Day 24 - Tokyo (Shinjuku, Sugamo, Ueno and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building)

This morning we managed a little sleep in before heading out to the usual train station, catching Breakfast along the way. 

One of the daily turning points on the walk to Okachimachi Station.

Josh had an appointment with a Tattoo artist near Harajuku. Harajuku is a very popular shopping district in Tokyo. It is the home of Takeshita Street (I know what you are thinking, yes, it's an anagram), a very colourful shopping street closed off to traffic and filled with clothing stores and great unhealthy food outlets. The train trip from Okachimachi Station was around 30 minutes, passing 14 stations along the way. Once we arrived, we strolled down Takeshita Street at a pretty slow pace because we still had a bit of time before Josh's appointment was due. Every time that we have been to Takeshita Street, it has been bustling with lots of people, and we always manage to buy a Crepe filled with Ice Cream and Strawberries, and Bananas...this time was no different. After a while, Josh and I headed over to the Three Tides Tattoo studio so that he could check in for his appointment; however, the artist had called in sick, so there was going to be a 24 hour delay.

Josh and I met back up with the rest of the clan on Takeshita Street and we finished perusing all of the shops. We then decided to head out to Shinjuku Station to check out the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which is one of Tokyo's best and free Observation Tower Views. Though the trip to Shinjuku Station is only two stations on the Yamanote line from Harajuku and it all seems pretty straight forward, there are a few complications to consider when visiting Shinjuku Station.

• Shinjuku Station is the busiest train station in the world*. Every day 3.64 million passengers utilise six different train companies operating across 36 different platforms, not to mention the Subway as well.

• There are over 200 exit points to the railway station. Incredible, yet true.

Nonetheless, we managed to navigate our way through this maze, finally reaching above ground level nearly half a kilometre from the train's arrival platform. The signs to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building were also particularly helpful. 

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is the administration centre for the Government of Tokyo. When we arrived at the North Tower, we went through a mandatory bag check, before being hoisted up to the observation level on the 45th floor, some 202 metres above ground level. I say, North Tower, because there are two options, North or South, both are identical and at the same level.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building with its two towers.

This statue is titled, 'an appeal for peace by the citizens of Tokyo'.

The views from the top of the building were quite good, though we were still suffering some haze issues and lots of cloud greying the landscape, you could faintly make out the sides of Mount Fuji with its top obscured by clouds. At the observation level, there were a bunch of stalls selling Japanese souvenirs and assorted trinkets showcasing the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, there is also a Cafe. Note that I describe two towers and one building, it's because they are joined from the bottom up until around two-thirds of the height of the building.

The view towards the west.

A zoomed-in view towards the west. If you look closely, you can see Mount Fuji in the distance, surrounded by clouds. 

Hey! That guy in the window looks familiar.

Shinjuku-Chuo Park sits close-by to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

The impressive Mode Gokuen Cocoon Tower on the left is the second tallest educational building in the world and was awarded 'Skyscraper of the year' in 2008.

Dwarfed amongst the other buildings if the Tokyo Tower, which you can faintly see just to the left of the dark building in the centre of the photo.

Once finished observing, we all headed back down and retraced our steps back to Shinjuku Station, where we had lunch at a nice Japanese Restaurant in one of the adjoining shopping complexes. Afterwards, we split up and headed our separate ways, with all of us staying in and around Shinjuku for some shopping.
  

A serious team meeting taking place at the base of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Maureen's official Christmas portrait whilst shopping at Shinjuku.

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo's largest cities, boasting a large number of skyscrapers. It is famous for shopping and a very active night-life.

The Shinjuku Sumitomo Building featuring a cute Chibi-Godzilla on the side.

The Mode Gokuen Cocoon Tower.

Once done with our shopping, Maureen, Josh and I headed back to the station and caught the loop train six stations in a clockwise direction to Sugamo Station, because I had an appointment with a diecast aircraft model shop. However, as hard as it is to believe, there was nothing there of interest to me, and there were lots of models. Whilst our stay in Sugamo was very brief, I did manage to take some  dusk photos of passing trains. 

Trying some motion blur.

Crossed a busy road to capture trains arriving and departing from the Sugamo Train Station.

Soon after, we headed back to a cool train-themed restaurant in Okachimachi called the ChouChou POPON Burger and Pub. We ate burgers there and finished up with cocktails named after our favourite trains and Shinkansen.

Note the train line in the background.

The train lines are everywhere.

Kyle's E-6 Shinkansen Cocktail in the foreground, whilst my Yamanote Loop Train Cocktail sits  in the back.

We then headed back home, but not before I headed out to Ueno to try taking some night photos.

The view across Shinobazuno Pond near Ueno.

The Tokyo Skytree in the distance.

Looking back the other way towards Okachimachi from the Shinobazuno Pond.

Shinobazunoike Bentendo Temple is situated on an island in the middle of the pond.

Ueno Park.

The Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple.

Looking back towards Ameyoko Markets that join Ueno and Okachimachi.

A statue of Saigo Takamori, one of the generals in the Battle of Ueno.

* Interesting fact - The 2nd, 3rd and 4th busiest train stations in the world are also on the Yamanote loop line around Tokyo. They are Shimbashi (2), Ikebukuro (3) and Ueno (4).