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 Saw a lot
of Tokyo buildings from the river. Interesting architecture. Also had Asahi
beer on the cruise. 700 yen. Not cheap! The tour left Asakusa near KototoiBashi
bridge and followed the river down under a surprisingly large number of
bridges.
Here's the list of bridges we passed under: AsumaBashi, KomagataBashi, UmayaBashi, KuramaeBashi, JR Soubu line bridge, RyogokuBashi, Shin-ohashi, KiyosuBashi, Sumidagawa ohashi, EitaiBashi, Chuo-ohashi, Tsukuda-ohashi, KachidokiBashi and the cruise finally stopped at Hinode Pier just before the Rainbow Bridge!
Unfortunately the only stop was at Hinode Pier so the cruise was really for those who wanted a short cut to Odaiba. You could get a connecting ship to Odaiba from there. I just stayed with the cruise, having bought a return ticket, and went back to Asakusa. The commentary on board on the way down was in Japanese. The commentary on the way back was in both Japanese and English. This was particularly useful as I found out that the reason the Asahi building is gold with a white top is that it is an abstract architectural design representing a glass of beer!
Unfortunately no one else turned up so I left early and took a walk around Asakusa at night before heading back to the hostel. That night and early next morning I spent some hours looking for cheap accommodation online. I eventually found a place in Yoyogi, a short walk from Sangubash station in the Olympic Memorial Center. Could be an interesting place to stay. Limited to 3 days though. |
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Washing day! Also went to an izakaya somewhere in Asakusa and had a meal
and a beer. Very nice. Toshio rang me and organised our Osaka trip. Great!
Hopefully I can leave earlier to get there.
Checked out a theme park near the hostel. Not that exciting but interesting
to see so many rides packed so close together!
The cruise
also passed these areas - Ueno, Tokyo centre, Yurakucho, Shinbashi, Daimon
and Hamamatsucho. But the banks were so built up with buildings, advertising
and bridges that it wasn't really possible to see into these areas.
Then went
back and got ready for Le Shoes Live Band and Karaoke. After walking around
with the map in hand with an x and still not finding it because there were
3 buildings called Rox, I eventually found the hidden door by accident.
(I also checked out some department stores while I was wandering)
As it
turned out the band didn't happen as advertised but the two Japanese men
who were there insisted I join in and sing Sinatra, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett
and other singer's songs. I was able to convince them that I should sing
the Monty Python song - "Always look on the bright side of life" but I
don't think they'd ever heard of it. They certainly hadn't heard of Midnight
Oil either so I didn't bother with a rendition of "Beds are Burning"
Then a
Filipino woman who works there turned up and belted out a few songs too.
She was in her 40s and spoke Japanese, English, Filipino and Spanish fluently.
Impressive!