I’m big in Japan: Ginza and Roppongi (2005 May 10)

Another trip on the subway (320¥) brought us back to Ginza, and I steered us straight to the Sony building. Spent a bit of time drooling over the high priced TVs, cameras, and other gadgets. Hunger was soon upon us though, and we headed to Hina Sushi, one of the restaurants in the department store across the street. We both picked the sushi meal that allowed you to pick out twelve different items. While we both had some of our favorites, we tried a few of the more exotic items you can’t often find in the US. Jm had some clam and scallops, while I settled for a succulent piece of shark fin.

The food was fantastic, but I wish I could say the same about the service. Where every other restaurant and store on our trip went out of their way to be courteous, the staff here seemed to give us the cold shoulder and was inattentive. Despite the great sushi, I’m not sure I would go there or give the place a glowing recommendation. After dinner, Jm wanted to stop at a stationary store the Lonely Planet guide recommended for its selection of washi paper. I was bemused when we found the place and discovered it was the same store we had been in after our city tour of Tokyo. Jm picked up a nice selection of stationary, and I picked out some gifts for my office mates (3853¥), and we headed out to find a landmark I saw in the guide, a statue of Godzilla.

The guide said it was in front of a toy store; my mind conjured up a large, colorful statue of the famous monster. Imagine my surprise when the statue turned out to be a tiny bronze affair; I was a bit disappointed but took a few obligatory shots of it. To end the night, we headed off on the subway (420¥) to Roppongi Hills to take some night shots of Tokyo Tower. Didn’t have the tripod with me, so the night shots didn’t come out great. Managed to get a few decent shots, but they are still a bit blurry. Our feet were exhausted at this point, and one last subway ride (380¥) took us back to our hotel and some much needed rest.