The morning’s weather looked to be unpredictable so any thoughts of us doing the planned Takaosan (Mt. Takao) hike were abandoned. As an alternative activity we decided to do a walk within the Shinjuku district to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices where there’s an observation deck on the 45th floor.
Apple Maps were used to set our desired course but due to the number of skyscrapers around us, it takes quite a while to lock onto sufficient satellites to establish our starting location.
We walked at a leisurely pace in drizzly conditions and were enthralled by the size of the gargantuan buildings around us in every direction. Amongst the many skyscrapers, an immediately recognisable one was the distinctive Sonpo Japan Building with its gracefully curving base.
Sonpo Japan building, Shinjuku
We crossed under the northern major railway bridge leading out of Shinjuku Station and then past an astronomical clock tower. At this point the rain increased making the congested pedestrian walkways hazardous because of the possibility of being poked in the eye by the ubiquitous umbrellas.
Astronomical Clock, Shinjuku
We arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices building and took the lift to the 45th floor.
This open and spacious floor level is set out with windows in practically a full 360 degrees. Fortunately, there was not a large crowd present so we had opportunities of photographing Tokyo city in every direction despite conditions being a bit cloudy.
View from 45th floor, North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Building
View from 45th floor, North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Building
For an hour or more we took lots of photos and then adjourned for a mandatory midday coffee.
Cafe, 45th floor, North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Building
We then checked out the tourist souvenirs for sale and Corinne bought a Tenugui which is a multi-purpose traditional cloth about the size of a tea-towel. Tenuguis are highly attractive patterned Japanese dyed cotton with typically images of cherry blossoms and wading birds. There were some traditional, highly appealing Japanese paper fans for sale but we thought of our luggage limitations and avoided any temptation to buy.
Japanes paper fan
By 14:00, the weather had changed and remarkably it was now sunny right across Tokyo. This meant that our previous photos with the mostly drab conditions could now be replaced by much more appealing sunlit images.
View of clock tower, from North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Building
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower viewed from 45th floor, North Tower
View from North Tower 45th floor with Mt Takao, Daibosatsu Toge & Kumotori-yama in the background
View from 45th floor, North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Building
On descending the tower we arrived at the second floor where, amongst other displays were some memorabilia of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on display.
Although unintended, before we knew it, we were next in line to play a game of boccé. The 5 m x 2 m mat in front of us had electronic sensors and the red and blue soft leather balls on landing showed the distance in millimetres from the kitty. We each had ten throws and according to the lady in charge, we were ‘experts’ as we ended up with a fairly tight cluster with Jak winning, ‘one up’ by only 0.25 mm!
Jak playing Cyber Boccia Lite, Tokyo Metropolitan Building, Shinjuku
On our way home we diverted into several small garden parks and photographed the pink and white cherry blossoms that are superb at this time.
We also photographed a dedicated worker vacuuming the base of a reflection pool who we’d seen toiling away four hours earlier.
Cherry blossom with Sonpo Japan Building in the background
Man cleaning pond, Shinjuku
On the opposite side of the astronomical clock we’d photographed earlier this morning, we found another clock with the present positioning of the constellations associated with the signs of the zodiac.
Astronomical Clock, Shinjuku
We next stopped at the Robert Indiana ‘Love’ sculpture and took photos of each other through the love-letters.
Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture
Our next diversion was into the Joen-ji Buddhist Temple. It was originally founded in the 16th century and belongs to the Nichiren-shu sect of Buddhism. The gardens at this ancient temple were beautiful with exceedingly old cherry trees in blossom and topiaried conifers in exquisite shape. There was a graveyard adjacent to the temple and the symbols on headstones, beautiful flowers and bamboo memory sticks displayed at each grave reinforced our understanding of the enormous respect Buddhists have for their forebears.
Joen-ji-Temple, Shinjuku
Joen-ji-Temple, Shinjuku
Graveyard, Joen-ji-Temple, Shinjuku
On the final part of our return journey we photographed trains on the overpass and a fire-engine underneath. To our amazement we passed a small shop claiming to be a ‘vape-studio’!
Railway overpass, Shinjuku
Fire truck, Shinjuku
We had need of a bottle opener last night and it was opportune on the way home to buy one at a local mini-market. A ‘Can-Do’ store had one plus a corkscrew and knife for a mere ¥110 ($1). The charming young shop assistant was most helpful when the payment system didn’t offer English prompts.
The very impressive skyscraper we’d observed from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices with its upper storeys in a crown formation turned out to be right next to our hotel and yet we’d not realised its proximity.
Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, Shinjuku (photo taken earlier in the day)
Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, Shinjuku (photo taken from the foyer of our hotel)
Now back at the Gracery Hotel we relaxed and spent time recording the principal delights of our day’s meandering. At the local 7-Eleven I bought a 180 mL bottle of Black Nikka (sic) Whisky for ¥600. Its equivalent to Chivas Regal!
Later we went out for our evening meal and had very tasty noodles, vegetables and dumplings complemented with beers.
At 20:00 we gathered with the local crowds out in the street to see the giant Godzilla high on our hotel let out some terrifying sounds and light effects. With anticipation, we all waited for the appointed ‘on the hour’ spectacular Godzilla scream but then to our dismay an official intervened and told us ‘sorry, not happening tonight, Godzilla is broken!’
Godzilla on Hotel Godzilla adjacent to Hotel Gracery
Godzilla on Hotel Godzilla adjacent to Hotel Gracery
Night time, Shinjuku
With this anticlimax we decided it was time to call it a day and we headed for our room for the final night in Shinjuku.
Night view from our hotel room, Shinjuku,
Tomorrow we move to the Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba Hotel in Minato City which is on the waterfront of Tokyo city.