- 08:00
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After waking up with a mild hangover, I could not go back to sleep. Wendy on the other hand was fast asleep so, I decided to try out the gym located on the first floor. After a light workout, I went back to the apartment to shower and get ready for another busy day. Wendy managed to pull herself out of bed and joined me for breakfast.
- 09:00
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Hundred Stay offers a continental breakfast service. Bread, coffee, etc. which was perfect for our situation. We actually met a couple who was also visiting Tokyo. They recommended us a couple of places so we just added them to our list! After a couple cups of coffee, we headed out and to Okubo Station.
- 10:00
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We arrive in Akihabara, known as the electrical town and home of the otaku. It was amazing how many large electrical equipment stores there were, all competing in this area. There were other tourists there buying rice cookers, blu ray players and other large electronics. We on the other hand were content with just experiencing these stores, and the fact that we would rather buy clothes and souvenirs then electronics.
- 11:30
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The couple at breakfast mentioned an unforgettable experience at a maid cafe. I had heard about these before and wasn’t so interested in going, but Wendy insisted. And I was so glad that she did. I think I even enjoyed myself more than her. The maids were very nice to us, and some of them even spoke a little English. The food was mediocre at best, but adding that little extra charm spell was indeed unforgettable.
- 12:30
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We walked around Akihabara a little more, entering a couple of anime figurine stores, and an interesting plastic food replica store. These were just amazing. Nothing like those from back home. Wendy and I each got us a souvenir. There were also a few smaller electronic shops scattered around Akihabara, but we had no idea who would actually buy things from them. Must be some speciality items we don’t know about.
- 14:00
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We headed to Asakusa to go see Kaminarimon and Sensoji Temple. As soon as we stepped out of the station, we immediately realized a more traditional aspect of Tokyo. While walking around, there we ate various Japanese snacks, and washed them down with a flavourful green tea. There were people dressed in blue, seemingly traditional, attire pulling around a two wheeled cart, known as a jin-ricksha (human powered carts). More expensive than a taxi, but certainly more memorable.
- 16:00
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While being pulled around Asakusa, we noticed the huge looming tower, Skytree. It seemed like walking distance so we asked our “driver” to take us there. He laughed and told us that it was further then it looked, and so we took a train there. The thing is huge! Unfortunately, we were too late to get tickets to climb the tower, but next time it will be on our to-do-list.
- 17:00
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After returning to Asakusa, we noticed that there was a short cruise down the Sumidagawa River to Odaiba. Wendy mentioned that there was something she wanted to see, so I just tagged along. The boat was a futuristic in design and more exciting then I had thought. Once we were cruising around Tokyo Bay, we could see the Rainbow Bridge all lit up.
- 18:30
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Once we arrived at Odaiba, and took a short walk, I knew right away what she was all excited about. It was a huge robot, Gundam. The 1:1 scale figure was an impressive site, even without having seen the anime. Even though we were exhausted at this point, we went to the malls and grabbed a bite to eat. Ramen again!
- 21:00
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Since we were planning a short day trip out of Tokyo the following day, we headed home a little early.
