Our big rule for this trip is that Elias must curb his desire to see everything and fill every day with exhausting activities.

I’m doing ok. I couldn’t quite sleep in as much as Marthese this morning, and decided to pop out solo to Shibuya for a quick shop and a burger. Explored Tsutaya where I finally found a 3DS case that I won’t be embarrassed about pulling out on the bus, tried a “Freshness Burger”, the first of what I hope to be many Japanese burger chains, and popped into a Pachinko machine parlor. Pachinkos are basically this weird fusion of pinball and poker machines, and they’re huge in Japan. The sound inside the building was deafening, like a million metal balls crashing around your ears. Madness.

We did a little grocery shop (mostly to stock up on vegetarian options) and spent the day chillin’.

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Damn, that was something special!

For my birthday, Marthese organised an evening at one of the best Kobe Steak restaurants in Japan (we’re still not entirely sure what it’s called, we think it might be called simply “Kobe Steak”). Our chef cooked on the hotplate directly in front of us and chatted with us all night, while cooking absolutely divine meat and veggies for us. The steak was out of control delicious, basically melted in my mouth. Despite the chef being politely bemused by Marthese’s vegetarianism (“Do you drink alcohol?”) and at one point cutting up small pieces of the steak for her to try, he was entirely accommodating and ensured Marthese had a wonderful meal. A truly memorable meal, one that will be hard to beat! Thanks, Marthese, an incredible birthday treat.

The restaurant was in Ginza, the classier end of town, and we popped into the Sony Building before dinner and checked out the wonderfully presented showcase. It still feels like a missed opportunity that they haven’t got permanent historical exhibitions, opting instead to have their top floor exhibition space dedicated to Mariah Carey music videos in “HD”. A fun visit though, and I stopped myself from buying a super fancy new tablet to replace this dying one. Got Tez some much needed Noise Canceling headphones for surprisingly cheap, though!

After our feast we made our way back to Shibuya to take in the lights and some live music on the street. Heading back to our apartment, we popped into a small basement bar where I suspect we paid a little too much for the amount of Sake they gave us, but the peaceful atmosphere and charming hosts (one who spoke passable English and another who spoke none) made it worthwhile.

These hosts were also quite curious about Marthese’s vegetarianism. “Do you eat beef? Oh, no, OK. Um, do you eat fish? OOOHH, OK. Do you eat cheese? AH YES! Aaahhhhh, cheeeeesee!!! Very good!”

Below are some photos from Marthese’s mobile:

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The sun came out today, so we walked.

40 minutes from our door on foot and we arrived at Yoyogi, home of the Meiji Shrine where the titular Emperor is buried. A beautiful walk through tall shady trees to an active Shinto temple where we also got to see a rather unique wedding procession.

The Meiji Gardens were quite pretty, with the lilies in full bloom. At a Park Guard’s insistence, Marthese washed her hands at a natural well for good luck, while the guard asked me if I’d seen the Ninja Samurai. I looked around in panic (“Ninja, where?”) much to the amusement of the guard and the other visitors. He calmed me down, assured me they were only in movies. It’s only day two but so far Marthese and I are having a great time chatting with the friendly locals.

Next door is Yoyogi Park, home to much activity on Sundays, so we’ll probably come back. For now we just strolled around, met a bunch of dogs (and a rabbit), paid way too much money for fresh juice, chatted with some of the friendly locals, and watched numerous groups learning dance moves together while being yelled at.

All the hip kids shop on this one street in Harajuku, but somehow they let Marthese and I in. Lots of great clothes shops, and we picked up a few gifts for the folks back home. Finding vegetarian food was a bit of a task, but we’re slowly getting better at it. The concept of someone who doesn’t eat meat (especially fish) is not so common around here.

For the first time ever, I waited in a line to enter a store. Marthese describes Asoko as a store of “cheap, cheerful things for your house”. We popped in on the way home and grabbed a few more super-cute gifts and maybe a little something for ourselves. On the wall were the words “She’s like a rainbow.” I thought that was a nice hip sentiment, until I realised that it was also the name of the Rolling Stones song that was playing in the store. On loop. All day. As great as that song is, I suspect they’ll burn through quite a few staff members….

Tonight I get a lovely dinner surprise from Marthese. She has booked a super fancy place in Ginza. I might even wear a collar.

I’m gonna try to post a photo gallery. Hopefully this works:

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So tired! Let me list for you the day:

– 9 hour flight straight to Tokyo, 90 minute transfer to Shibuya. Some sleep. Not enough.
– Discovered our charming little Air BnB apartment in a surprisingly quiet end of South Shibuya, but a stone’s throw away from the lights and masses. Amazing spot.
– Coffee. Cream of the Crop. They will take all our money for the next 2 weeks.
– Drizzle, but never poured. Oh, our luggage got quite wet though, probably in Sydney (which was pouring when we left).
– Movie. Tomorrowland. A way to kill some hours before we could get into our apartment. Would’ve loved it if I was 12.
– We were directed to machines to buy our movie tickets, and we got most of the way through the touch screen prompts until we hit the ticket prices, and noticed a discount for ‘Marriage 50’. We thought, oh, that’s nice, 50% off for married couples! We double checked with the attendant, and she tried to explain. We interpreted what she said as meaning the ticket was for people who were married for 50 years. We laughed. Tez just checked, if one of us was over 50 years old, we’d have been eligible.
– Food. Traditional Okinawan lunch. I had some delicious pork and offered to share 2 dishes with Marthese. Just as well, as we got some surprise minced meat with her tofu and some fish flakes sprinkled on top of her noodle. We need to say “begetarian” a little more.
– Food. Indian. Solid.

Now I’ve put this down so I don’t forget it, and can collapse in front of the TV and try not fall asleep…..