Tokyo Tourists!

On Sunday, Mom and I had a crazy packed Tokyo day. First, we went to Asakusa, which was packed! The day was gorgeous and people were everywhere. We went to a Fodor’s recommended tempura place, which was not that good. The tempura was super-heavy, rather than the way I prefer which is light and delicate to the point where I can fool myself that it might actually be a healthy dish. Not that I need to think food is healthy to enjoy it, I just don’t like heavy fried foods and it is amazing how tasty and light really good tempura can be.

We took a Sumida boat tour from Asakusa to Hinode pier, which was the reverse direction from the other times I’ve taken it. Then we went to the Imperial Palace, which was huge and really seemed like an urban oasis. We could only see the outer gardens and remnants of the old castle wall, although the moat surrounding it was intact! There were a ton of joggers and cyclists exercising around the perimeter of the palace to the point that there were traffic cops directing pedestrians and cyclists at the stoplights. Bikers are so empowered here and I’m not quite sure why. I’m all for sharing the road among cars and bikes, but I am not a fan of sidewalk sharing especially when cyclists go full-speed in all sorts of crowds. But maybe I am crabby since I was almost hit this morning and it would have definitely smarted at the rate she was going. [tangent ending…now]

As Mom and I were approaching the main gate of the Imperial Palace grounds, a group of 5 Japanese university students ran up to us, asked if we spoke English, and then offered to give us a tour so they could practice their English. Although Mom and I had a initial suspicious moment of hesitation, we decided to go for it and it was great. The students were so nice and so funny. At one point, Mom was explaining that she didn’t like sushi that “jiggled.” They thought that word was so funny, mostly because when they looked it up in the electronic translator a lot of “other meanings” popped up, probably along the lines of “milkshakes bringing boys to the yard” type of jiggle.

We also learned what “Sagoy!” meant. It’s a slang word, mostly used by young people, with a lot of different meanings. In our case, it meant “Amazing!” When we were in Hakone, “Sagoy!” was said a LOT by a group of 5 young Japanese women when we were in the cable car and the sulfur spring valley came into view, which was over a hillcrest with a dramatic drop-away.

After the Imperial Palace, we went to Harajuku where there were more cute outfits than goth, which was a first for me. We saw the dancers and walked around for a second in Yoyogi Park. We walked up Takashimita-dori, then crossed over to Omote-sando dori. We went to the Oriental Bazarr, Bitsy’s, and the Omotesando station food court. Then we headed home and ate some udon noodles.