Day 10 is our final day of exploring Japan. It's the coldest day ever during our trip. It was around less than 10 degrees Celsius; it even dropped to about 5 degrees that night. Definitely winter is still hanging around and we didn't bring our winter clothes. My Dad read the newspaper that morning and the article that he read said that this kind of winter weather/climate or whatever has been reported 5 years ago. Bummer that we had to go through the winter-like coldness during "spring" season. The rain didn't help ease our sight-seeing. Think about it, cold+rain = OMG deds!!!
Since it's our final day in Tokyo, we wanted to see the scenery of the city. But, we didn't want to pay anymore for entrances like the Tokyo Skytree. So, according to my research, if you wanted a cheap way to view the city then visit Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Shinjuku. It's actually free, yep the entrance is free. :)
| 7:00 AM | Wake Up |
| 8:30 AM | Breakfast |
| 9:45 AM | ETD Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. |
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| Observatory Deck |
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| View from Observatory Deck |
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| View from Observatory Deck |
Well at least we didn't spend anything. View was disappointing because of the weather. Gloomy, dark and snowing. Yes, snowing. We could see the snowflakes outside the windows. It's not like snowing as it would in the winter but still, snowing/raining.
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| Le Parents |
After taking another walk around the observatory and some pictures, we decided to skip Ueno Park because of the weather. At least we got to see the Sakura Trees back in Kyoto and Osaka. The weather was challenging for us, even the subways were cold. We had to move briskly when out and about on the streets. Brrrr!!!! Freezing!!!
| 11:15 AM | ETD Roponggi Hills |
| 12:00 PM | Lunch |
So we just had a quick lunch at Mcdo then rest/warming up in the fast food restaurant. We didn't really explore Roponggi Hills because it was freezing so we just stayed at the Mori Tower/Mall.
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| Featured must-buys |
After some more walking and semi-shopping we then headed to Akihabara. I just mainly wanted to check-out the Otaku culture such as the maid-cafes and other anime/manga stuff.
| 2:30 PM | ETD Akihabara |
| Explore Akihabara, Merienda |
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| Childhood technology :) |
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| Sailormoon!!! |
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| Sailormoon!!! And I also have those scepters! |
The above pictures were taken at Yodabashi in Akihabara. No more Gundam Wing kits. :( My dad bought this external hard drive while I was tempted to buy a new camera. You won't believe how cheap the cameras cost. Sadly, no more budget to shop and I'm still not done paying for my camera.
It was still quite early to go to Odaiba for the Gundam Stand. We went to the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara and had merienda.
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| Hiiro Yuy (that's the name of the drink) |
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| Gundam Carbonara |
The rule of the cafe was that customers were only allowed to stay for a maximum of two hours. We stayed for two hours. :) The maximum. :) Taking advantage of the seats and the warmth, plus I was waiting on the opening song of my favorite Gundam series: Gundam Wing.
Wee..the nostalgia when you hear Just Communication plus hearing it in a Gundam Cafe, in Tokyo, in Japan...so worth it!!! Two hours passed and it was time to go.
| 5:30 PM | ETD Odaiba |
| 6:30 PM | ETA Odaiba |
| Explore Odaiba |
| Visit Odaiba Seaside Park |
| DiverCity Tokyo Plaza and Gundam Cafe |
Here are some of the sights we saw going to Diver City...
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| Inside of Diver City |
Night came and it was cold as ever. Hurriedly, we walked from the subway station to Diver City. An extremely cold 10 minutes or less of walking. Then we made it inside the mall. We welcomed the warmth and the posh inside of the mall. Nope, we just went window shopping. While I searched for the life-size 1:1 scale of the first Gundam. I went outside and thought omg so cold...like winter is here.
I waited until 8:30 PM for the Gundam Stand, you know the effects and the head moving light show. Hopefully, Japan can make it move like a real Gundam. :) Weaponized? Space Colonies? So I'm thinking too far ahead and replaying Gundam Wing in my head where the world might soon collapse into destruction and wars. Sounds like a dystopian world doesn't it? Anyway, I took the video of the Gundam Stand, hands freezing, like freezing but not close to getting a frostbite. Still freezing like maybe I'm exaggerating, but it sort of felt like less than 5 degrees Celsius.
The Gundam Stand lasted for about 15 minutes then I went back to the mall to look for my parents. It was too cold for them anyway to stay outside so I left them at the mall. We had our last dinner then we went home. I think it was about 10-10:30 PM when we arrived back at Sakura Hotel Hatagaya. Since it was our last night in Tokyo, I returned all of our Pasmo Cards to get the Y500 deposit and the unused credits.
Last day in Tokyo, Japan. Kind of a bittersweet moment. It was my dream to go to Japan ever since I was a kid and I finally did it. Perfect spring time with a winter-like feel, but nonetheless, it was a memorable experience to share it with my parents. :) Despite the language barrier, the people were very accommodating to help us. Traveling is truly a learning experience. By observing their culture, you kinda learn why they are and why they are successful as a country. The discipline and the technology and their culture are a perfect mix for them and hopefully I may learn and incorporate that into my personality. Still, even if I don't learn...hahaha....it still is amazing, the country is amazing and one day I dream we may be like Japan in terms of the advanced technology and discipline.
Here ends my Japan Adventures...until next time... :)
Expenses:
Food - Y1,500/each
Watch - Y4,000
Cashback for returning Pasmo Card: Y2,167 for the three of us :)
