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!