Hello hello!
This is a long overdue post, actually. Been buried under other things and tasks and whatnots.
We are back from the oh-so-marvelous La La Land of Tokyo. It was a fab week with only one afternoon of heavy raindrops, while the sun shone high and the cool wind breeze blew lightly making us feeling comfortable walking around.
We went as a pack. J and I, our little boy Louis, my mother, aunt & brother. It was nice. Incredibly nice. We stayed at a friend of a friend’s place – teeny weeny apartment just a bit off Shibuya. A bit far but just OK.
We basically re-did things we did last year, visiting the same places and doing the same things, but it was OK. It was fun with a baby in tow – that’s what holiday with family is, I guess. You don’t feel like you need to see a lot of things, you just want to go out in a relaxed pace and see stuff in peace, never in a hurry. We always took our time in the morning, waking up around 8-9 AM and went out to explore the city around 10-11 AM every day. Soon after dark around 7 we’d already be back home.
It was a very nice experience except for the plane journey back from Tokyo to Jakarta – which was full of turbulence – not a good thing to remember.
Louis was very very very happy, very excited seeing all the colors and movements around him. But I guess his favorite place would definitely be the Sumida Aquarium in the Tokyo Sky Tree which was small but modern and amazingly complete.
Day 1
Arriving back in Tokyo, going around Shibuya and then Akihabara. A MUST!
My mother and aunt Ida shopped a lot of shoes, some clothes and purses. It’s just so fun going around in Shibuya Station, Crossing and its surrounding commercial area.
We came back to the grill restaurant above Gaspanic just a little bit off the crossing and loved everything we had for lunch there.
Day 2
Meiji Jingu Shrine in Shibuya, Harajuku and Tokyu Foodshow!
“We must have walked about 50 miles today,” protested my mother and aunt Ida. We all had sore feet afterward but it was a nice sunny day walking in the park.
The Iris Garden wasn’t blooming yet – in fact the biologists were planting them still! But the gardens were tremendously beautiful – peaceful greens in the middle of the city – that’s what I love about Tokyo.
At Tokyu Foodshow – it was crazy! We wanted to buy everything!
Day 3
Day 3 was reserved for the fabulous Tokyo Sky Tree – the world’s second-tallest tower after the Burj Khalifa.
To go there and get in the first up to the 5th level, it’s free. Floors 1-4 are commercial shops, souvenirs, designer stores and food expo. You can find Issey Miyake here, as well as traditional Japanese souvenirs. The Giant Hello Kitty in Solamachi is on the 4th floor along with other small but cute stuff that you can’t resist. And you also have the Tree Village, where you can buy souvenirs: cakes, t-shirts, plush animals, books and stationery from famous Japanese cartoons: Doraemon, Nameko, Naruto, Domo Kun among others.
5th Floor is entirely Sumida Aquarium – a gorgeous aquarium with super modern design and state-of-the-art displays. It was the first time in my life I’ve seen Japanese jellyfish from a day old to the adult ones. The first time ever I’ve seen a penguin. And seafloor creatures so strange you can’t believe they exist. Entrance fee is JPY 2,000 – worth every penny.
To get into the upper floors – 350 and 450, you have to pay JPY 2,000 for the Tembo Deck (Level 350) and add another JPY 1,000 for Tembo Galleria (Level 450) – again, worth every penny. It’s awesome. Take this from someone who has a serious acrophobia.
The ticket-purchasing system goes like this: you have to arrive early and then queue for a “numbered pre-ticket”. This pre-ticket will allow you to buy the real tickets at the given time on the pre-ticket. We arrived at midday and it was about 1 PM when we queued for the numbers – still lucky to get a pre-ticket for entrance at 4 PM. So, while waiting we ate at Denny’s which was delicious and went to Sumida Aquarium.
Louis LOVES Sumida Aquarium (“Kah, Mama, KAAAAAAH”) and refused to go out of it – he cried when we went out to queue (again) with our pre-tickets to buy tickets for Tembo Deck. He fell asleep as we did the ascent to Level 350 – which was done in, what? A mere minute? Not even. Real deal of elevators I say!
Anyway, the photos will speak best of Tokyo Sky Tree 😀
Day 4
We came back to the Shiodome City Centre and the Miyazaki Clock…loved it. I wondered how it’d feel if I had had accepted Dentsu’s offer and once in awhile I’d be going to that office tower in Shiodome. Going to work everyday with the cool view of Shiodome surroundings. Would that I could.
And once in awhile I’d stroll down to the Hamarikyu Gardens two levels below. That was what we did – the gardens were so peaceful as always and it was sunny besides. Lots of azalea and hydrangea bushes bloomed along the gardens, it was a nice day in the park.
From Hamarikyu we hopped on to the Waterbus toward Asakusa, and then back to Akihabara!
Husband bought a Nintendo Virtual Boy – old console that was the beginning of 3D – completely useless, but absolutely vintage collectible.
We ended up dining back at Gaspanic and shopped some more in Shibuya.
Day 5 & 6
Shinjuku & Shibuya & Shopping – the triple S. Good for the moody soul but not good for your bank account 😀
We basically did nothing touristy the last two days – just going shopping and shopping and shopping. My mother, aunt, brother and husband all went crazy shopping – it was total fun with a lot of wallet damages 😀
Life in Knocked-Up Mode 
