Day 5 – Shinagawa

Transferred by metro to Shinagawa this morning, about 1/2 hour southwest, noting that my luggage is ridiculously heavy already; I didn’t think I had done THAT much shopping LOL…. Fortunately the Tokyo system is pretty accessible, so with a bit of planning to locate the elevators I only had one set of stairs to tackle.

Long line for left luggage at the new hotel which is a megalopolis… three huge towers reminscent of Las Vegas. The antithesis of my choice. Repacked and dropped off the majority of the luggage and headed out to explore Shinagawa. The tourist sites recommended the shopping and entertainment areas around the hotel as a top visit choice (!) but I headed out to the closest garden which was an oasis in this densely built up city, and wandered around the embassy district surrounding which was quiet, green and pleasant. It was quite a warm day and unfortunately not in shorts today; this would have been a day for shorts and sandals.

Gotenyama gardens

After that respite from the bustle I trotted over to a charming book/coffee shop before heading over to Tennozu Island, reputedly the equivalent of Granville Island; trendy, artistic and lots of restaurants and pubs. I was routed through a lovely residential area; love that everyone has a bike and bike storage is everywhere!

And, there are potted plants EVERYWHERE.

Lots of little alleyways and walking paths – sometimes so narrow between houses you wonder how the servicing of the meters can be possible!

It is a holiday in Japan today, culture day; “A day for promotion of culture and the love of freedom and peace. On culture day, schools and the government award selected persons for their special, cultural achievements. The day was originally a public holiday because it was Emperor Meiji‘s birthday. Later in 1946, the post-war constitution was promulgated on this date which led to the establishment of Culture Day.” The fields in Tennozu Island were filled with soccer games and croquet (seniors), but much of the island’s retail stores were closed. It was a lovely day to sit and watch passersby though, and wander around looking for statues and sculptures. A band tried to get going across the river, but never quite made it through more than one song…

Then I stumbled into this AMAZING art store – Debbie, you should have been there…. It was called “Pigment” and it was stunning.

Store entrance

I got to chatting with the cashier, and she gave me a free entrance into the art show next door in the “What?” gallery – an interesting display! These were my favourites:

So, finally made it back to check in at the hotel and already missing my very basic APA (previous hotel). No coffee provided, only ONE outlet, and albeit the room is about twice the size it’s hot and stuffy, the ac doesn’t appear to work and no window to open. Hate these monolithic hotels… There are quiet closes on everything at the APA, and the thumping here is noticeable with doors slamming etc. At the last hotel there are frequent reminders to keep it down in corridors in consideration of others, and folk here are yakking on the way down… it is much more Western. Got a welcome package from the tour group at check in and suggestions that we visit Tokyo museums today rather than tomorrow as they are closed on Mondays; seems fairly useless information as it’s 45 mins back to Tokyo and the information was only given at checkin (we weren’t allowed to check in before 3 pm. making for a not inconsiderable queue at 3 p.m)…. Most of the museums close at 5.

Hotel view – Shingawa from the 18th floor. Used to be a trading/shipping centre, but the warehouses on Tennozu island, for example, have all been converted.

I filled in my health insurance form for tonight’s meeting, and headed up to the 39th floor where I’d read there was a bar and reputedly a view of Mt. Fuji. An easy way to see it, I thought! Unfortunately it’s too hazy today to see, so I passed on the $15 beer and headed back down to the hotel room to get organized. A 6:30 p.m. meeting in the lobby with the tour guide, a lemon squash back on the 39th floor during the trip briefing then a traditional Japanese dinner en groupe at a restaurant a short walk away rounded out the day. Good thing I am a pescetarian! There is a gluten intolerant person with us, but as much is rice based she should be okay?