Today I met up with my Japanese relatives in Tokyo. It has been too long since I last saw them back in 2018. I still can't believe that five years has gone by. But I am coming to terms with the fact that these lost years are all water under the bridge now. I had a wonderful day chatting and wandering around Ebisu Garden Place and Shibuya. We had lunch at a really nice restaurant called Blue Note Place. This is the nicest food establishment that I've been in during this trip. For the most part I've been eating convenience store food (which actually isn't that bad in Japan). Today, I had a wagyu steak hamburger with veggies. It was a welcome change from what I've been eating all week!
After chatting for several hours (it seemed like only a few minutes), we proceeded to go on a shopping mission in Shibuya. I was asked by friends back in Canada to track down some items from cat products, leather pen holders, to Japanese jazz records. I was also looking for a new backpack for the trip home in a couple of weeks. It was a fruitful search and I was able to find almost everything that folks requested.
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| Banana vending machine in Shibuya |
Today was a bit warmer in Tokyo, hitting nearly 30C. The humidity was also up around 87%. As we were shopping I found this to be a bit challenging. In one store, the heat and humidity seemed particularly oppressive. My skin was so sticky and clammy. We came across a Starbucks and I ordered a mango frappuccino. This helped a lot to bring down my body temperature and I was feeling much better for a while.
As the afternoon progressed, it was time to leave Shibuya and go for supper at a traditional Japanese restaurant. Heading out of Shibuya we went through the Shibuya Crossing, perhaps the busiest "scramble" street crossing in Tokyo. I have seen some famous pictures of this area though I cannot recall if I've actually ever walked through it. The crossing lived up to its reputation - when the pedestrian light turned green, there was an absolute sea of humanity that we had to make our way through. Although it was crowded, there was a sense of well-controlled chaos. It was busy. It was crowded. It was kind of overwhelming. Yet, people were very well-behaved. This provided me with a whole new perspective on commuting.
After making it through Shibuya Crossing, we made our way to a Japanese restaurant called Yakitori Akira Nakameguro in a much quieter part of the city. I didn't really know where we were going - I just followed my relatives to the establishment and enjoyed the food and some more great conversation and reminiscing. It was great to have a proper meal this evening. I think that I've had my fill of convenience store food so far on this trip.
After supper I made my way back to Kanda and collapsed in bed exhausted. What a wonderful day this was in Tokyo. I saw some new things and did some overdue catching up with my relatives here. Life is good. I'm overflowing with gratefulness.
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