32 hours of reuniting with friends from home, making friends
with friends of friends from home, devouring new music, and exploring
cityscapes of all shapes and colors.
12:00 – Walk through a bustling market place. Stop for sweet
bean paste snacks. Continue short pilgrimage to the Sensoji temple. Have curry
udon lunch at a quaint, cozy restaurant.
3:00 – Traipse Roppongi, the neighborhood of architecture
and design
4:30 – Check in at a budget, upscale hotel.
7:00 – Walk in the rain. Indian curry, basmati rice, kebabs,
naan, and chai tea for dinner.
8:00 – Walk in heavier rain. Arrive at a venue very, very,
very reminiscent of San Francisco. Attend a show of sweet, sultry, soulful,
singer/songwriter music.
12:00am – Get caught in the pouring rain. Make friends with
a musician our age who is half-Filipino, half-French, and grew up in Japan.
Split a cab home.
7:30am – Wake up early with the sun streaming through our 11th
floor hotel room window. Take a long, hot bath. Check out of hotel.
9:00 – Wander the streets for a nice place to have
breakfast.
10:10 – While walking, notice a small, Italian-style
restaurant. Peer through the blue-curtained windows and see a buffet of eggs,
sausage, potatoes, soups, salad, and fruits. Stop for breakfast.
11:30 – Arrive at Ueno; admire urban picnickers – clusters
of Japanese friends, families, and coworkers sprawled out under the cherry
blossoms on tarps laid on the sidewalk.
12:00 – Buy $6 tickets to Ueno Zoo. Take a picture in front
of the Ueno Zoo sign, the same sign where I took a picture 15 years ago with my
sisters.
12:15 – 2:00 See the monkeys, gorillas, elephants, bears,
and birds.
2:30 – Meet up with Cynthia and Mayur at a cat café. Spend
$15 each for coffee and one hour of playtime with dozens of cats.
3:30 - Wander somewhat aimlessly about Shinjuku.
4:00 – Set off for a boat tour—mad dash across the city to
make it in time for the last scheduled taxi boat departure time. Arrive at pier
with 5 minutes to spare. Discover that the company took a half-day and closed 5
hours earlier. Re-board train.
5:15 – Catch a magnificent view of Tokyo bay from Rainbow
Bridge.
6:00 – Dinner
7:00 – Coffee and dessert
8:00 – Get backpack from storage lockers at Ueno Station.
Head for Tokyo Station.
8:20 – Purchase bus tickets for a bus back to Iwaki
8:23 – Board bus
8:30 – Depart Tokyo. Rest, reminisce over a weekend
well-spent, read, sleep.
11:37pm – Home.
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