Last day in Japan

Buddha must have thought that we'd had enough sunshine on our trip. We woke up to rain. What a lousy way to spend our last day in Tokyo. Oh well, nothing to do but equipe ourselves with raincoats and umbrellas. 

We went off to see the Tokyo Business Forum which is well known for its crazy architecture. I have to agree, the place is truly impressive. 

and then headed towards the imperial palace. Though its closed throughout the year, there are gardens which are open on the east side of the palace. We decided to head over there on foot. But with each step we took, we got wetter and colder and it was still so very far. We saw a bit of the palace from the outside of the grounds, and then some other part of the palace buildings 

And then I gave up. I knew Ori was going along with the wet plan of the garden for me and didnt really care whether or not we saw it. So, as we saw this place, I said - ok, lets go. Im done. I need heat and to be dry. He happily agreed and we were treated to a little show by a couple of swans on our way to the JR station. 

We got to the trainstation and felt much better. 

For a few days now Ori has been saying that he wants to get a haircut as soon as we get home. He joked about getting a cut while in Japan. Well, why put off till tomorrow what you can do today? So right there in the subway station we saw a cute little barbar shop with three chairs and three barbers. We walked in, paid for the cut at the machine and waited for Oris turn.

Easy, right? Nope. try explaining how short or what you want done when you dont share a language. It took a while, and there were a few seconds of apprehension, but in the end, all is fine and Ori's hair is freshly cut and vaccumed (yup, they vacuume the top to catch all the little bits)

Then we got on the subway and continued our last exloration of the city. This is Oris natural position on the train. Its not that he doesnt know the stops by heart or how long it takes to gt from point A to point B and how long between each stop. Its just that he likes to follow the electronic board as it moves us along from stop to stop. 

Each train station is massive and contains a million passages and just as many exists and lots of shops. All is clean and sparkly and no garbage anywhere in sight. They are often very nicely decorated as well - this is Shinjuku (I think).

Oh, and I finally bought my tea pot! Yayyyy. I have been driving Ori crazy with my search for the perfect traditional caste iron tea pot. Whenever I saw one, they would be either too small, too big, painted some colour (which is nice, but not the traditional black that Ive wanted for years) or the problem most often seen - wayyy too expensive. Yamamoto, our guide in Shirakawa-go said that I would be able to find one near the temple at Asakusa. So off we went in search of the tea pot. Again the same problem. I was starting to think Id made a mistake not buying the one I saw in Kyoto, or that maybe I should give up on the black and get green. Green is nice. I like green. On a whim, we went into the tourist information office in Asakusa and asked. They immediately knew what I wanted and looked it up online and took out map after map after map. They dont do single maps here - ever. There is always an accompanying map to the first one and sometimes a third. So we got a map of the area, a map of the cookware district (thankfully within a few short minutes walk) and a list of the stores on the block of the cookware district. We also got to see a photo of the store logo and Ori was told to take a photo of it so we would know how to identify the store. And off we went to find my tea pot. We indeed found a street of kitchen supply stores and eventually even found the one that was recommended. It unfortunately did not have my tea pot, but two doors down- success! 

Photos to come at a later date as its already packed away. Or you could always come for a cup of tea sometimes. :)

We went exploring the Sony building and tried out their experimental stuff. I left Ori alone for a few seconds and this is what I came back to find. He had no idea I was watching him. 

We then went walking around Ginza but then it started to rain again so we headed back to the hotel to drop off the heavy bags (caste iron tea pot, remember?) and go look for a place for our last Japanese dinner. As wee were walking to the hotel from the train station we heard Klezmer music. We both looked at each other and thought - odd place to hear this. And we went exploring to see from where the music was coming. This was the origin - 

Crazy. I think someone got more than a little confused. Arabian nights playing Klezmer music. Thats TOkyo for you. Always showing you something new. 

On to dinner. The hotel recommended a place nearby and we werent disappointed. 

Definitely recommended. Too bad I dont remember the name right now. But it was within walking distance of our hotel which was great. 

We put off getting back to the hotel as long as we could (yuck, packing!) but we still had some wine to finish off and I had a bath with my name calling out to me. Woohoo. 

So there you have it. Thats it for our honeymoon. We've had a fabulous three weeks and now its time to go back home and back to reality. 

Cheers to you, our family and friends. Its been great. 

We hope you enjoyed reading as much as we enjoyed writing and experiencing it.