Winter 2016: Day 2

Day 2 started with complimentary breakfast from the hotel. The breakfast was served at the lounge located at the top floor of the hotel with a view of the Sumida River and the Tokyo Skytree. Actually, the top floor is not that high at all. It was on the ninth floor. Anyhow, it offered quite a view.

View from the lounge

After that it was a trip to visit Senso-Ji and the Kaminarimon Gate. They were a short walking distance from our hotel. From the direction we came from, we went past the Kaminarimon Gate first, before walking by the Nakamise Shopping Street and eventually ending up at Senso-Ji.

Now, Nakamise Shopping Street is still one of the best places to find almost all things Japanese at a reasonable price. Souvenirs, street food, Kimono, toys, etc. I didn't manage to visit a flea market during this trip. I'll definitely review the Japanese flea market once I've had the opportunity to visit one.

Ladies in pretty Kimonos

After that was a trip to Akihabara. The city of Manga, Otakus, electronics, consoles, etc. The main reason why I made the trip here was to stop by "Hard Off" - a Japanese recycling store that buys your unwanted but usable stuff to re-sell it back to customers. They have other stores named Book Off, Hobby Off and House Off for other categories of items. "Hard Off" sells old game consoles, cartridges, musical instruments, LPs, CDs and cassettes. I came to buy old nintendo game cartridges. I'm happy to find Mario, Rockman and Bomberman.

Some "fun" for the men at the urinal while peeing

After that it was an evening at Omote-Sando where more time was spent shopping and window shopping. We went back very late and with an empty stomach. We ended up buying back a kebab salad set from a Halal Kebab stall we bumped into on the way back to our hotel. I thought it was good to have some protein and greens to add on to our dinner menu which was cup noodles. The cup noodle I brought from Singapore was a savior because the Halal eateries I know around our hotel have all closed for the day by then.

Same view, but at night

It was a very tiring day. It started as early as 6.30am and ended (technically) on the next day at 1.30am. We were so exhausted. So it was a huge morale booster to know that we had one of the best beds I ever slept on. It was firm but comfortable. Enough to support my aching back and muscles.

Age is indeed catching up.