We had a really nice day out yesterday (Saturday 11th April). Clara had requested to visit Tokyo Tower and climb up the steps. Up until yesterday, I had never been inside / up the tower so Yuki and I thought it was a great idea. It was also a beautiful day with blue skies and a nice cool breeze - spring is well and truly here and the summer heat is just around the corner.The last time I visited Tokyo Tower was with Neil, a friend from Skye. We decided against climbing the tower because of the very long queue of people waiting to enter. There was also a long queue yesterday but as we were not taking the lift to the top, we could enter straight away and start our climb up the steps. Good exercise for us all and some nice views from the main observatory.
I was a bit peeved at the way the operators tried to squeeze every last ¥ (yen) out of us. I had thought that our initial entrance fee would allow us to climb to the very top, but it only got us to the main observatory. To climb to the secondary observatory would cost an additional ¥600 each. I really wanted to get to the highest possible point but really was not going to pay any extra.
Still the views were still very interesting and I was reminded what a monster Tokyo is - urban sprawl stretching as far as the eye could see. Clara also had fun playing on some of the amusements at the base of the tower and beat me at a game of air hockey.After Tokyo Tower, Clara and I went to a cafe while Yuki did some shopping. We then went for some dinner at an Italian restaurant which we all enjoyed. Clara was full of energy and spent a lot of time running around outside the restaurant after dinner. The restaurant is in a kind of amphitheater below a large office building so we could watch her running around like a lunatic and exploring. The exercise was really needed for her as she managed to eat a massive margherita pizza followed by a piece of chocolate cake.
Yuki then suggested that we visit the nearby Tokyo Metropolitan Govt Building, popular with tourists and locals alike for the views from the top. As it was nighttime by then, we were treated to all the colourful Tokyo lights. Tokyo is pretty by night and ugly by day.All in all, we had a great day together and I will have some fond memories to keep me going through the week while I am away from home. Golden Week, a week with 3 or 4 national holidays beckons towards the end of April and the start of May. I will probably have to work most of it but will try and get a day off so that we can all go fishing together. I'll keep you posted.
Tokyo Tower
4 comments:
aye,remember it well,strange don't recall the steps ever being discussed.must have been the searing heat and heavy smog that day!!or maybe 2 pair of aging knees-)great view.
The steps weren't discussed - I think we had a thirst coming on.
We too have been to Tokyo Tower and we did not 'do' steps either! We also went right to top, quite amazing and we plan to go back next time we are in Tokyo, hopefully Clara will join us.
Aging knees indeed!!! More like sore head from night before!
I can highly recommend you to have a lunch in Oregon Bar & Grill in Shiodome. For approx. 1500 yen per person you get a piece of grilled meat/fish and everything else is "all you can eat" (soup/salads/soft drinks/coffee/desserts/bread/onion rings or french fries), isn't that a good bargain? And the best thing - it's on 42nf floor, great view of Tokyo Tower, central Tokyo, Imperial Palace....
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