At 11:00am I met my coworker at a Starbucks to discuss things to do. He explained the complex train and subway system in Japan, while I tried to keep up.
After he was finished we walked to a grocery store and then a drug store.
The Japanese have significantly more selections of everything.
We then walked to Gotanda station from Osaki (all the way at the bottom and towards the left on the map).
There I bought a Tokyo Metro 1-Day Open Ticket, which allowed me to ride on any Tokyo Metro line (any one of the colored lines on the map). My first stop was in Roppungi to get a view off the top of Roppongi Hills, a 54 story high rise. The line was way too long to wait, so I decided to walk around. I quickly realized that not having a plan is really dumb, so I continued to be dumb and wandered back to the subway station.
I got off at Shinjuku station and again strolled around. This time I meandered into a depachika, a type of department store for food.
“Depachika” is a mashup of depato (department store) and chika(basement). In Tokyo many department stores are built near or atop busy subway stations because train companies, beginning in the 1920s, saw the opportunity to turn straphangers into shoppers. To this day some department stores and railway companies are owned by the same parent company. – Matt Rodbard
I was still weary about taking pictures so I only have two of this very overwhelming place.
$20 Wagu Steak? Look at that marbling.
After walking around in the depachika, I left and started walking outside. I did not know where to go and was a little overwhelmed, until I realized I was standing in front of a Bic Camera!
That Wikipedia page does not do the multiple levels of electronics and brightly colored advertisements justice. It is a very crazy place to walk around in, and they have film to buy. From cameras to stove/ovens, Bic camera has it all.
After I staggered around mesmerized by all of the things in Bic camera, I decided it was time to go back and see what Roppungi Hills had to offer. The line was a little shorter this time but still it took about an hour to get to the top. It was very worth it.
I stayed on the tower for about an hour then left for my apartment, wondering what I was going to do the next day.
Created: 24 Jun 2016