DAY 6 - TOKYO (Shinjuku/Meiji Shrine/Roppongi Hills)
Started our penultimate day in Tokyo pretty much like the previous day - breakfast at HOBS followed by some tea at the Premium Coffee place. The old couple at HOBS informed us that they would be closed the following day. This posed a dilemma for us, as we needed tofind a new breakfast joint!
We decided to visit Shinjuku - which is a really large business, entertainment and shopping area. It is also home to many skyscrapers and the Shinjuku station is one of the busiest in Japan - it handles two million passengers a day! Located in Shinjuku are several department stores and we chose Takashimaya (also known as Times Square) as our point of interest. The Shinjuku branch of Takashimaya consists of 15 floors and a food department in the basement. Due to the large size of this establishment, one needs a lot of time to fully cover it - but we did our best! As we were heading out, we saw a sign for a TOYOTA dealership, and decided to go there! This dealership was a no-nonsense one, and not as flashy as the NISSAN dealership in Ginza. As space is scarce in Tokyo, they don't have too many cars in the dealership. I was able to chat with the salesman, and get myself a Japanese brochure for the TOYOTA Camry!
From here, we headed over to Ibebukuro, in order to visit the TOYOTA Amlux showroon thatis part of the Sunshine City complex. Sunshine City is Tokyo's oldest city within the city with the 240 meter tall Sunshine 60 skyscraper at its center. The complex features an aquarium, observation deck, museum, the Sunshine Prince Hotel, a Namco theme park, offices, convention space and lots of shops and restaurants. Amlux is a TOYOTA showroom (and a major tourist attraction) in the Sunshine City complex. It comprises of four to five floors, and here one can find information about TOYOTA's hybrid car advancements, new models and Formula One endeavours. We spent a good deal of time hereand thoroughly enjoyed it. TOYOTA has brand names like the "Crown" that are not released in the U.S, so it was good for me to understand the model hierarchy that prevails in Japan.There were also some older well-preserved cars that took one back several decades. It seems like TOYOTA is heavily into hybrids, and that translates well into their marketing philosophy. Before leaving Sunshine City, we stopped by a TOYS R' US, and picked up a motorcycle (the Suzuki Hayabusa) toy for Viha.
Next, we wanted to stop by Meiji Shrine - Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) is a shrine dedicatedto the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. In Shinto (indigenous faith of the Japanese people), it is not uncommon to enshrine the deified spirits of important personalities. After arriving close to the Meiji Shrine, we decided to lunch at "To the Herbs" a fancy restaurant situated on the second floor. As the restaurant was not too crowded (post lunch), we got a table next to the window (the whole wall was made of glass), and got a lovely view from up there, as the the Meiji Shrine is located next to the Yoyogi park.
After a refreshing break, we stopped by the Meiji Shrine. Surprisingly, we did not have to buy any tickets to get in (but we blew the money we saved at the souveneir shop!). The Shrine is in a heavily wooded park area, and therefore is a good enclave that one could escape to if one gets too inundated with the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Here, we got to see a Japanese couple getting professionally photographed wearing their traditional wedding dress. By now, the week's traveling was taking it's toll - we were mentally and physically exhausted, and needed a break. We headed back to the hotel and, believe it or not, slept for a few hours! This was the break we so badly needed; although we both knew we were wasting precious time in this wonderful city.
That evening, we dressed up and headed to Roppongi Hills, which is intended to become a cultural center in midtown Tokyo that will be a symbol of contemporary Japan. Roppongi also boasts an active nightlife, and many fine restaurants and bars. We enjoyed the Friday night atmosphere and we surprised to find many Africans there (am sure they were surprised to see us too!). They were verbally advertising for the restaurants there, and were in general helpful towards the public.
We dined at this upscale (read pricey) Italian restaurant that provided a calm haven in the midst of all the feverish activity outside. They had a very limited number of tables inside and there was only one other group dining there. I am not sure about the name of this establishment, but my credit card receipt states its name as "INFOX", which I find very dubious, but cannot rule out!
That night, we packed our stuff and fell into deep sleep with a tinge of sadness, as we knew that would be our last night in Japan.
We decided to visit Shinjuku - which is a really large business, entertainment and shopping area. It is also home to many skyscrapers and the Shinjuku station is one of the busiest in Japan - it handles two million passengers a day! Located in Shinjuku are several department stores and we chose Takashimaya (also known as Times Square) as our point of interest. The Shinjuku branch of Takashimaya consists of 15 floors and a food department in the basement. Due to the large size of this establishment, one needs a lot of time to fully cover it - but we did our best! As we were heading out, we saw a sign for a TOYOTA dealership, and decided to go there! This dealership was a no-nonsense one, and not as flashy as the NISSAN dealership in Ginza. As space is scarce in Tokyo, they don't have too many cars in the dealership. I was able to chat with the salesman, and get myself a Japanese brochure for the TOYOTA Camry!
From here, we headed over to Ibebukuro, in order to visit the TOYOTA Amlux showroon thatis part of the Sunshine City complex. Sunshine City is Tokyo's oldest city within the city with the 240 meter tall Sunshine 60 skyscraper at its center. The complex features an aquarium, observation deck, museum, the Sunshine Prince Hotel, a Namco theme park, offices, convention space and lots of shops and restaurants. Amlux is a TOYOTA showroom (and a major tourist attraction) in the Sunshine City complex. It comprises of four to five floors, and here one can find information about TOYOTA's hybrid car advancements, new models and Formula One endeavours. We spent a good deal of time hereand thoroughly enjoyed it. TOYOTA has brand names like the "Crown" that are not released in the U.S, so it was good for me to understand the model hierarchy that prevails in Japan.There were also some older well-preserved cars that took one back several decades. It seems like TOYOTA is heavily into hybrids, and that translates well into their marketing philosophy. Before leaving Sunshine City, we stopped by a TOYS R' US, and picked up a motorcycle (the Suzuki Hayabusa) toy for Viha.
Next, we wanted to stop by Meiji Shrine - Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) is a shrine dedicatedto the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. In Shinto (indigenous faith of the Japanese people), it is not uncommon to enshrine the deified spirits of important personalities. After arriving close to the Meiji Shrine, we decided to lunch at "To the Herbs" a fancy restaurant situated on the second floor. As the restaurant was not too crowded (post lunch), we got a table next to the window (the whole wall was made of glass), and got a lovely view from up there, as the the Meiji Shrine is located next to the Yoyogi park.
After a refreshing break, we stopped by the Meiji Shrine. Surprisingly, we did not have to buy any tickets to get in (but we blew the money we saved at the souveneir shop!). The Shrine is in a heavily wooded park area, and therefore is a good enclave that one could escape to if one gets too inundated with the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Here, we got to see a Japanese couple getting professionally photographed wearing their traditional wedding dress. By now, the week's traveling was taking it's toll - we were mentally and physically exhausted, and needed a break. We headed back to the hotel and, believe it or not, slept for a few hours! This was the break we so badly needed; although we both knew we were wasting precious time in this wonderful city.
That evening, we dressed up and headed to Roppongi Hills, which is intended to become a cultural center in midtown Tokyo that will be a symbol of contemporary Japan. Roppongi also boasts an active nightlife, and many fine restaurants and bars. We enjoyed the Friday night atmosphere and we surprised to find many Africans there (am sure they were surprised to see us too!). They were verbally advertising for the restaurants there, and were in general helpful towards the public.
We dined at this upscale (read pricey) Italian restaurant that provided a calm haven in the midst of all the feverish activity outside. They had a very limited number of tables inside and there was only one other group dining there. I am not sure about the name of this establishment, but my credit card receipt states its name as "INFOX", which I find very dubious, but cannot rule out!
That night, we packed our stuff and fell into deep sleep with a tinge of sadness, as we knew that would be our last night in Japan.
posted by ACV | 7:41 PM
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