The previous post in this series is here..
While in Kyoto we decided to move up our schedule to Tokyo. An extra day in Tokyo at this point was better.
Jr. found that we could move our Shinkansen tickets once without any fees and promptly moved it. Now we called the Tokyo dome hotel to book another day and were in for a rude shock.
BTS, a band that needs no introduction was performing two shows at the Tokyo dome and that meant every room was sold out. So the planners (not me) searched for another hotel and found a wonderful apartment style hotel called Monday Apart. Two rooms with 3 beds each with a kitchen and laundry(there is a reason for mentioning the laundry.. it will come up in a later post). This hotel was in Asakusabashi in the Akihabara suburb of Tokyo. We would stay there for one night and then go to the Tokyo dome. This way we got another full day in Tokyo. We got our luggage packed (after stuffing all the shoes in) and decided that all the packaged instant foods had to be consumed soon. Good thing the room had a kitchen!
The Shinkansen was crowded this time unlike the trip to Hiroshima from Osaka. Kyoto to Tokyo at breakneck speed with amazing views of Mt. Fuji on the way. We did have an interesting experience going to the hotel. We ended up in Tokyo station, took our luggage and made it to the Akihabara station, then switched to another train for just two stops to Asakusabashi station. The hotel was supposed to be a 7 minute walk from the station. My friend who insisted on contributing to the GPS assisted walking (to relieve Jr.) took us on a 20 minute walk and we ended up missing a road, and finally came to the Monday Apart hotel. We were like “at least we got to the hotel even if it took an extra 10 minutes”.
It was in Akasusabashi, but it was the wrong one! Apparently there are two of these, one in West area and one in center. Fortunately our hotel was only a 10 minute walk away and closer to where we had started. Walking on old Japanese streets is good as long as you are not lugging suitcases and carry ons. We did joke around and laugh all the way back to the apartment. The rooms and facilities were really good.
We checked in and decided to hit Tokyo station for Lunch at Erick South. A south Indian restaurant entirely run by Japanese folks that got rave reviews from a friend on her recent trip. So off we went searching for Erick South. We got out of the train station and kept walking on the street around the block. We could literally smell the food on the street. Then we met a south Indian family and asked them where it was and the answer was “oh, ,it is actually below us .. in the train station. Not above in the high rise”. We went down again and there was a long line of mostly Japanese folks waiting to get a south Indian thali. It is like a bar and you get seated wherever they can. San and me got seated first and the food and chai was just amazing. Just plain amazing.
Have never left a plate this clean! The entire group was happy for a long time after that fulfilling lunch! After this we walked around the block and decided to go to our next sightseeing stop by Uber. . .
A short video.
By now we had figured our where to go by train and when to use Uber XL.
The next stop in another post..