From there we walked up in the direction of the train station (and laughed again at the crazy noises of the pedestrian crossings!) and found a Starbucks. It was freezing outside (3 degrees) so a hot beverage was definitely in order. I asked for my regular decaf cappuccino which they didn't do but they did have decaf filter coffee. It left me very disappointed as it tasted like mud. Dee had a Chai Latte - definitely a better option for next time!
We walked around the main shopping area popping into some of the major department stores including Isetan. We found one store and both Dee and I walked out with some new silver jewellery. We kept walking until we found Takashimaya which contained an 8 level branch of a chain store called Tokyu Hands. We spent ages in the store going through the various levels. We each picked up some cards and other stationary bits and pieces. The highlight however was Dee trying on the Eggplant costume. Who knows why you would ever need to dress up as a vegetable but I guess you never know. We also picked Sue up a birthday present - some toilet paper with Yen printed on it so you could wipe your bum with money - classy!
Also at Takashimaya, we had our best toilet experience yet with clear instructions how to clean your bottom and also toilet flushing sounds to disguise the real sounds of going to the toilet - brilliant!
After our epic Tokyu Hands experience we were ready for some more food. We found this little Tendon (tempura and rice) shop and the lady helped us order mixed tempura with a small bottle of sake. The tendon was delicious but the sake was like drinking paint thinner. It did leave us a little merry for the afternoon.
On the way back to the hotel we walked up to the local garden although it was closed. We did find a small shrine in the backstreets and then wandered our way back to the hotel from there through an area with tiny 2 story bars and also the local gay nightclub area. All very interesting.
Back at the hotel we tried to contact Sue and Julie and made plans to meet up tomorrow. We rested for a while before getting ready to head out again for dinner. We walked over to the other side of the train tracks and found the Shinjuku Sumitomo building and headed up to the 50th floor for dinner. We stopped in at a wine bar for a drink first which gave us a great night view of Shinjuku. They seated us on a love seat by the window - very romantic. We enjoyed our wine and about half way through, all the lights went out and the blinds closed on the windows in front of us. Just as Dee and I were wondering what was going on, the blinds completely opened up and things continued on as normal - very bizarre but at least now we had an unobstructed view.
After finishing our wine, we went to Kuu for dinner, a local charcoal grill restaurant. We ordered a few things to share, charcoal steak and chicken as well as a miso dip-type thing which we ate with cucumber, and enjoyed another drink while chatting away. We were soon learning that English is not widely spoken. When the waited brought our water, he explained that we had a lump of charcoal in it - weird.
On the way back, it started to snow - amazing! We stopped in at a tiny British pub in the red light district for one last night cap before heading back to the hotel and bed. A great first day in Tokyo!
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