tokyo tourists

I know, a whole day without posts from me! Whatever did ya'll do with yourselves? :)

However, we're back. This was Jess' first Saturday as a real tourist. (His first Saturday was spent at Costco and shopping.) So we invited our friend Ryan (a BYU law student doing an internship here as well) along, and we headed out to Rainbow Bridge, which connects Tokyo to the Odaiba waterfront.

It was a somewhat freezing day, as we had the privilege of trekking through rain and wind produced by an oceanic tsunami brewing somewhere near us. But we made the best of it. While in the Odaiba area, we also stopped and visited Palette Town (a shopping mall of sorts that also houses a fancy Toyota Showroom and a ginormous pet store, at which I caught Jess thinking that the puppy I wanted was cute - yes!) and Aquatic City (also a shopping mall, much like what you'd expect in the States). Basically, we just tried to stay dry.

Later that evening, we went to Shinjuku, an area famous for its Electric Street (fancy electronics can be found there) and its bright lights. Many areas in Tokyo shut down at about 8 p.m., however, this is an exception. It is supposedly the busiest subway station, and houses one of the busiest intersections in Japan. Luckily, the rain had reduced itself to mist, so we were able to enjoy the busy crowds of this extremely eclectic area without the added pleasure of umbrellas poking us in the face (being tall has its disadvantages in this country). The highlights included Mister Donut (way better than any U.S. donut) and a fabulous dollar store.

But perhaps the best part of the day was when we headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Goverment Buildings. They're actual government buildings, however, the observatory level (on the 45th floor) is open until 11 p.m. to the public. And it's free-fitty-free, which is pretty much unheard of in this city. The view was incredible - lights for as long as you could see. And the restaurant on that floor had a live piano player, which I particularly loved. Reminded me of being at home, listening to my mom play.

So, a busy day, but a good day. It was nice to be able to actually do some touring with Jess, as the rest of my days are spent walking around Tokyo solo. And now someone can share the achy muscles that I had the first few days of walking, walking, walking. :)