Traipsing around Tokyo

I have been super stoked since learning that my friend could meet up with me while I'm in Tokyo. I met her at Akihabara Station, where I had been nursing a cup of coffee for an hour. I'm glad she showed up when she did because I had just finished my coffee. No free refills!

First, we took a cab to Asakusa (the pronunciation is really truncated - like Asak'sa). 

It was raining and still jam-packed with tourists. KK-san (I'm going to refer to her like this to make it easier!!) said that if it was sunny, then we would have been fighting our way through the crowd. :-/ here's to the rain, then!!

We then went to get lunch at a tempura place because I was starving. 

The green dust is matcha salt- it was very nice. I used it liberally!!

KK-San had a side of pickles. 

Here's some rice with the matcha salt sprinkled over it. 

And standard Japanese green tea. 

And my veggie tempura. 

Don't worry!!! That green Serrano looking pepper was not hot at all. 

After lunch and catching up a bit, we went back to the main stall area and to the Buddhist temple. 

If you're unfamiliar, like I was, you can purchase items or paper wishes and then  the caretakers will put the paper wishes in the shrine and that will help them to come true. KK-San said that most people starting a new business do this. 

I may go back and get me some luck during my second stay in Tokyo. 

Here's a guy making rice cakes. 

So I was pretty much passive since I was able to meet up with KK-San. I was more excited that I was able to see her!  It's been almost 10 years since we spent any major amount of time together. Once again, the wedding didn't count. So KK-San suggested we go to the Tokyo Sky Tree. I'm all like yes! Because I'm a blank slate that day. 

The Tokyo Sky Tree is a newly opened skyscraper that has two sets of observation decks. The Sky Tree is surrounded by a mall, which has a department store with lots of fruits and vegetables. Everything looks beautiful and fresh and delicious!

Yes, that's $15 for a mango. KK-San said that those were a particular type of mango that's prized. IMO, the melons and the mangoes look like babies. Very pricey babies that I want to eat. 

 As I'm walking through grocery store after grocery store, there's a sort of reverence towards food here. Reverence or maybe pride. Or both?  I think that's pretty cool. 

Anyway, back to my day with KK-San. 

KK-San bought us tickets to go up to the first observation deck. KK-San said that they gave us the complimentary stickers because visibility was poor at the top. 

(My ticket, stickers, and pamphlet about the skyscraper.)

So yes, visibility was poor :-(

But I was really there to experience the top, have my ears pop a few times, and mostly talk to KK-San. :-)

So KK-San said that there's a new health trend in JP where vinegar is being used on a lot of things. So I was like sure thing, LETSDOOIT and it also gave me the opportunity to say a small thank you to KK-San. so I got a blueberry vinegar soymilk and she got a Fuji Apple vinegar sparkling water. 

I forgot to take a picture of hers!

I know what you're thinking because I thought it too. The soymilk did not curdle. And I seriously nursed this drink to he point that cheese could have formed. 

So in addition to a vinegar snack bar, they also have the glass floors installed. (There were a number of people afraid to walk out on them - it was kinda cute when one couple with a more daring member was ushering the very timid other into the glass. Haha. Pretty much sums up most relationship at any point in time. )

So this is the low visibility picture. 

And when the cloud broke up enough to see down to the ground a bit. 

And here's us at the top of Sky Tree 

A little known fact: KK-San is the first person I met in my first class of my first year in college. 

Since I was a blank slate and KK-San had some errands to do, I was like sure thing I'll go with you and see what a typical shopping experience is like. So we went to Roppongi Hills and went to a couple of department stores set up similarly to Bloomingdales with high-end goods. So of course, there's going to be a pit stop at some point in time - and I was in such a rush to use the bathroom that I didn't realize that I got into a squat toilet stall. Oh well, it was bound to happen eventually. So when in Rome. 

A view from the top. 

The only thing I needed to do this day was get my tickets for The Ghibli Museum and omg, I am so happy that KK-San helped me out!  Here's my receipt with something close to my name in Kanji. 

There's no CC info here, in case you were interested. I paid in cash and KK-San wrote my name. :-).  There is no way that I would have been able to do this myself!  For those of you who are wanting to visit the museum, buy them ahead of time and in your native language. It'll be much easier for you!!

And then we had dinner at a really nice udon restaurant - I didn't take any pictures of the restaurant. Sorry :-(. I was more enthralled by the whole experience. 

So after dinner, KK-San rode with me on the train back to my hostel, where we said goodbye and I promised her a care package. It has definitely been the happiest day of my trip so far!!!!!!!

Thanks KK-San for taking me around and taking care of me!!! You're the best!!!