Then the next morning it was off to Tokyo under an initially blue sky, but it got clouded and thankfully cooler. It turns out that Otsuki is the hottest city in the prefecture, so it was really nice not to just sweat from thinking too hard. But anyways it was off to Tokyo by train for the weekend.
First up was the Imperial Palace where the emperor resides. You can't go in the grounds but there are a couple views from beyond the moat that are quite nice (although admittedly would have been prettier with a blue sky and not a white sky) and then we walked around the garden a bit an had ice cream!
Next we went to Akihabara, the electronics district and shopped around for some modern Japanese stuff and saw things like little portable fans that light up and say 'I love you' somehow where the blades were spinning. And then we went to Tokyo tower. For all the times I've been to Tokyo I have seen the tower very few times and never once made it there until Saturday! I'm so glad I did. There was a temple right at the base that we explored first. It was really cool to have the landmark towering over a peaceful Buddhist temple in the way that everything is in Japan: the modern living side by side with the traditional culture that is everywhere. Tokyo may be considered a concrete jungle but little patches of greenery and shrines manage to climb through the cracks and are just as prevalent as high fashion and technology! The temple was really nice and in preparation for the Star festival on July 7th (where the Japanese believe that if it's a clear night two star crossed lovers in the sky will be reunited but if it's cloudy they must wait another year) visitors could write their wishes on a slip of paper and hang them from the trees which we of course did!
After we went to the tower and rode the coolest elevator to the top! It lit up and made futuristic noises like we were ascending into space! It was a cloudy day so there wasn't a whole lot to see but it was enjoyable none-the-less and then we had a brilliant idea! With no more plans for the day, we decided to have a coffee and talk and wait for the sun to go down so we could see Tokyo from the sky at night! It was really worth it and there are way worse places to sit and have coffee! It was also cool to see all the places I've been too from a bird's eye view and put the city into perspective.
After a lovely evening at Tokyo tower we went for Coco Curry for dinner and then looked for our hostel which turned out to be really dodgy and ridiculous. Because apparently the website undercharged me he decided to make me pay more but he gave us our own 'private room,' which I thought I'd booked in the first place, but anyways... so the private room was the size of a single bed but it had bunk beds making the actual sleeping mattress only about three feet wide. I was terrified of falling off in the middle of the night but I ended up sleeping really well but we got up and left as soon as we awoke!
Then it was to Shibuya and Harajuku for some awesome shopping and the Meiji shrine. Had a totally awesome time and got to see a traditional Japanese wedding at the shrine!
And then back home. It was a nice trip to the city but I love my little town. So happy with where I live. Where to next? Ja ne!
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