Day 7: If only the skies in Tokyo were clearer, we could have seen more

Day 7: If only the skies were clearer, we could have seen more

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office

After a hearty breakfast, we began our day 7 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office (TMGO) located at West Shinjuku. Unlike other observatories in the city, the one at TMGO is by far the only the offers “free city views”. My only complaint could be her location, a good 15 minutes walk from the west exit of the JR station. This is Tokyo’s CBD, the skyline dominated by numerous skyscrapers in the vicinity. The TMGO contained 2 observatories - the North and South Towers. I had forgotten which tower we went up to. But we did made a pact to go to another should the view is not satisfactory.

The elevator brought the 3 of us to Level 45 (I thk so). However, the hazy sky over Tokyo was simply not too conducive for picture taking. Half an hour later, we bided farewell on our way to the Fuji Five Lakes Area.


Fuji Five Lakes Area

The train journey from Shinjuku to Lake Kawaguchi is about 2 hours, making 3 transfers before reaching our final destination in the afternoon. I must thank lonely planet for her “getting there” advice even though some of the details have changed.

Getting down at Lake Kawaguchi Station, we approached the Tourist Information Counter for directions to the viewing platform of Mount Fuji. We stopped by the lake for some photo taking opportunities before taking the cable car up the viewing platform.

Unfortunately, we were just not in luck today to view the beauty of Mount Fuji. Most of the time, she was hidden by layers of clouds and haze. The pictures would explain our disappointment. Travelling close to 100km, we were disappointed by what appeared before us. I guess this is part and parcel of traveling. Sometimes you gained while other times, you disappoint. Of course, this minor disappointment provided opportunities for us to come back in the future to capture her natural beauty. Until then, we could only satisfy ourselves with the postcards memories.

The journey back home was definitely much easier as we took a direct bus back to Shinjuku Bus Station that would set us back by 1,700 yen. We occupied the last row on the bus as I had time to catch a nice nap. A and J were trying to chat with the man sitted next to them in Japanese.


Ginza

The sky had completely darkened as we approached Shinjuku. Today is also the last day which we can use our JR Pass for free travels in Tokyo. From Shinjuku, we caught a JR Train to Ginza in search of the famous “4-Chrome Intersection” and the Sony Building. We also popped by UNIQLO again for some serious shopping before stopping for dinner at one of the nice fusion restaurants. The omelette rice was average but the atmosphere helped to salvage the whatever imperfections. And yes, the price was just right.


Shinjuku

We made our final pit stop at Shinjuku this evening to take in the views of the majestic structure ~ The Takashimaya Time Square. It was after 10pm when we reached and the complex was already closed. We didn’t have a chance to wander about in the huge shopping mall but I wasn’t too disappointed. Shopping centre hopping was not within our agenda for this Japan trip. We were more preoccupied with sight seeing and browsing through the colourful streets that were uniquely Japanese.

Looking back at the things I had bought so far for this Japan trip, I could see myself spending more Japanese Yen on shopping as we welcome our final few days in Tokyo. As soon as I reached our hotel, I made a quick check on the number of train rides we had utilized using our JR Pass. A whopping 30 rides over the past 7 days! The two way Tokyo and Osaka bullet train rides and the 1 way airport transfer had already made our “investment” value for $. The rest of the 27 rides were “bonus” for everybody.

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