Highlights: Tokyo at Night

Let’s get real here. After action packed days, how much night life do you think this jet lagged group experienced? If you’re looking for bar hopping photos, you’ve come to the wrong blog. At our ages, we are quite abit more sedate—at least so far. But we did still manage to pack in quite a bit AND be in our jammies before 10:00 PM. Here are just a few highlights.

Shopping Centers

You might think shopping centers are not very exciting. I would encourage you to think again. You see, SOME shopping centers in Tokyo have outdoor platforms which offer SPECTACULAR views, like this one, which overlooks the Imperial Palace.

A vertical mall is the best way I can describe Tokyo’s shopping centers.

This one featured a particularly eye-catching mystery object. (At least it was a mystery to ME)

Having no clue what it was, I reached out to my Japan expert, 9 year old Oliver, who knew immediately that it Miraidon. Still in the dark, I consulted Ms Google, who offered further enlightenment. You are looking at a Pokémon character, which is also a drivable vehicle!

For those who wish to learn more, here’s the link.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2024/03/15/companies/toyota-pokemon-mobility/

The “malls” also house an abundance of restaurants. Our very congenial group has gotten quite efficient at selecting dining venues despite what has been a mind boggling selection. One night we had one of our best meals ever—delicious Wagyu beef. With our beverage of choice (mine was an alcoholic lemonade) my cost was $20.20 TOTAL ( I already checked my credit card online).

Sorry, no food photos. Did I mention my lemonade had alcohol in it? Knowing that, what do you think are the odds that I forgot a few possessions in the restaurant? Fortunately, a member of our group was on “baby sitting” duty that night.

I DID grab a quick shot of one of the floors while riding the escalator down. Why? Who knows. Blame it on the lemonade.

After visiting the famous Shibuya Crossing, four of us decided it was time for some fine dining, so we chose a restaurant with great food AND an equally wonderful view.

Mass transit experiences

I’d heard that Tokyo’s system is easy to use. Maybe it is, if you have no other options, but WE were lucky to have Mori, who gave us a tutorial on how to get from point A to point B. ( if truth be told, he needed to do it more than once for our group).

Mori very thoughtfully purchased subway cards for us, preloaded with enough credits to allow multiple subway rides. The expandable carrier he gave us is a major stress reducer for someone like me. Without it, I would have been frantically searching through purse and pockets every time I approached the turnstile.

Light show

Tokyo’s government building in Shinjuku is the largest projection mapping site in the world. It’s a free 10 minute show, playing every night between 7 and 9 PM.

Cruising the streets

Streets are clean and safe and the architecture is breathtakingly beautiful at night.

It might not be obvious from the photo below and the header on this post, but the video playing on the billboard is three dimensional. I was so mesmerized, it was time to cross the street before I thought “ Damn, I should video this for the folks back home”.

Remember the splurge meal I mentioned earlier in this post? What better way to end than with a photo of my dessert and Sally’s empty champagne glass? Maybe a photo of the 4 party girls taking mass transit home might be better, so I’ll throw them both in.