JordanPachal.ca ...Just Me, Myself and I...

Day 7 - July 27...Today is our last day in Tokyo, so we planned to hit the last couple attractions we want to see before taking the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Kyoto.  We woke up around 9:00am and talked to Tanveer and June to plan out our meeting.  In order to give ourselves time to pack, get ready and meet up with them, we decided to meet outside the Shibuya train station at noon.

After getting ready, we decided to try to save time later we would take our bags down to the Shinagawa train station and put them in lockers so that when we left on the Shinkansen from Shinagawa station, the bags would be easy to access.  Unfortunately, when we arrived at the station, any of the lockers that would be large enough to hold our bags were already taken, so obviously we weren't the only ones with that idea so we ended up having to walk our bags back up the hill to the hotel to have them hold the bags there while we were out for the day.\

We went back to the station and hopped on the train to Shibuya.  We arrived at Shibuya station at exactly 12:00pm and went outside to the "Loyal Dog" statue where we decided to meet.  We noticed as well, that the famous Shibuya intersection was right outside the station.  It was incredible to watch the mass of people exit out onto the street every walk cycle.  After about 15 minutes of waiting, Jaime and Michael needed something to eat, so they decided to walk across the street to Starbucks and have a drink and snack.  I waited by the dog statue for Tanveer and June to arrive.  At about 12:30pm Tanveer and June showed up.  They had decided to leave their bags at Harajuku station and walk to Shibuya since we would be leaving from Harajuku to go back to Shinagawa.  Unfortunately they misjudged the distance to Shibuya and the walk was longer than they anticipated.

Tanveer, June and myself made our way over to Starbucks to meet Jaime and Michael.  I had a Matcha Frappucino and we went upstairs to the lounge and watched Shibuya intersection from the lounge.  It was even more amazing to watch the flood of people enter the street from up there.

We started wandering around some shops in Shibuya and passed through an area called "Love Hotel Hill" in which most of the hotels had a "Stay" rate and a "Rest" rate...:: wink wink nudge nudge ::.  On their way to meet us, Tanveer and June had also passed a T-Shirt shop which housed all of their shirts in cannisters and you would select the design you wanted and pick your cannister from the shelf.  We all walked through the shop for a while and I ended up buying 3 shirts, Jaime bought 2 shirts, and Tanveer bought 2 shirts as well.

As time was starting to run out, we made our way to Harajuku to try to find the costumed Harajuku Girls.  As Michael's feet were really bothering him he wanted to get a new pair of shoes, so Jaime and him went shoe shopping and were going to meet us where the girls would be.  June also found a store she wanted to go through, so she departed and was going to meet up at the location.

Unfortunately when Tanveer and I arrived we were a bit late and it was starting to rain, so we missed most of them.  We saw three really well-dressed ones just leaving the area when we arrived, however we were able to get our picture taken with 2 of them.  While waiting for Jaime, Michael and June Tanveer and I wandered into a nearby park and checked out another Shrine.  When we came back Jaime, Michael and June were waiting for us, they said that they met someone who said that most of the girls are on summer holidays right now as well so they aren't around.

Tanveer and June grabbed their bags from the Harajuku Train Station and we all headed back to Shinagawa station to begin our journey to Kyoto.  As it was about 5:30pm we were all getting a bit hungry.  We first stopped off at the ticket desk in the station and picked up our tickets to Kyoto with a departure time of 7:40pm.  We were going to take Tanveer and June to the noodle house we had frequented so often, however it was closed.  Thankfully June recognized the name of "Wing's" on the station wall which was a grocery store/deli so we went into the station and picked up some sushi rolls and yakitori for dinner.  We found an area with a few tables on our way back to our hotel to get our bags so we ate and then went to get our bags.  We then went back to the Shinagawa train station and took the Shinkansen to Kyoto.  Unfortunately as it was dark out (it gets dark in Japan around 7:00pm which feels weird) so we were unable to see any of the outdoor sights on our way.

We arrived at our hotel around 11:00pm and went to our respective rooms.  It was much different this time as Jaime, Michael and I had a huge suite this time complete with a small living room area with a couch and 3 chairs.  It was nice to be able to stretch out a bit after being in the small hotel for the previous 6 nights.  Tanveer and June called our room and came up and visited for a bit, then we all went to bed to get ready to explore the next day.

- Jordan