Arriving back in Shinjuku felt strangely familiar. We were looking forward to putting our bags down for three days and to seeing more of Tokyo. This time we stayed in the Sotetsu Fresa Inn, a similar hotel to the Apa, but with an even better breakfast. Just what we needed to fuel our days.
The first evening we decided to try Omoide Ikocha for another lane-style meal. It is similar to Golden Gai - tiny restaurants that seat maybe 10 people and serve a particular type of food. The one we picked (on the basis it had four seats available) served yakatori, so we dined on tasty skewers. It was so narrow that if people wanted to get into or out of the far end of the restaurant, everyone needed to either breathe in or step outside to let them through. We sat near the entrance, so were up and down from time to time!
We’d enjoyed our date night in Osaka so much that after we tucked the kids in bed we returned to Golden Gai, just a few minutes away. Adrian had seen a little metal/horror themed bar charmingly named “Deathmatch in Hell” on our first visit almost three weeks ago and was keen to give it a try. It was surreal. The walls were covered in album covers, movie flyers and memorabilia, and a horror movie was playing on the little TV behind the bar. We squeezed in and had a beer standing up, but it was all a bit squished so we moved on and found another bar a lane over, this time with a table all to ourselves and Beatles videos playing. We weren’t gone long, but we did enjoy sneaking in some time together. Eleanor and Leo were deep asleep by the time we got back.
The following day the forecast was for 25 degrees and sunshine. It was a beautiful morning so we decided to walk the 50 minutes to Meiji Jingu Shrine. Our last shrine/temple/castle of the trip. It is a beautiful location, in the Yoyogi Gyoen gardens… a shrine erected to the memory of Emperor Meiji, who was instrumental in leading Japan into the modern age after the resignation of the last Shogun.
From there we went to a nearby owl cafe. They are beautiful birds, ranging from quite small to really big. They seem well-cared-for, they have some space to move around and are taken outside, but I did come away feeling uncomfortable about the ethics of keeping wild animals in captivity for the benefit of tourists. In the end I decided it is not something I’d do again.
Eleanor had been excited for ages about visiting Takeshita Street, and this was her day! Takeshita Street is a long shopping street with some uniquely Japanese fashion. We checked out lots of shops, and Eleanor was very happy with her purchase, a black dress with a swirly skirt. It’s the first time she’s worn a skirt in two or three years!
We had tickets to see the Yakult Swallows, one of Tokyo’s baseball teams, play the Dragons from Nagoya. Eleanor, Adrian and I only had a rough idea of baseball rules, so Leo who has played a baseball game on his VR came in very handy! We’d read that there’s a great atmosphere, and it is! Fans sing loudly to support their teams when they’re batting, cheerleaders lift the crowd in breaks and, when they score a run, Swallows fans do the ‘umbrella dance’ - a dance and song with little umbrellas waving in the air. It was such a fun evening, we’d all definitely watch baseball again! And the result? The Swallows won by one run. We’d left after nine innings, rather than stay for an additional three (we had a big big day coming up so needed the sleep), so didn’t see the final run. I bet the umbrella dance was enthusiastic!
Meiji Jingu Shrine.
Owls!
Takeshita Street.
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