Saturday

Buying groceries took hours with Michael’s kanji translate-as-you-go method of shopping. But we managed it and brought home bags of wonderful stuff.

Then we had a most successful afternoon in Shibuya where we saw the statue of Hachiko –  the dog who continued to go to this station to meet his master for 10 years after his death – and the famous Shibuya Scramble where thousands of people are all crossing the street, often called the Times Square of Tokyo. And we had the awesome experience of buying two basic cell phones + pre-paid cards which required producing passports, proof of our entry status, residence address and credit.

After that it was a blast to hit “Tokyu Hands”, 6 floors of everything you could ever want to buy in the world (power tools, coffee pots and shoe repair to Hello Kitty purses). See Michael burning off calories on the pre-marked stairway.

Korean yakiniku for dinner. We cooked huge prawns,  beef strips and veggies on a small charcoal brazier on our table. We admired this beautiful plum tree blossoming in front of a temple across the road from our apartment before giving in to jet-lag.