First Stop: Shinjuku

Tokyo is a large city made up of several distinct areas. Our first stop was Shinjuku. I was anticipating heavy rush hour traffic on the subways. I had read that the subway employs "pushers" whose job is to cram people into the crowded subways. However, it seems that the Japanese go into work later (and stay later) than Americans, so we actually beat rush hour.

Our main destination in Shinjuku was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building's Observatory. However, it was not open when we arrived, so we had some time to kill. We walked over to nearby Shinjuku Central Park. It is a nice park, but apparently, it is home to the homeless. It still felt safe, as the people were non-threatening and kept to themselves There were also several office workers walking through the park to get to their jobs.

We happened upon the Shinjuku "Mini Museum" which is connected to the park.



We had heard it was the end of cherry blossom season, so we weren't sure if this was a cherry blossom tree:

It was pretty, whatever it was.

We thought the observatory opened at 9:30, but we found out it opened at 10:00, probably due to the earthquake. So, we decided to check out a nearby 7-11. I wish the 7-11's in the U.S. were like this!

Notice all of the suits in line for their morning pick me up. This branch had a nice little seating area, too.

There were lots of freshly prepared onigiri (rice balls) and bento lunches. I only wish they would have a standardized color code for the onigiri so we could tell what was inside.

Our cashier was able to tell us that we had chosen tuna salad and salmon. We also bought a green tea and pork bun to round out our "brunch".

Finally, it was time to head back to the Observatory.

View of the building from the park.

It was funny, because at precisely 10:00, it seemed that the employees were in a mad rush to prepare for the grand entrance of someone important. Turns out, they were just getting ready for us, the tourists. (I had read that the daily opening of department stores is very "ceremonial" in Japan). It wasn't until just now, when I looked at the website, that I realize that we went on the first day it was open since the earthquake. Good thing it was open after all that waiting!

Cafe surrounded by windows on the 45th floor.

There was a nice view of some interesting architecture.

Modern "Mode" Building

D was excited to see the Tokyo Skytree off in the distance, a work in progress, slated to be one of the tallest towers in the world.


Meiji Shrine (We didn't make a stop here, so this was the closest we got).


I was fascinated by the signage in Japan. This one depicts the consequences of sticking one's hand in the elevator door.

Overall, we were quite impressed with the view. Best of all it was free...worth every yen!

We hit some shops on the way back to the subway station.

Here I am in the kitchenwares section of Tokyu Hands in Takashimaya department store. My first purchase was a Miffy mug--could not resist. At first we entered the first floor and all I saw was luggage and travel gear. Little did I know that there were several stories, and much, much more to browse. We also stopped by a Kinokinuya bookstore, but I didn't buy anything.

Next stop: Harajuku