Japan & China 2017

Another early start today. This was our third day of temperatures in the high 20s. First stop was the post office to use an atm. Apparently Japanese bank atms may not except foreign cards so the post office is the place to go. We stopped at the Used Camera Box which is a tiny shop down in a basement. There is barely enough room for 3 or 4 customers. I found an old camera I was interested in but unfortunately it wasn't working. Next stop was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. We went to the 45th floor observation deck of the North Tower. There was a line up for the South Tower for some reason (maybe a case of follow the leader). We spent some time looking at the view and made a few purchases including a small Lego like model of the Tokyo Sky Tree. We called in at the tourist information centre on our way out and were approached by a lady volunteer who asked if she could take us on a tour of the Government Assembly Hall. We accepted and had to go through security and be issued with visitor passes. She took us to the third floor and over a glass walkway linking both towers and then to the hall where the government meet 4 times a year. After leaving the building we had our photo taken with her. Next stop was the post office again to buy a stamp for the postcard Cathryn bought to send to Calvary. Looking for lunch was next. We ended up at Isetan department store and bought some sandwiches of all things. The way food to take away is presented is unbelievable. There doesn't seem to be any concern in Japan about plastic bags or excessive packaging in general. The way you are treated by staff is exceptional and makes any interactions a pleasure even with the language barriers. We took our lunch to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden which is an 50 hectare oasis in the middle of this frantic business and shopping district. We spent about 1.5 hours wandering around and tried a soft serve. After leaving we made our way to the Takashimaya Times Square to have a look at the Uniqlo clothing department. Seemed to be good quality and well priced. Next we tracked down another second hand camera store that I wanted to have a look at. Didn't have any luck here either so we made our way back to the Kitamura camera shop were I managed to find a 40 year old Minolta Hi- Matic F rangefinder camera in good condition for $30. We bought dinner (which they heated for us in the microwave) and beers from the Family Mart and ate in our room. Another long and tiring day.Read more