I thought I wanted to take it easy today?
Totally suffering from jetlag. Woke up at 2am and have been up ever since. We went to the gym at 6:15am (no music, everyone working out in masks, surprised so many people here so early in the morning), then went to breakfast (complimentary of gold status) at the O Lounge. Breakfast…was…AWESOME! How is this even considered just a breakfast? They had a salad bar, congee, pasta, fish, various breads, pancakes, omelet station, BBQ meatballs, various fruits/drinks, etc. We weren’t hungry at all afterwards, skipped lunch, and still 70% full at dinner.
After a few mistakes, we took the Hilton free shuttle to Maihama station. We were packed like sardines on the bus 🙂 After reaching the station, we decided to just pay for individual fares (though we overpaid by 80 yen/pp) since the SUICA card cost 500 yen and it doesn’t seem like we’ll use it after today as tomorrow is Disneysea and our JR pass activates on Friday. 400 yen to take the Keiyo line to Tokyo station, and then the Yamanote line to Shibuya!
The station took us directly to Shibuya Crossing: the most famous and busiest pedestrian intersection in the world. We explored many of the different shops but spent most of our time at the Hands store (one stop shop full of products unique to Japan) where we played some games and Anson bought a puzzle. We visited the Pokemon Center at Nintendo Tokyo. Anson most of all enjoyed the PARCO outdoor rooftop. Seems like the new buildings are required to have spaces of greenery and was a nice reprieve from the bustling city. I bought a milk tea for 156 yen from a local convenience store (this is gonna be a pattern :), and then went to the JR office to get our JR pass.
We headed back to the Disney area and spent the rest of the night exploring their downtown, Ikspiari, and eating at a family friendly Italian restaurant called Saizeriya (I know…why the heck am I eating at an Italian place in Japan?…but the locals like it and the food was inexpensive). My credit card declined here and we had to pay with cash (1400 yen), but it worked again when we finally found the supermarket to buy wipes and oranges.
Today felt pretty long. I think we feel a little out of our element navigating public transportation and Anson feels a little uncomfortable not always being able to be understood…we’ll get the hang of it in a few days.
Side note: 1. Since it’s a city and buildings have many floors (duh), it took a while to understand that navigating to my starred locations on Google maps might take me to the vicinity, but I’d have to find the building floor the place is on. 2. Is it because no one wants to stand out that everyone is still wearing a mask…even outside? Maybe it’s also cuz of the dense population… Yes, we will conform to the culture out of respect, but it sometimes feels like a bit much…plus my ears are hurting 🙁
Cost: 1400+156+480+480+400+400+1090=4406 yen (~$34)