adventure

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The mother of all crossings at Shibuya- Japan Day 6

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The previous post in this series is here..

After visiting the electronic city, we were going to Shibuya crossing to experience the worlds most not so pedestrian pedestrian event..

There was a request from the ladies to stop two train stations earlier and walk through a market which had beauty supply stores in Harajuku area. There was yet another uniqlo store there and me and my friend both got more pants (dont ask!). There was more eye rolling from the ladies and we made a mental note that sometime an extra suitcase purchase was required before the return trip.

we did stop by a few stores to get an idea of suitcase prices and made the long walk from Harajuku to Shibuya. We spent a good 30 minutes at the crossing, going from every point to every other point with the crowd and taking pictures and time lapse videos. Was very proud of the group for holding as still as possible for the time lapse videos.

Then we tried to get food there but we were not lucky. I was also reminding that group that while they could always get something to eat in the hotel (there was a Sizzlers and Starbucks at the Tokyo dome which some group members were eyeing since we checked in), I had to deal with wet clothes that needed laundry. So off we went to the hotel. While everyone else went for dinner, I ate a packet of Parle G biscuits, grabbed change and went to the laundry in the 7th floor. Waited there for 2 hours and by the time the clothes dried and got back to the room at 11 everyone was asleep.

While we were in electronic city earlier, our driver for the next days event called us and asked us if we could be ready by 4:30 AM the following morning. We told him “no way” and said 5:30AM was the best we could do.

the video highlights of Shibuya crossing..

We were to get up at 5 and be outside the hotel at 5:30. So I came back with the laundry and crashed.. Day 7 was going to be interesting..

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Uniqlo from head to toe - Tokyo Day 6

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The previous post in this series is here..

We had a really happy dinner at the Monday Apart Hotel after coming back late from Ueno park. Then we had to pack as we had to change to the Tokyo Dome hotel on day 6.

There was a brilliant idea to do laundry, given there was a washer and dryer in the room and the nice attendant had given us detergent to use. I threw all our dirty clothes in the washer (mostly mine) and turned it on. Wash it did. Dry it did not after 4 hours. We called the attendant and they turned it on for another 2 hours.

Went to sleep. Woke up to find wet clothes. Even wetter than before. The menu was all in Japanese in the washer and there was a poorly written manual. So we called the person from the lobby. They turned it on, while we went and had breakfast.

Breakfast was great at this vegan place which had a Tarot theme. The service and food, just great! We came back in hopes of packing up and the attendant profusely apologized and said the machine was defective. They even tried to use another machine in a different room but clothes still slightly wet and damp. So I got a garbage bag full of wet clothes, put it also in the Uber and off we went to Tokyo dome.

I will still recommend this hotel to anyone. Just because I have repeatedly had bad luck with laundry in other countries, doesn’t mean you will. It is a nice hotel with good staff and great amenities.

We showed our reservation and dropped off all the luggage in the cloak room of the Tokyo dome hotel, including the bag of wet clothes. No one said anything. It was close to 9 AM and we had to be outside till at least 1 PM which was when we could check in.

We walked to the Tokyo train station , shopped there.

We then went to Ginza area. We got to go to the Uniqlo flagship store. All 12 floors of it. I have not shopped like this in a long time. Tried on lots of jackets, pants and so did everyone. We got a few things we liked and were happy to come out of the store after a good 2 hours. Then it was time to lug the bags and go have lunch.

As usual Jr. found us a Michelin star Indian restaurant right there. The food was good at Bangera’s kitchen. Then we lugged all the shopping bags and made it back to Tokyo dome hotel. The bags were heavy and I protested more walking. It was already close to 3 PM anyways. We went and got our room keys and got our luggage up to the rooms. The photos from the morning and afternoon..

Everything was slow because of the BTS concert. The seating was starting at 4:30 and there was a large crowd standing for buying concert merchandize. Even getting to the hotel was interesting. We were happy to make it to the room.

A video highlight.

We took a quick Chai break in the room and realized that some amends had to be made. In spite of eating all the packaged food, the clothing purchased was way too much. We will need another suitcase! We tabled that discussion for later and decided to leave the hotel to go sightseeing again. We were in two minds on going back to Ueno park to make up for the previous night. The group thought the photographer should not be denied and off we went..

That and the rest of the evening in another post..

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Sundar becomes Sundar San at Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

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The previous post in this series is here..

After the deer park there was another ride to the Arashiyama bamboo forest complex. What made this interesting was the dress up.

Our guide told us that we could rent authentic Japanese clothing and take pictures through the forest. We could pay extra and wear it the rest of the day and return it at another branch in Kyoto.

Due to some communication mixup between the front and back of the bus, the men confirmed that we are doing this.. all six of us. As soon as the bus stopped, we were told that the groups that dress up would wait. The guide will direct the rest of the group and come back and get us. It also meant we would have 40 minutes less to spend. That meant walking faster. Sadly we got authentic Japanese sandals as well. This made the walking challenging, especially for the ladies. They were cursing us for most of the walk. We walked for almost two hours in that costume while taking pictures. The pictures came out great!

When we were still in the bus the locals wearing kimonos were wearing sport shoes. Should have noticed that! You will see it in one of the pics. Given there were almost 500 photos just at this place, this gallery is a highlight in itself.

A few shots in landscape format..

The bamboo forest is breathtaking. The crowds do spoil it. Still we got a lot of pictures without the crowd. Folks are nice and patient and let you take pictures without cutting in. Guess everyone becomes polite in Japan.. that included us.

After the fact everyone agreed it was not a bad idea. We returned the costumes right there after coming back but did not have time to get any proper lunch. So everyone had some ice cream and fruit before getting back on the bus.

Our recommendation is you do rent the costume but keep your shoes. Carry the sandals in a bag if required. Just change at places for an authentic photo. This way the walking is not compromised.

here is a video highlight

There was one more stop before we were going to be dropped at the Kyoto train station..

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