When one goes to bed at 8:30 pm, one should not be surprised when they wake up for good at 2:30 am. Too bad my roommate slept til I got out of the shower at 6 am.
The boys were showered and out of their room at 5:30 am to explore the neighborhood. We met up and found a local spot for breakfast. You order using a machine-ticket system. I saw the plastic food in the window and decided I wanted #39. Mom and Kenji got the same thing. Leo got melon bread at Family Mart. Our dishes were a super oishi (yummy) bowl of soba noodles, seaweed, a soft boiled egg and a veggie nest-pancake item. Such a very different breakfast from back home, but was perfect and held us all over well til lunch.
We went to the local Akasaka Shrine, Hie, and paid our respects. The Tori gates on the staircase down were sublime.
Then it was time for our first foray on to the Metro. We got our Suica cards ready and made our way downstairs into the subway system. When we got off we found ourselves in Shinjuku, where Leo was looking for the, wait for it, Disney Store. I know, I know. Apparently a few new Tsum Tsums (Google it) were released a couple of days ago. We found them and wandered the 3 story store extensively. I could've easily bought several items there, but resisted. Nothing grabbed me enough to be willing to drag it around Japan for 4 weeks.
Then it was time for a surprise for mom and one of the things I've been looking forward to a lot, the Shinjuku 3D cat. It was so much fun to see in person! What I wasn't prepared for was all the other videos on the screen between appearances by the cat. From what I've seen on YouTube it was all cat all the time. Oh well. We hung out there for a while and got some fun photos and videos.
It was about 1 pm and we were all ready for lunch. I saw a Tourist Information office and went to ask for a recommendation for something nearby that is yummy and inexpensive. We were directed to the elevator going downstairs and were told there were several restaurants down there. We found a place where we all decided on different dishes and were looking forward to trying a bite of each other's meals. As we ordered we were told that they had just run out of the fish dish I wanted and another one Kenji wanted. Bah humbug! The Lusters all ended up getting a fried chicken nugget meal with a tartar sauce. Odd sounding, yes, but oishi nonetheless. It was too bad our salads didn't have any dressing. I would've liked more pickled daikon (Japanese radish).
After lunch the boys went to go explore and Mom & I wandered through a stationary store. I then had my first bidet experience. Well, first of *this* trip. Boy, howdy, I forgot what deadly aim that stream of water has! then walked to the Shinjuku National Garden. It was lovely an green. but only a couple of patches of hydrangeas and no other flowers. The humidity got the better of us and we headed back to the hotel. The boys had already been back at the hotel about an hour before we got back.
I changed clothes when we got back and having put on my jammies, sort of made up my mind that I was in for the night. My feet were throbbing and I couldn't imagine putting my shoes on again. Mom and I weren't interested in eating again today, so the boys went out and got ramen without us, then returned to the hotel and were in for the night early, too. A muffin I brought from the plane will serve as my dinner.
The humidity is wiping the floor with me. I could easily change clothes every hour.
I'm hopeful to stay up til 10 pm, my usual bedtime, to get onto a better sleep/wake schedule.
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