A Rainy Day

We slept sort of OK ( me more so than Caro as she is constantly thinking of getting down to Mexico to get things done).

After our hotel breakfast (which we had pre-paid for and I regret as it is a set menu that does nothing for me) we waited for our guide to show up. 

Chiyoko showed up at 10 AM and we were off to tour Tokyo in pouring rain , and cold temperatures   Yuck. 11 degrees but felt like 7. As part of the arrangements for this free guide service we paid for Chiyoko’s metro ($11) and later her lunch with us

Rather than buying tickets at the ticket machine at the metro we downloaded the metro/train card app and preloaded yen for our transportation requirements. It made things super easy. 

Our first stop was a famous fish market followed by a famous shrine called Tsukiji Hongwanji  ( which right beside the market). 

We then walked to a very famous theatre where Kabuki is performed ( world famous style of theatre where men perform all roles including those of the women)

A short walk through the non-stop rain and wind ( really not nice at all) we went underground at Tokyo Station.  OMG I can’t believe how massive this place is. I thought Shibuya yesterday was amazing but this station is out of this world!  There are 9 conventional train company  lines,5 bullet train lines at the station, and you walk through underground walkways to access five different metro lines! Of course there are so many stores that we have to go back tomorrow so Caro can find souvenirs.! Truly unbelievable!!

We caught one of the trains (using our just purchased pre-paid Saica cards, which are useable on the trains ,metros and some stores) and a while later we were in another part of the city. As we came out of the train station we were at the famous Shinjuku road crossing. At this place when the traffic lights turn red ( for all roads) the people cross the street in multiple directions. In the summer there are 3,000 people every time. Today in the rain and crappy weather there was probably a couple hundred umbrellas working their way to and fro.  

At this point we suggested that the remainder of the day should be out of the rain. We caught the metro over to the  Metropolitan Government skyscraper. We went up to the 45th floor to an observation area where we could see all the city. It was still rainy but we could see quite a bit. 

Our day concluded with a nice lunch at a typical Japanese restaurant called Royal  Host (OK.,not  typical. It served all kinds of food although we chose Japanese). 

As it was 4 PM by now we said  our good bye’s “ and “thank you’s” to Chiyoko and made our way back using the metro. We had to top up our Saica cards (using Apple Pay) as we had spent the original 1000 yen ( about $9.60 cents)getting around today. What a great system they have here for paying for the transportation ( wished I had it yesterday when we first got here). 

The evening has been quiet with Caro having a bath and me catching up on YouTube.