002

Konbanwa,


today it might finaly be worth the effort of visiting this page...


The day started with an earlier then usual stroll to the convenience store to get a riceball breakfast.
After a wake up chat with Andy i tried to stop disturbing him by getting out and starting to explore this new world before me.

So... the adventure begins.


It looked like it could start raining any moment... luckily.. not a single drop the entire day.
First stop was an unplanned metrostation (Higashi-Nokano) to sneak away from the heavy traffic... so yes, i've seen it already. just jumped back on the next train so i wouldn't have to plow through a massive amount op people. i've been spared from sqeezing in between doors until now, but this journey is still young.

Then, the first real stop was the city hall, a great 20 year old building by Kenzo Tange.
the subway station (Tochomae) was right underneath it so it couldn't get any easier...
i had multiple reasons for going there, the first one beëing obviously the building itself.
Also i could get my hands on a city map there and it has probably if ever converted.. the best penthouse in the world... the observation deck was simple but the view was beyond discription.

After investigating the area around the city hall and a quick stop at a vending machine for a drink and a very nice temple...

And i made my way more south to Shinjuku.

There i spend a great part of my day walking around and checking out some stores, streets and anything you can imagine when you think about exploring a city.
The atmosphere simply keeps amazing me. its crowded but so serene at the same time. this is something that i noticed from the start when i just got to the airport.


Lunchtime was there in no time at all, so i decided to step inside a noodlebar.

Choose outside
Pay outside
step inside and eat.


good system for the busy bees these people are, and perfect that i can have a taste of it.
although it might have been to warm to eat, it was a tasty dish and i'll go back for a retry ;)


I wanted to see a bit of different places today already so i went on to discover the Shibuya area, where i found something that might be useful. a phone company (Softbank), i did some research online yesterdaynight and talked with Andy to see if it would be a good option to get a phone here.
So i went in to get some more information from them, they quickly send me to Harajuku where a bigger store was located with english speaking personel.
Once there, it took me roughly 2 hours, but finaly, i have a cellphone here if necessary.
basic model, pre-paid and 3000 Yen credit to call/ text. international communications are way to expensive (about 10 x national fee), so i will only be using it to manage meeting people and keep out of trouble.
so, new number (need to find out what it is again) and a new phone. (i'll try to post the number next time).
Good to be shure.

The afternoon was going fast to, so i walked around Shibuya and found a sushi restaurant where i had diner.
(120 Yen/plate. ps: the stack is not mine...)

After that i slowly made my way back to the apartment to call it a day.

Probably i didn't even use 0,1% of the public transport system.
More to come, i feel kind of tired after today because last night was good, but i only got a few hours of sleep.
Tonight will be different, i can tell :)


sneak preview for tomorrow?
hmm, lets see... i'll give a hint: it's going to use the same transportlines as today and more... that will keep most of you guessing.


O, before i forget, something about the weather:
it would be great if it stay like this, the temperature is not TO hot and th humidity is ok.
So its not at 'Shanghai level' last year ...yet.


until tomorrow i guess.
greetings from Tokyo,
p