Louise and Rob: Day Ten

Today is our final day in Tokyo, so Louise begs Rob to add the Moomin Cafe into our itinerary once again, to which he agrees upon remembering how nice (and huge) the cakes are there. We also decide to head to Meiji Jingu in Harajuku.The day is boiling hot, so it seems like a good idea to wander around the leafy shrine gardens.

We sadly take the Yamanote line for what we know will be one of our last ever train rides in Tokyo and jump off a Harajuku. As soon as we begin to approach the park we notice buskers, cosplayers and people hawking art and music. We stop and buy a pair of paintings for about £7, before heading to the cool, shaded cafe standing to the entrance of the shrine. We refuel with chilled oolong tea and icecream and enjoy some people-watching before beginning the lovely shady walk to the shrine.

A lot of the wooded areas in Japan are so reminiscent of the scenery in Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke we half expect to see a kodama sitting amongst the bushes. We snap the obligatory pictures of sake bottles and the gigantic torii, and carry in tripping happily down the sun-dappled path to the shrine.

The shrine itself is beautiful, with lots of dark wood, gold and white - but it's baking hot in the courtyard, and the sun bleaches out most of the pictures - so we have a quick wander around before retreating to the cooler and less crowded gardens.

We pay around £6 to enter the shrine gardens, but are sadly told that we cannot visit Kiyomasa's Well, a powerful healing spot, as there is a problem with it that the ticket sellers limited English, and our even more limited Japanese can't quite translate. But the entry fee is still great value as the gardens are stunning.

We spend a long time sitting on a wooden platform over a greeny-brown pond full of golden, red, white and black koi swimming lazily around, and great big, blocky turtles gently drifting. We spot a kingfisher in the distance and bask in the sun while enjoying the peacefulness of nature. We both feel an overwhelming sadness about leaving Tokyo, but it's hard to feel sad in such beautiful surroundings.

We wander through beautiful sun-streaked paths of broad-leafed trees, stout bushes and the gentle sounds of a stream trickling. The irises aren't flowering, but there are signs of life in them, and big, black crows hop along the floor, crackling in the twigs. We spend hours in the gardens, before emerging to a sunny, and busy gift shop, where we pick up some incense and some ice cream from a vending machine. Our adventure is almost over.

We end our day in Korakuen's  Moomin Cafe with sweet non-alcoholic cocktails, before picking up a few Moomin souvenirs and some pumpkin-filled bread from the adjoining bakery to serve as breakfast the following day.

And then we say our goodbyes as we prepare for the long flight home.

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Louise & Rob: Day Eight

We wake up late and eat  Pocky for breakfast with yet more bizarre Japanese gameshows. Louise decides to take a shower, instead of soaking for hours in the short but deep bathtub. The water pressure is so high that she almost gets pushed down the plug hole and comes out of the bathroom with red marks all over, before deciding to never brave it again – but soon feels consoled by milk Pocky.

We head out in the late morning, managing to avoid rush hour for what seems the first time during our holiday. At the train station Rob disappears to investigate a ‘new-looking’ drink vending machine while Louise panics on the platform that we are going to miss the train (despite the fact there’s another one in about 10 minutes). We get on the train safely and then suddenly realise we’ve forgotten where it is we’re actually going to, before realising we’re making a quick stop in Ginza before heading to the Moomin Cafe in Koraku-en.

We’re going to Ginza to look up Yakitori Alley, but it seems we’ve gotten here a little early and nowhere is open – but then we spot a small traditional looking restaurant nearby and duck in. We buy a set lunch (without much idea of what that entails..) and end up with deep-fried chicken, pickled radish, rice and miso soup all for around £3, including free rice refills – which is pretty standard in Japan.

We notice on a map that there’s a Godzilla statue in Ginza and want to check it out. We get really lost and wonder why it is that we can’t see a statue of the GIANT lizard, before noticing a Sega arcade. Louise wins 2 stuffed rabbits and 2 mini digital cameras in quick succession, while Rob is empty-handed.

We eventually find the statue – which is a LOT smaller than we expected, it’s in a quiet courtyard which quickly begins filling up with austere-looking businessmen. They all have a chuckle as we pose for tourist-style pictures with the statue.

We then make our way towards Tokyo Dome City, where we pick up a few Japan-exclusive goodies in Lush and ask for directions to the Moomin Cafe. We find it without a great deal of difficulty, and are delighted to see it resembles a cosy Nordic house.

Only with Moomins sitting around and about! We have Moomin-themed cakes and drinks while sitting with Moomin-Mama, which are delicious, before taking a look around the gift shop and spending probably more than we should on various goodies.

 

Outside, we see a fountain-and-lights show which is sponsored by Asahi (like many other things here!) and watch the scary-looking rollercoaster, which somehow manages to go right through the middle of a Ferris wheel. After a spell of sitting and relaxing, we feel an irresistible urge to go and play in more arcades. We play on a giant Pop-Up Pirate (and win an LED candle!), before Rob becomes glued to a sumo-drumming game and Louise pockets a Snoopy cup-and-spoon set but becomes sad at missing out on a Stitch in a panda suit... But what’s this? One more 100Y coin? Louise puts it in the machine, and one minute later she’s walking away proudly clutching her spoils. Victory from the jaws of defeat! 

Feeling as though our work here is done, we return to Shinjuku, to watch dusk fall from the hotel room, with a beer. Feeling ready for tea, we venture out for noodles at a traditional ramen bar. The bowls are huge (we have seen smaller baths) and filled with the most delicious broth, noodles and toppings. We noisily slurp our way through them, and Rob professes it’s the best food he’s ever tasted, and head to more arcades. One machine involves sliding a drink across a bar, cowboy saloon-style, and having it come to rest in a specific place. Rob (a closet cowboy) leaps at the chance to prove his Western mettle and ends up winning Louise a whole big goody-bag of various kawaii toys, including a giant Tarepanda, only to find her clutching a life-size Rilakuma wearing a crown, which she scored from a UFO-catcher. We worry if the arcades will have anything left in a few days’ time, or whether they’ll have to shut before we leave for home!

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