Report for Friday May 4

We have had a big day, and it hasn’t ended yet...I have escaped back to the hotel leaving Amr in Takashimaya which is an enormous department store where he can wander and gaze in peace! We did some together - homewares, the gigantic and wondrous food hall (and now I feel starving), but am tired and had had enough!

So, to start while I can still remember...we set off after our coffee fix quite early this morning as usual, and before the crazy crowds emerged. Got the subway to Harajuku, not very far from here. The plan was to first go to the Meiji Shrine, very special and beautiful gardens round it. Then walk along the big Main Street which is Tokyo’s equivalent of the Champs Élysées - it is a beautiful wide tree-lined boulevard with all the classy shops you’ve ever heard of, and also amazing modern and wonderful architecture....and at the end of this boulevard you arrive at the Nezu Museum, which is a modern building, set in again a peaceful and perfect Japanese garden, and which exhibits just the right amount of art.

So we started at the shrine, a cloudless lovely day, saw three weddings process in, looked at flower arranging exhibits, wandered in the garden - very pleasant. By the time we left, the people were out in their masses. This is getting to the end of Golden Week, which is a series of public holidays all together to make people have a holiday, as apparently they are reluctant to take their annual leave!! So we went back to the main drag and had planned to take another side street that was mentioned in the book - frequented by the Young where there are trendy shops and things that appeal...as we approached the going got slower and slower, and we turned and saw the problem...the street was literally full...police were restricting people entering so there would not be a crush problem!! Will put a photo of that! Anyway, even Amr didn’t want to try to go there...so we went to the main boulevard and had a good wander, and also were on the lookout to work out where Abysse, the restaurant we have booked for Monday evening is, so that we would find it easily then. I haven’t mentioned a feature of our hotel...they provide a free phone to use during our stay!! Don’t know of 5 star hotels that do that! We can call at any time, anywhere in the world, and also of course use google maps to find directions. Very handy. So with difficulty we did find the restaurant and really glad to have sorted that out - easy once you know!

So we kept going on to the museum, but on the way turned into a little side street where there were international food stalls, and had a little plate of ginger pork and rice and a beer, but that now seems ages ago. Got to the museum, very peaceful though lots of people, and wandered in the beautiful gardens - irises in bloom - and also went to a tea house for a tea ceremony. Very contrasting to the milling throngs in the streets!

Forgot to mention another weird experience - after the shrine and before setting off down the boulevard. Amr spotted a Cat Cafe which he had read about. I assumed it was a cafe with a cat theme, but no - it has lots of real cats you can stroke and look at etc...you have to take off shoes and put everything - bags and shoes - in a locker, help yourself to a drink from an automatic machine, then go in to the “restaurant” and look at cats. You pay by the 10 minutes (I thought 10 minutes was plenty!!) photos of that too!

So now we came back to Shinjuku via the department store....relaxing and getting ready to head out again to get a bowl of food at one of the many nearby dives. Another thing I keep meaning to mention is the public toilets. I know everyone talks about toilets when they visit Japan...and they are amazing. But the public toilets are quite amazing - they are plentiful..whenever you may need one there is always one nearby. They are immaculate, well stocked and clearly marked - pink (occasionally red) for women and blue for men - no gender confusion here! I love it.Read more