Tokyo, on the way home

 Tuesday, June 3, was a long travel day. I got up quite early and drove to Kumamoto in time to return the car by about 9am. I was a couple hours early, but I was able to change my train tickets to earlier times. First was the 40 minute ride from Kumamoto to Fukuoka, then the 5 hour ride to Tokyo. I spent the time reading and dozing, so it went by pretty fast. I checked into the hotel near Haneda Airport before 6pm. I had eaten sandwiches on the train, but there was a little bar beside the lobby so I had a beer and read some more before going to bed.

Wednesday I woke up early, about 6am, and went down to the hotel restaurant where a great buffet breakfast was included. After breakfast I took a nap and a bit of a walk. Then I took the train to Shibuya, the very popular shopping area. I was there when I was in Tokyo before but was pouring rain and I got totally lost.

This day was sunny and I spent time walking around to familiarize myself the area. The density and hustle and bustle of the area was still overwhelming  but I saw some interesting shops and an art gallery. There are lots and lots of restaurants.

I found another one of those capsule toy stores I first saw in Fukuoka. They are all the rage with young people in Japan right now. There are rows of machines, each with a certain theme like a TV show. You put in a few 100 yen (a few dollars), and you randomly get one of the clear plastic spheres with the little toy inside.

Overlooking the famous Shibuya scramble are skyscrapers where part of the side has been turned into a giant TV screen.

There is a famous story in Japan from the early 1900s about a dog named Hachiko. He met his owner, a professor, at the train station every day after work. One day the professor died in an accident, but Hachiko kept going to the station every day for the rest of his life. The story captured the hearts of everyone, and there is a statue of Hachiko beside Shibuya station. However every time I've been in Tokyo, for over 10 years, there has been a construction fence around the square so I assumed I couldn't see the statue. But this time I discovered a nook in the fence where the statue was. There a long line of people waiting to get their picture taken with it. Between people I managed to get a picture of the statue itself.

Next I decided to go back to the T.Y. Harbour area. Again I was there the last time I was in Tokyo but it was pouring rain. It is a nice area with canals and parks and walkways, and it is a quiet break from the bustle of Shibuya. I stopped for a beer again at the brewery there.

From there I took the monorail back to the area of my hotel. It passes through a kind of desolate area of office and apartment buildings. Kind of like a 1960's vision of the future that didn't quite work out.

At the hotel I ended up talking  with people at the bar until quite late.

On Thursday my flight was not until 10pm, so I arranged for a late check-out and tried to nap as much as I could. Still got to the airport quite early. Lots of time to read.

At the airport, in the large hallway along the departure lounges, there was this automated chair that went along for anyone to use.