Last Few Days in Tokyo
I spent a whirlwind last 3 days in Tokyo. I’m not sure there’s any other way to visit this city, although staying near Ueno Park meant there was a nice, peaceful walk to and from my hotel.
This neighborhood felt like a little oasis of quiet in the city. I was amazed how many people just leave their bikes unlocked.
Wednesday evening I met up for a delicious dinner at an Izakaya near my hotel. I was lucky enough to meet Yujin, a friend of my old friend Sue. He spent a lot of his life in the States and moved back to Tokyo about a year ago. I’m not sure I would have been able to navigate ordering monjyaki without his help 🤗. It doesn’t photograph that well but it was great.
On Thursday I went to the Mori Art Museum, which is at the top of a tall tower in Roppongi Hills. The main exhibition was about Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. Architecture is not something I have ever paid close attention to, but this exhibit was very interesting, if even for the different ways they pulled viewers into the experience.
These were stuffed versions of his buildings that moved and talked, I presume with the help of AI.
Hard to imagine people with children coping with this room:
After the exhibit, I went over to the observation deck.
And from there, it was a blur of sugary treats and crowded streets. I wandered around Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku and just went with the flow for a few hours.
I learned some rules along the way, like taking off your shoes and wearing a face cover to protect the clothes in the dressing room.
Yujin was available for dinner again. This time we had sushi, and shared a Japanese crepe for dessert. It was so nice to be able to talk to someone who could explain some of the intricacies of life in Japan while understanding a westerner’s perspective. I was very lucky to meet so many nice people on this trip.
I will break this up into two posts. Just pulling into Narita now.