Both Tash and I were wide awake at 2.00am so read Twitter and Facebook for an hour and then managed to sleep again until 7.00am. Tash still slept through whilst I packed and got organised and then downstairs for breakfast.
We checked out and left our bags and wandered round Shibuya shopping to kill a couple hours. We went up to a vantage point above the crossing and looked down and it was a decent birds eye view and then some other shops. The donki one (Don Quiote) and also some arcades, those were interesting and I’ve no idea how those worked, just thousands of ball-bearings like pinball. Line upon line of then for about 4 floors, and it was really busy.
The weather today was oppressive, sunny but really warm arm and breeze, really quite uncomfortable and so glad it’s not been like that the previous two days, sweat was pouring of me all morning.
Back to the hotel to get our cases and then to the station, couple of stops and then we were on our first bullet train heading for Odawa and then a local train to Hakone for our next hotel
The place looks like a spar but when we went to our room it was like a traditional Japanese living and sleeping quarters. All 6 of us are staying in the same place. Our made sat us down and went through a few things and we were left to our own devices. We knew Jack wouldn’t like dinner so we walked into town and down to the river and then found a pizza place so he was happy with that. Back to the hotel and I crashed out and the others did their own thing. Tash went to the public baths where you share your space with others and have to be bollock naked. I might do it but no one else is going to!!
So dinner time!! We all dressed up in our traditional kimonos, which of course caused lots of hilarity and then went down to our private room and it was like a banquet laid out. A banquet with so little food that we could recognise...different people came and served us and explained what was in front of us and how to eat the food and it was okay. Jack didn’t eat much at all and Charlotte wasn’t much better but us others gave it a good go and tucked in. I got through it by trying to not focus on my hat I was eating and it was fine. Not delicious but edible...mostly.
Once we were done we walked over to the bridge outside the hotel, still in our kimonos, and took some photos. Other people from our hotel and other hotels dressed up were doing the same, although we were the only westerners!! Sat around at the end of the night and lots more people were around and either at the karaoke or going to the public baths that stay open until 1.00am.
Back to our room and the room had been transformed from a living room to sleeping quarters and 6 futons were laid out on the floor. Did this diary and then crashed out, not sure how good a nights sleep we will get...fingers crossed.
Really good experience but not really looking forward to breakfast or a similar meal tomorrow, but can’t complain and will just get on with it.
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