Tokyo and Iwate trip December 28 to January 4 - Part 2

On my first full day in Tokyo, I had a couple of plans. First, I wanted to take my MacBook to the Apple store in Shibuya to see if they could help me with my battery, which I was having problems with.

So, in the morning, after eating breakfast and saying goodbye to JR as he headed to work, I decided to walk from Roppongi to Shibuya. Now, normally, this would take about forty minutes to an hour. Not far! But on my journey, I somehow got lost and ended up walking through Aoyama cemetery, which is not unlikeable, but which took me about another forty minutes out of my way. Plus, when I realized which way I was going, I wasn't exactly close to Shibuya either. So I ended up in the Apple store in Omote-sando, another neighborhood in the bustling center of Tokyo.

Of course, upon my arrival, I was asked if I had an appointment, to which I replied, "No..." So they had me wait in line to make a walk-in appointment for the same day. However, when it got to be my turn and I explained my issue, the Apple guy asked to see my battery. When I pulled out the battery, which I had removed from the computer, he immediately said, "Oh, sorry, your laptop is a vintage model. So we can't help with your battery." I was crushed. He recommended I try to find a replacement battery somewhere like Akihabara, but I knew it would be beyond my budget anyway. So I headed outside, wondering what to do next.

The night before, I had posted on Couchsurfing about a ramen and gyoza festival happening in Tokyo that I wanted to go to. One person had expressed interest, but I couldn't quite get in touch with him. So I headed over there by myself. Now, I have to say that throughout my whole trip in Tokyo I had no idea how much trains were going to cost! Combining metro with JR (the railway, not the person!) cost me a pretty penny. If only I had planned better and knew when to buy unlimited day passes. Oh well, count this as a lesson learned.

I had to take three trains to get to the ramen festival, which was held at the horse racetrack. It was a little confusing at first, because upon entry I was handed a scratch card and a roster of horses (or something). But after I wandered around the grounds a little, I found the ramen festival! There were about five or six booths for ramen, and a few more for gyoza (aka potstickers). I decided to wait in one of the longer lines - of course that indicates popularity! - for Tokyo-style miso ramen. Miso ramen is already my favorite, so I wondered what Tokyo style meant. After a rather brief wait, I came to find out that it meant chashu meat (pork belly I think) with corn, bean sprouts, and a piece of nori seaweed. It was delicious!!! After slurping down the ramen, I was too full (and too price-wary) for gyoza, but not for a malasada doughnut! A Hawaiian favorite, this doughnut was also being sold at the festival, so I grabbed one. Then, I headed to Shibuya to meet with a new Couchsurfing buddy.

Once in Shibuya, I was a little early, so I went to the aptly situated Starbucks to try to catch the view of Shibuya crossing. Starbucks has a "seasonal" special drink right now: Chocolatey Banana Cocoa. It was pretty good! I had to sip it for a while as I waited for a place by the window to get my video of the legendary en masse crossing. And even though I got one, someone's rude hand snaked its way into my frame at the end!! >:( Oh well.

Then I met with T, a Couchsurfing veteran from Tokyo. We took a picture at the Hachiko statue (I love the story behind that statue, and it's so cute!), then headed off on a walk around Shibuya. We stopped in a couple stores, checking out the various manga and such on offer, then headed to dinner at a Thai restaurant. I learned that in Japanese, they use the Thai word for cilantro, which is pakchi (パクチー). Apparently they also sometimes call it coriander, the British way. You learn something new every day! The special dish at this restaurant was a kind of steamed chicken breast over rice, served with a spicy sauce, with cilantro and cucumber on the side, plus a clear soup. It was a perfect meal! And it was nice to talk with T about his various travels through the world.

After dinner, we made our way to an illumination, which is basically like Christmas lights on crack! It turned out to be a little underwhelming, much less flashy than the theme park illuminations on offer elsewhere, but I took some good pictures and a video that turned out all right. We also went to the 46th floor of the building nearby to see views of the city, which was really nice. By that time, I was exhausted from carrying around my laptop in my backpack all day, and we decided to part ways. What a great first day in Tokyo!