Day 21: Return to Tokyo

Once again we find ourselves in the midst of 19 million people- or whatever crazy number makes up the world's largest metropolitan population. We arrived in Tokyo at 2:30 by the "super express" aka bullet train. It was 95 in Tokyo today (still feels that way now at 8 pm, even though the low is supposed to be 82) so transferring in busy train stations and walking to the hotel was not super fun. The humidity was so high, also, that I got out of breath quickly. But oh well, it's our last two days in Japan, so I can hold on to the end!!

We rested for a while before heading out to Harajuku, one of Tokyo's famous shopping districts. There were two shops I really wanted to visit along the main shopping street. The street, Omotesando, has been called the Champs Elyses of Tokyo. We joined the huge throng of people, which included some foreigners, and made our way down the tree-lined avenue. The first store was called Oriental Bazaar. It was geared toward foreigners and had a wide variety of Japanese goods. I bought a "yukata satchel" which is basically like a purse to carry when wearing a yukata (cotton kimono). The next store was Kiddyland, which despite its name was full of adults. They had pretty much every cute thing one could imagine. I saw lightsaber chopsticks, ear buds made to look like bananas sticking out, and a whole line of adorable things with a capybara as the mascot. So much cuteness, so little time... :P

Taking the train back to our hotel from Harajuku station at rush hour was crazy... We had to miss the first two trains because they were TOTALLY STUFFED. The third had room but we ended up being completely smooshed. -_- Oh well, it was, again, an experience. It's going to feel so strange to come home and not be bumping against people all the time...

Oh, before getting on the bullet train this morning, I bought an ekiben, or train station bento (lunch box). Ekiben are meant to be eaten while riding the bullet train. I've always wanted to try one, so I did! The one I got had rice, thinly sliced beef (reminded me of Korean barbecue), egg, croquette (kinda like a potato fritter), pickled plum, cabbage, and a red bean sweet for dessert. It was really good, and also really cute!

I'm hoping to blog again tomorrow night when we're sitting at the airport, but I don't know for sure. So just in case this is my last blog post before heading home, I want to say thanks for reading! And good night. :)