25.11.29 - Tokyo

Today we leave Ueno and head down the short 6-minute train ride to Tokyo Station. We'll be splurging for our last two nights with a stay at The Tokyo Station Hotel!

First though...Tokyo Station? Crazy busy. Thank goodness Google maps provides the best exit to reach your destination because I can see people getting so confused. And it's not that their isn't signage, there is, but it's so bustling and crowded that you can't stop to read the signs without probably bumping into someone running for a train. But we follow the Google maps advice for Marunouchi South Exit and end up in the South dome of Tokyo Station. I spot an illuminated sign for The Tokyo Station Hotel, but turns out that was the door for event spaces. Not quite what we want. Then, across the center, I see the non-event door. Score! Turns out it's their "sub-entrance", but it'll do just fine. We follow signs for the reception area and since it's early, leave our bags with the front desk to wander about before check-in.

Gotta say, just getting to the reception desk, this hotel is swanky. And with the Japanese hospitality on top of that, makes it feel even more swanky. Or as Mom says, it's very classy. But! Since we can't check-in yet, time to explore.

Exiting the hotel, you pop out into a large open courtyard area that, if you walked straight, would take you right to the Imperial Palace. Because this is still the active Tokyo Station, people are out and about. It's also Saturday which might be adding to that. All-in-all, it's a really nice space to wander.

Across the street, we spy a large building with the word BEAMS on the front. It probably wouldn't normally draw our attention, but we see people outside eating. Our curiosity is peaked so we head across the street to check it out. This is the Shin-Marunouchi Building and it's very nice inside. Also busy. But again, Saturday. We head up to the seventh floor where they have most of the foods places and pick a lunch spot. We decide on Mole Taqueria Y Bar, however there are so many other good looking places to eat. The food is very good and our favorite is the fish taco (the salad was also very good).

And of course, not a bad view from our perch either. Minus the crane.

After lunch, we browse each of the floors which include additional eateries and the rest is a mix of clothing and household goods. We wander for a bit before it's time for a coffee and snack. Meandering the basement level, which I believe connects three buildings via underground, we stumble upon Barbara Market Place. And they have coffee and dessert. Say no more. They have a coffee drink called "milk coffee" which is coffee steaped in milk. Never heard of this, so let's try it! Mom gets the iced version and I choose the hot version. It's a bit too much on the milky side for me, but very smoothe. With the coffees, we also order a dessert similar to a dutch baby. Hits the spot. This restaurant is also a nice place to just sit, enjoy some coffee and have conversation. They don't rush you so you can take your time and enjoy your meal. Very nice.

By now it's almost time for check-in so we walk back to the hotel. The staff speak English well so it's an easy check-in and I'm told our bags are already in our rooms, wow! They even have a bellhop (do they still use that term anymore?) walk us to our rooms. And the poor gal, our two rooms were very far apart. The walk to Mom and Dad's room was like going into the matrix in a fancy hotel, I swear the hallway kept getting longer and longer. But we make it! And wow, what nice rooms. Classy, definitely classy. Mom and Dad have a dome room in the North dome, overlooking the station floor. My room is on the palace side and looks out onto the courtyard area.

After settling in, time to wander the hotel! We find the various restaurants and bars in the hotel, there are quite a few restaurants although all but one are more fancy. At 5:00pm, we head to Bar & Cafe Camellia for drinks before dinner. And they have non-alcoholic gin and tonic! Unfortunately not as good as the G&T I had in Italy using Tanqueray 0%, but still refreshing.

After drinks, time to head across the street back to Shin-Marunouchi. Mom's craving Italian which sounds good to us and there were a few different Italian restaurants in the building. We get a table at Rigoletto Wine And Bar. This place is hopping and we got one of the last tables free. It's pasta, pizza and salad for us. The food is delicious, my only ding for the place is that it's very loud. But everyone was having a good time so it certainly made the place feel festive and alive.

Walking from the hotel to the restaurant and back was so nice. It's a really nice evening and even though this part of the city is busy with people, it's surprisingly quiet which makes for a lovely evening.

Sayonara!