DAY 12 ( 9/9/13 ) – Crossings, Shopping and Sayonaras!

For some reason I can’t sleep so I’m up at 5a.m. I have a bath and then tackle the packing. Most of it was sorted back at Disney so two cases don’t need to be touched. At breakfast in the Exec. lounge we bump into the Disney couple we’d met at the parks whilst watching the parade. Like us, they had visited the Mouse and then come on to Tokyo itself. We exchange emails. Darrin has smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and I go for Danish pastries and several cups of tea.
Of all the strange things we want to see today it is a series of pedestrian crossings at Shibuya. Why ? Because statistically it is the world’s busiest crossing. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. The statue of Hachikō, a dog, between the station and the intersection, is a common meeting place and almost always crowded.

Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing, as well as many advertising signs. The Starbucks store overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world and we sneak up there without buying a coffee so I can video the crowds below. The heavy traffic and inundation of advertising has led to it being compared to the Times Square intersection in New York City. Tokyo-based architecture professor Julian Worrall said Shibuya Crossing is "a great example of what Tokyo does best when it’s not trying." Shibuya Crossing is often featured in movies and television shows which take place in Tokyo, such as Lost in Translation, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and Resident Evil: Afterlife and Retribution, as well as on domestic and international news broadcasts. The area is also famous for its shopping. And today is our shopping day.

Here is a night time shot:



We’ve decided to go back to the Senso-Ji market near the Asakusa temple. We can do it in more depth rather than the rush of the other day. Each little unit is intriguing whether it be rice crackers, ice cream, clothing, toys, sushi, crafts and we pour over the contents. I decide on a Kimono style dressing gown. The material is just beautiful. I also manage to get a model of a Shinkansen Bullet Train.
Darrin decides on some beautiful rice crackers.

We head off on the Metro to the Ginza area. (Think Knightsbridge in London). I’ll take the opportunity here to tell you about Tokyo’s underground. There are those who try to make out that it is difficult to use as once you go below ground all signs are in Japanese. First of all we found this not to be the case but far more easy for station identification is the fact that they all have a unique number so, for example, if you were on the Marunouchi Line the stations will be numbered in sequence M1 to M46. So all you need to know is what the number of the station is that you require and whether the number sequence is going up or down according to your direction.



If you happen to be a sight impaired passenger each platform has its own unique tune. We loved M7 because it went “da-da-da-da / da-da-da-da / da-da-da-da / da-da-da-da” and each time we heard it Darrin and I would chime in with “Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat. Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete? It was the exact tune from Little Mermaid. Well – we are headed for G9 on the Ginza line which is Ginza itself. The area was once swamp and marsh but as land was reclaimed merchants and silversmiths moved in. Ginza means “silver place”. In 1872 a huge fire destroyed everything. The Japanese Government commissioned English architect Thomas Waters to rebuild it all in red brick. Since then the area has had strong Western influences. It is home to Wako – a department store not unlike the Uk Harrods and it is noted for its unusual window displays. The store is crowned with a massive clock.





There is Mikimoto noted for its pearls and Printemps, a branch of the French department store. The largest store is Mitsukoshi – the same people that run the store in Epcot’s Japan area. We’ll come back to that later.
Right now we are headed to the Sony building. It has six floors of technology and you can play with it all. Darrin is in his element.






They don’t allow photography in store but we did get one or two sneaky ones.
I particularly like the personal 3D headset. Once you get into it, it is like sitting in your own personal cinema:



Darrin was going to buy one but they only had last year’s model not the new upgraded one. Their range of TVs, cameras, music players are just astounding and the fact you can try them all – wow!
I finish up buying a Blue Tooth ear phone set which means I can listen to my iphone without having to plug anything in. I have a feeling the 3D headset is going to turn up at Christmas!

And so into Mitsukoshi. This store is over 3 buildings so you need to be sure you are in the right one. They have a beautiful Kimono department but with most costing over 150,000 Yen (around £10,000) I don’t see us going home with one. A wedding Kimono for a Bride with all the accessories can easily come to £25,000!





They have the usual stuff you’d find in a store but we love nosey-ing around the food hall looking at all the goodies and wondering what some of it is. And talking food, it’s lunchtime so we head up to the top floor where they have their food court.
We have a choice from Trattoria Gargas (Italian), Pizza & Dolce (Pizza and desserts), Sesto Senso (another Italian), Dim Joy (Dim Sum), Sosonjye Ginza (Korean), Wagokorotonkatsu Anzu Ginzaten (pork specialities), IshuiHaokone Akatsukian (noodles), Tsukijiaozorasandaime (sushi), Koukyu dash (Udon noodles), Kobe Rokkomichi (Teppanyaki), Ginza sun Juicy (Hamburgers), Les Rosiers (French), Kyotohanase (Kyoto style Japanese food), Chogokusai (Chinese), Tempura Hisago (tempura), Siamese Fins (Shark fin), Le Beurre Noisette (Bistro), Denkamark Royal Café, Tokyo Osuya Café, Laduree (Tea salon) and harrods Plantation Rooms (as in THE Harrods).
Out of all this amazing assortment we choose Heki, a Teppanyaki steak restaurant. It is run by an all female staff.









One thing I love about all their eateries is that no mobile phone usage is allowed. It is considered rude to sit there poking at a screen or, even, worse, having a conversation. If you need to use your phone – go outside!

So we sit at the bar table and our young lady takes our order and then starts to cook on the Tepanyaki griddle in front of us. This meal is going to take a good hour. We chose the Okinawa Wagyu Beef with Kumijima Tiger Prawns. It is going to be 9 courses:
・Appetizer
・Fresh Salad
・Vegetable Stir fry with Olive oil
・Island Tofu and Yam Teppanyaki
・Main Dish
・Goya Champloo
(Mineral-rich Okinawa Vegetables)
・Clear Soup of Okinawa Pork Entrails (Yes, entrails!)
・Koshihikari Rice (produced in Japan and cooked fresh each time a customer arrives.)
・Pickled vegetables (Homemade)
・Okinawan style Hors d’Oeuvres
(Hand-made desserts)

And now you see why it took over an hour! We both Kirin beer to wash it all down.

Sadly it’s time to head back to the Hilton Hotel. The shuttle bus to our overnight hotel at Narita departs at 4p.m. We are both a bit down about leaving this wonderful country and we both sit in relative silence for the two hours it takes to get us there.
We are staying at the Radisson Narita which is located about 20 minutes from the airport itself. As we fly mid - morning tomorrow the last thing we needed is messing about with trains with all the baggage we have. The hotel has a wedding chapel in its grounds which we can see from our room:



The hotel room is cosy and we are soon sorted in our room. Rather than spend a boring night in the hotel we have plans. The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle to a shopping mall. The AEON has a wonderfully amusing website:

narita-aeonmall.e.cb.hp.t.../index.jsp

I especially love “There was parking bay for exclusive use of one of trailer bus in outdoor fifth parking lot!”, “the going straight shuttle bus service” and “AEON MALL NARITA is specialty store, entertainment lacing braid consisting of amusements. We wait for coming of all of you.” It certainly lost something in the translation!



We do some last minute shopping and I’m able to pick up some Manga comics for a friend. It’s getting on for 9p.m. so we head back to the hotel.

The restaurant there is called “California Grill” and Darrin goes with sashimi - a Japanese delicacy consisting of very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces. It’s mostly tuna and salmon. I go with smoked salmon for a starter followed by a Japanese chicken curry. And so its time for bed.
group.co.uk/personal/geoff/images/Japan2013/radisson.jpg[/img]


And what did Darrin buy you might ask yourself? Well, he did his shopping online and funnily enough the item arrived by courier today as I write. (3/10/13)
Yes the all singing, all dancing……………………………complete with an extra enema function and sleep mode, which only a Japanese company like Samsung could produce. I kid you not.



On that note I’ll conclude by saying we had a good night’s sleep, a full breakfast the following morning and got to the airport via the airport’s shuttle in good time for our flight home.



Our holiday had come to an end. But we will be back. Japan impressed us greatly.

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What a fabulous, fabulous time you had...thankyou so much for sharing.

Loving Darrins shopping.

Fabulous trip report Thank you for taking the time to write it

Have loved reading about your holiday, it looks like an amazing place. Thanks 😄

an amazing holiday - thankyou for sharing

Wow what a holiday, thanks for sharing.
Just laughing that Darrin actually bought a loo!

I feel your sadness

However, I'm eagerly awaiting a new trip report... of when you test drive the new loo!

No? Too far you say?

PS Thanks again for a fabulous insight into Tokyo and Disney x

I have really enjoyed this report thank you for sharing.

Great trip report. Really enjoyed reading. Thank you Geoff.

Fab trip report, I hope you have many fun hours with your loo, it's going to be a great conversation piece at any dinner parties you give, in fact you could charge people to use it
I'm now off to google Sony 3D headset, I want one!