we let Yakata know that we wanted to make a reservation at a Ramen place near by. He'd tipped us that we should always book as the Echoland (the kind of suburb in Hakuba we're staying in), is always busy around tea time, and you'll often see people get turned away if they don't have one.

Out in the snow, I donned my GoPro for a bit, and Adelaide and I felt how powdery the snow was - it was great. Of course, just as I stopped recording, is when Addy had her first slip on the ice walking down the street. She was fine and didn't hurt herself, but she's been careful when walking ever since (perhaps skiing tomorrow will change that?).

We wandered down to the Konbini on the main drag, where we bought some snacks. The place is run by a lovely old lady, and she has two old golden retrievers which roam around the store, and I'm sure we'll learn their names in the coming few days. Convieniently underneath was our ski hire store, so we went down where we had a short wait while Dylan, the guy who ran it, served another couple. Eventually he let us try on our clothing, and Addy had the fun of trying on a heap of different jackets, pants and gloves before finding the best fit. I only needed to get a helmet and goggles.

With our clothing sorted, Dylan fit us for our shoes and skis. After some contemplating on both our parts, we eventually found a pair of shoes that we were both happy with. Adelaides were a little tight, but we agreed it was for the best. After we found the right shoes, we got our skis, poles and were able to leave. I offered to make two trips for Adelaide but she was determined to do it in one. Shortly after leaving the rental place, I had to take Addy's skis and poles, while she was trying to deal with her own clothes and our snacks we'd purchased before hand. It was a long walk back to the Pension, and by the time we got back my arm had the shakes from holding the skis (tomorrow will be great fun).

We stocked our stuff in the drying room, ready for tomorrow, before heading upstairs and taking a break to snack and watch some more Modern Family - it was still a little early to go for dinner. When it was time though, we made the short walk back down the main street. Without Skis, it was much more enjoyable.

It was getting dark, but we had an idea of where our place was. After stopping at the wrong place at first, because it looked similar, we got ourselves oriented, and made our way there. Sakura Ramen (we think), is a comfy little restaurant underneath the cooks house, and seats 4 tables, with a small bar area. We were the first ones in there, before we were followed in by another group of Aussies soon after. The restaurant has traditional style dining tables, with a recess underneath for your feet. We had to take off our shoes as well. We think the waiter was our cook too, as he ran between us, the other group and the kitchen.

I ordered the 'Ramen garlic special', while Adelaide just had 'Ramen Garlic'. The noodles had the hint of Migoreng to them, but it was still delicious. Of course, we had it with a side of Gyoza and beer. While we ate dinner we discussed the following day and what we might do, depending on the outcome of our skiing. Ramen never fails to fill you up, and so we waddled back to our Pension, weary of slipping, but as the snow was still falling we weren't too worried.

When we got back we felt that it was a perfect time to try out the Onsen downstairs. They are small, but considering we have the option to use one in the comfort of our own accomodation, you can't complain. I definitely think steaming off at the end of a day will become a regular thing after our skiing.

Well, tomorrow we need to be up nice and early for our Ski lesson, so it's best I finish up. Until then, Goodnight!

Day 14 - Tokyo - Winter Is Coming

For our our last full day in Tokyo, we touched back with the traditional side, and visited Asakusa to see Sensoji temple, before scaling the Sky Tree for a view over the city. With some sing-song icecream once we were back down, we headed back for a quiet afternoon of undie hairdrying before heading downstairs for some pizza. Sure, our last day in Tokyo wasn't non-stop sight seeing, but it was a pleasant way to end before we head bush... or will it be snow?

The Weather forecast for Tomorrow's destination's looking good!

I wasn't able to get to sleep last night for some reason, so I was sluggish to wake up this morning. Knowing that we had a half hour subway ride to Asakusa station, we eventually headed back down to the (better) restaurant for breakfast. We had a similar repeat of yesterday, a continental breakfast featuring scrambled eggs, creamy pasta, croissants and toast with some very bitter coffee. Adelaide determined that the coffee wasn't brilliant because it was just an espresso shot that had been drawn out to make it last a cup. The cups weren't big enough to mix it with milk, so sugar had to suffice but it really didn't do enough to save the flavour. Addy also attempted to use the toaster, but whether it was just really bad or not turned on we weren't sure, so instead she had 'stale toast'. Yum!

Somewhat satisfied (if you could call it that), we headed to Shibuya station and hopped on the Ginza line. Shibuya is one end of it's service, while Asakausa is the other - half an hour away from each other. As the train had been idle at the station we were lucky enough to get seats, so we listened to some music and I watched Addy play fruit ninja on our way - as there wasn't anything to be seen out the windows.

Our activities chewed up the time and suddenly we had arrived at Asakusa station. Once outside, we were directed by a kind rickshaw runner (driver?), who was hoping for a fare, towards Senso-ji temple just a little further down the road. Senso-ji temple has two large gates which lead up to the main building, and this section is lined with markets. Being a popular tourist destination, these shops were mainly aimed at this demographic, so Adelaide and I took the opportunity to buy up some more gifts for when we get back home (along with a few things for ourselves too).

The Front Gate

Lots of stalls!

Nearing the Second Gate

The Sky Tree seen down a side street

The main temple itself is an impressive building with a high pitched roof. Shinto shrines carry the tradition of having an incense burner out the front, so the area around it was pleasantly pungent. After stopping for many failed selfies in front of the last gate and main building, we spotted that there were fortunes - like the ones we'd seen at the temple in Miyajima - on offer for only 100 yen. To get a fortune you needed to pay forward your money (don't you hate it when the deities tax you), shake out a number from a container, which directed you to the draw which has your fortune on it.

The Second Gate and Pagoda which was to the West

Getting Her Fortune

The Temple Precinct

We both received them - although while Adelaides' was regular, mine was good - and they were meant to contain "positive" messages. Mine was a little criptic in that it stated "The sick person will take a while to heal". You had to tie the fortune on a rack afterwards, we think to make it come true -  so I'm all good as I ripped the bottom of mine by accident.

Because the shrine was busy, we decided against going in and instead walked around the grounds to the west of it - some nicely hedged gardens with a few buddahs, with a creek filled with carp snaking through the middle. These gardens connected us onto an ajoining street which we wondered down. Adelaide marvelled at a small amusement park but I was hesitant to go inside, and eventually we reached the end where there was a tourist shop. We doubled back down the street and stopped off to check out a Ninja School, which had actual ninja lessons (in things like sneaking and blade abilities) on offer - although none of the next available ones were free.

Nearly back in the temple gardens, we stopped at a place that advertised dumplings, and turned out to be a Chinese restaurant. The slight change in culture was welcomed, and we had some pork stir-fry for lunch. The lady serving us was using a loose mix of Chinese and Japanese, so our thanks were a mix of She-she, arigato, and cheers. The full mix of rice and pork left us stuffed so we mozied on out, and across the temple where we thought we'd seen our next activity for the day - the Amuse Museum.

Dumplings first, the Pork came second

Only advertised via a billboard atop a building next to the temple, the actual entrance was vaguely placed after you walked through a shop, and was titled the "History of Kimonos" or something, which, while culturally interesting for both of us, didn't really sound like the kind of thing we wanted to spend checking out on our last day. So we left, and hit up the markets down the lead up to the temple for one last time.

Sonder

 Because the Amuse Museum had been a flop, we fast tracked the next activity - The Tokyo Sky Tree. It was one subway stop away, but as we'd dwindled down to our last few 1000 Yen notes, we opted for a short walk to the tower, hopefully running into a 7-Eleven along the way (which had ATMs that accepted Citibank cards). The Sky Tree had been a dominant figure in the sky since arriving at Asakusa train station, so we went without maps, and used the landmark to find our way.

It was pleasant to cross the river, checking out some of the unusual architecture on the way - notably a golden building, as well as another black building with abstract walls and an even more abstract art piece on the top. Just a few blocks away from the Sky Tree, we managed to find our ATM, and we made it rain with our new dosh (not really).

The opposite bank

The cool buildings

 A shopping centre is built around the base of the tower, but we were more interested in getting up there, so took the outside route into the lobby. The base of the Sky Tree is a little wierldy signed, and they don't advertise the prices clearly outside, so we joined the line for tickets on a whim. As there are two decks - a large 3 storey deck at 350m, and another single one at 450m - we were keen to check out the highest one but there was an extra fee to go the extra 100m, so we guessed at how you were meant to pay for it while in the very long line.

I can nearly see the front... nearly...

After our good experience with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, we must admit our idea of how the Sky Tree was managed was a little relaxed. We didn't expect (as much of) a fee, and definitely not as long of a wait. Once we finally arrived at the front of the queue, we were informed that you had to purchase the first, 2000 Yen ticket to the 350m Observation deck, before waiting in line up there to pay an additional 1000 Yen to go to the next one. Because it wasn't something that needed to be determined on the ground, and once seeing the line up there, we figured we'd just stay on the 350m deck.

The elevators were far faster than that of the TMGB, and we went from the ground to the height in 50 seconds flat. There were four elevators operating in succession, each named after the seasons, and we ascended in the summer one. At the top, the views were simply spectacular. A bit of cloud cover had come over, but our views of Tokyo were unbroken. We also were lucky enough to still just have the outline of Mt. Fuji apparent in the very distance, nestled in between the mountains. They had interesting interactive panoramic views, which zoomed in on areas of the city at a single touch. Once we had wandered around the circumference of the viewing floor, we decided it was time to go back down. Before catching another elevator down, you were lead down a few escalators that attempted to guide you into the extremely overpriced Sky Cafes and gift shops. There was also a transparent section of the floor you could look through, which was an interesting experience.

The Outline of Mt. Fuji

Where we were earlier

We caught the spring (Sakura) elevator back down to entry level, and decided to make a quick visit to the ice cream shop we'd spotted on our way up. Cold Stone Creamery is staffed by a very jubilant bunch of people, who sing songs to you while they craft your chocolate creations. I got a Chocolate Devotion ice cream, and Adelaide got a chocolate crepe. They both contained chocolate ice cream, brownie, choc chips and sauce.

Step up your game Baskin!

Bliss

 Having munched down our snacks, we decided it was time to train home, we had quite a bit of sorting and planning to do before our trip to Hakuba tomorrow. We caught the Sky Tree line one stop and then the Ginza line back home, standing at the back of the train to watch the tracks run behind us, before having a sit down once the train cleared a bit between stations. We returned to the hotel for a rest, and to dry some still-wet underwear and socks with a hair dryer, exciting stuff. Once presented with the dinner options, we decided just to go to the restaurant downstairs for something rather than spending a lot of time dithering about our options in the surrounding area, and ate some pizza and a chicken cheese salad. We also made a quick run to the family mart for our train snacks for tomorrow.

This evening was spent repacking our bags (a real trial, with all of the things we've bought!), and writing this blog, whilst listening to weird Japanese opera on TV. Tomorrow we venture into the cold wild winds of Nagano before bussing to Hakuba, and we're expecting some snow along the way! Until then, good night!

Finally - Our room in Tokyo!

Day 13 - Tokyo - Adelaide Spends All Her Money...

Today was a full on day of shopping, I'm going to be honest. Akihibara is Tokyo's electric town, blocks full of technology and animation stores. It's pretty much mine and Dylan's version of heaven - anime for me, cameras, computers and various gadgets for him. After Akihabara we visited Diver City, called Daiba in Japan, a shopping centre on the wharf, across the rainbow bridge.

We were dissapointed to find a lack of snow when we awoke this morning, as the weather forecast had given us hope of *possible* falls in the early hours, but the universe did not deliver. Getting up at the normal time, we went on down to try the other restaurant annexing the hotel for breakfast. There was an improvement in the offerings, laid out as a little buffet. Dylan chose some eggs, a weird pasta dish and some mini croissants, while I had jam bread. I only realised after I'd finished eating that there was a toaster. Whoops. The coffee was alright too, though Dylan seemed to enjoy it more than I. So, as a breakfast option, that place was not bad.

Breakfast!

We set off soon after, and stepped out into blistering wind. The mild two digit days of Tokyo are over, and the age of cold days accentuated by wind have begun. Luckily I had prepared for this and worn many layers. It was still damn cold though. I got a pizza man to warm myself up as we walked to Shibuya station. The trip to Akihabara is simple, but a bit of a journey. Tokyo is a mind boggling city, and traveling between the major stations of the city can take 15-20 minutes, because the city is just that vast. The Kiwi bartender at Hiroshima had described Tokyo as a whole bunch of cities linked together by the train, and he was right. Akihabara is just past Tokyo on the Yamanote line, and took us about 25-30 minutes to get to. Once we came out of the station, we were re-blasted by the wind, and struck by the amount of stores and advertisements. The district is very colourful, all the buildings advertising their various floors worth of product.We quickly entered our first store, marveling at the wide range of strange LED lights, figurines, and cable...things.

Making our way from shop to shop, trecking up staircase after staircase, I finally found my favourite anime shop, where I had brought two figurines last time. I bought another three. Before you groan Bri and Sophie, two of them are small and are not in a bulky box. So, ha. Each shop offered the same array of the popular anime knick knacks, with their own flairs. It was a lot of fun to wander through each aisle and plainly see what was popular. At a few technology shops we saw second hand phones and iPads, but were unsure about the usability in Australia. It was interesting to see the big market they have for recycling phones. In these days where you can get a new plan every year, it's unsurprising that the iPhones from 4 or 5 years ago are now abundant in these sorts of stores. Dylan also had a great time admiring all the camera lenses, and expressing how much Nathan would absolutely love these stores. Seriously Nathan, you should consider a trip here. You'd spend all day in Akihabara! I picked up an Attack on Titan folder from yet another store, and the lady let us lucky dip a badge, I got one with a cute face on it, and Dylan got one that said 'Beauty'. He loves it.

And there was a whole nother shop behind this, packed from wall to wall..

So tempted to buy one, only 60 bucks

Retail therapy

We reached one particular 'hobby' store that had upwards of 5 levels of just anime stuff, and it was amazing. Dylan stumbled across a foot high Master Chief figure that he was very tempted to buy, despite it being somewhat expensive. His dreams were crushed however when the guy told us it wasn't actually on sale, just on display. Turns out you can buy them online, which we might investigate when we get home. I found even more Attack on Titan stuff on another level and got a pencil case. It's going to be super awkward if I end up not going to uni this year, because I've brought all this cool stationary.

By this point the time had flown by, and it was about 2pm, and we decided to leave for Daiba. The trip to Daiba was about 20-25 minutes, and involved backtracking on the Yamanote line to Shimbashi and switching to the Yurikamome line. The Yurikamome line runs from Shimbashi to Toyosu, and is Tokyo's first fully automated transit line. It goes across the Rainbow bridge to Daiba city, providing excellent views of the city, if you're able to get a clear view. Diver city is a short walk from the station, and is a bit of a tourist attraction for the huge Gundam Robot out the front. We entered the shopping centre and I looked on the store guide to find the Maid Cafe I went to last time with Bri and Sophie. It was still there, on the 6th floor. Maid cafes are like regular cafes, but everything has a kawaii level of over 9000. The waitresses gave us cat ears to wear, and magic spells to make our meals delicious. We ate some curry rice with Ginger ale and Melon soda, and then had some chocolate parfaits shaped like bears. Maid cafes can be an interesting experience, and they're just classic Japan. If you can find a non-creepy one, they're fun to go to.

Nearly had it!

The view of tokyo from the bay was really cool

Centre Security sure is getting high-tech these days

One of Adelaide favourite photos

Kawaii~~!

 Upon leaving we decided to wander the floors of the shopping centre, and spotted one of the huge game stations that are popular in Japan, and they had bowling. We decided to go on in for a round or two. The first game went very well, and I won by only a small margin. To my frustration however, I completely slipped in the next two games and was failing epically. Either way, it was fun, and only 3500 yen for three games.

History is written by the victors... and I call lies! (Dylan)

Once we got back outside it was 5pm, and we considered going on the ferris wheel before the cold of outside convinced us it was probably just time to go home. Dylan stopped for a few pictures of the city before we got back on the train to Shimbashi. The train was packed, as it was rush hour, and our personal space bubbles were very much invaded. We decided to go back to the hotel to drop my purchases and do some urgent sink laundry before heading out again for dinner.

Sunset was quite nice when we came out

Looks like we left at the right time - they were letting in a cruise, 5 people at a time

Some Japanese architecture - pretty impressive

The rainbow bridge with the Japan sky needle

DSLR pano I snapped up (lack of Addy's iPhone), turned out much better than I expected

Every available surface was being used

With laundry completed and most of this post written, we went out for dinner. We'd spied a British Pub but looked a little shady from out the front. After doing a few blocks with no luck, an watching a very drunk lady fall over a few times - we figured we'd give in and go there. The place was actually quite large underneath, and had at least 12 serving staff working. It was well themed, and a Premier League game was being streamed on all the TVs that dotted the place. Dylan ordered a burger, while I got some delicious fish and chips. As both were lacking in size, we followed up with a pizza which hit the spot, both washed down with a pint of draft beer. It was a little late after we'd finished, so we turned in for the night.

Tomorrow, we'll be going to Asakusa and go to the Tokyo Sky Tree. Until then, Goodnight!