Thursday, April 03, 2014

3rd April 2014- First day in Tokyo

We both awoke early after a good night’s sleep on the low hanging bed, it’s about 14 inches of the floor and so low compared to other beds we have been on. We breakfasted on yoghurt and muesli and banana and of course generous helping of tea. By 10.00 having sorted the suitcases we were ready to go on the long walk we had planned even though it was raining quite hard.
A long walk down the main road in the direction of Shinjuku Station, and a stop in the Kinokuniya Book shop to buy some maps, and then stopping here and there for photo opportunities. We came across a small historic house which had no doubt been there for many years which was surrounded by high rise. This often happens when elder folk do not want to sell their property and although builders offer amazing amounts of money they do not want to move and the government protects their rights. 

We passed the Isetan main department store where in 1985 we had to purchase school uniforms for both Michael and Joanne and they cost a fortune then so god knows what they cost now.
We eventually came across Shinjuku Station where we checked out the location of the car rental company and it took us about 30 minutes to find the place in this massive complex where several million people a day transit. It’s quite a big change for Mangonui New Zealand with its 385 residents compared to the 15 million in Tokyo, 30 million if you also count Yokohama and Kawasaki areas as well, so the place is rather teeming with people. Food and drink prices seem very low compared to what we remembered and cheaper for coffee than Weybridge or Mangonui. We were also looking for the Citibank to change some Japanese Yen travellers cheques only to find that on 1st April they had stopped this service but they did recommend the Travelex office behind the station and so we trudged through the rain until we located it but only to find they restrict the amount you can take to Yen 50K per person per day, so we will have to go back several times to ensure we have enough cash for our needs.
When we left the money shop the rain was getting worse and so we cheated and popped in to the KFC for lunch, crazy KFC when in Japan! But needs must.
A GOOD KFC lunch
  The next step was to find the Tourist Information Office in the Government office zone which we eventually did find and took some good information away for our later use and we got outside the building and the rain was getting worse so we slipped in to the Hyatt Regency for a break and then took a taxi back to our Hotel.
For dinner tonight we went to a local small restaurant where you purchase the food in advance using a machine which then gives you a ticket which is then passed to the guy behind the counter. All rather confusing for the first time but one of the staff did come  and show us so this will hep us for next time. We both had Miso soup and then Jennifer had the fried Pork and rice bowl and Noel the fried Beef and rice bowl, all quite filling for only £ 6.00 for the two of us. So we went extravagant and had two large Asahi beers which cost another £ 6.00. Not bad £ 12.00 for a filling dinner for two,
Then a slow walk back via the side streets and to catch up with the photos and blogging.

Forgot to mention that some of the younger womens fashion is quite amazing so hope to have some photos soon to be taken on the sly.