Japan 03

March 25

We left the hotel by about 10am and took the Yamanote line from Shinjuku to Ueno. We then walked along Asakusa Dori, admiring the mixture of old and new buildings, junk shops and generally soaking up the atmosphere as we became more accustomed to being in a vast foreign city.
By the time we arrived at Sensoji temple it had started to rain. We admired the repair work being done on the huge lantern in the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) and continue along Nakamise dori to the Buddhist temple. We had a brief encounter with several school children who were intent on practicing their English before leaving. At Asakusa station we each purchased a Passmo and hopped on the Ginza line to Akihabara. We have a look up and down Chuo Dori and pause for food at a Yoshinoya and then take some time to explore 7 floors of tech at Yodobashi Camera. Deciding that this had earned us a  reward of cake we ended up in an expensive German Tea Shop.
Leaving 'Akiba', we went South to Tokyo Station and briefly stroll through the skyscrapers of Marunouchi District and in to the International Forum. By now it was getting dark so we quickly went to look at Nihonbashi bridge (Tokyo's zero mile marker) and ducked into Mitsukoshi department store to avoid the worst of the weather. After sampling the delights of the food hall for an hour we made our way back to Shinjuku and found a nice restaurant called Tonkatsu Wako. Finally we arranged seat reservations on the Shinkansen to Odawara tomorrow...