Final Day In Tokyo

The lobby of Hotel Metropolitan

Today is our final day in Tokyo. So how am I feeling? I feel torn. That's because on one hand, the thought of going home back to my loved ones & my guitars pleases me but on the flip side of the coin, the thought of leaving Tokyo & the cold weather here to face the fucking humid and hot tropical weather again back home depresses me.

My final wish before I go home is to visit again the place I found yesterday evening where me & my Lioness hung out the last time we were in Tokyo. One final bite of the memories and it will make it easier for me to tear myself away. Or perhaps harder. I can't decide. Painful as it may well be, I've just got to feed again.

I've told the girls last night about the area and Tokyu Hands. They are interested in visiting Tokyu Hands because they wish to check out the handy & quirky gadgets there. When I told them about the Sanrio shop, some of them didn't seem too interested though. Hhmm. So we made arrangements last night to go over there today.

And speaking of the previous night, Clarissa came knocking on our doors dressed up in this black maid costume with white apron and presented cups of tea on a tray for us as a funny nice surprise. My door closed by itself when I stepped outside and Lily asked me: "You do have your keycard with you, yes?"
"Oh shit!" I exclaimed and hauled ass down to the lobby and a hotel staff came up with me to open my door with their keycard while my colleagues laughed at me. I'm glad to be of entertainment value.

Ikebukuro in the day

So we are walking through the streets of Ikebukuro again as I lead the ladies to Tokyu Hands. Ikebukuro looks as handsome during the day as it looks pretty during the night.

As I'm walking, I commit to memory the features of the place and the route to Tokyu Hands because I know I will surely be retracing my steps back from the opposite direction should me & my Lioness come back to Tokyo and stay in Prince Hotel again so that I can show her what I've seen, tell her my story of the previous night and bring her to enjoy the famous Ramen along the way. I hope that will happen someday.

Back to the Tokyu Hands area

Reaching the area of Tokyu Hands, I started to give the ladies a bit of my history lesson as I tell them about my experiences the last time when I was here, showing them the sights and the Sanrio shop as we passed by it. It's still very cold and I remind myself to savor every bit of it because come tonight, I will be submerged in shitty humid weather again.

Some of the merchandise in Tokyu Hands

Inside Tokyu Hands, it's inevitable that as we shop, we separate ourselves into little shopping groups eventually as we get distracted by the merchandise. I'm with Lily and she decides to buy a haversack while for me, a made-in-Japan Porter sling bag which will cost me more than SGD$250.

Giving each other pointers & suggestions regarding our intended purchase, we chat up a lady speaking fluent English. Asking if she's from Hong Kong, she replies me that she's Japanese. Kinda rare to come across by chance a Japanese who can speak excellent English.

My tax rebate form

Because we are tourists, we can ask for tax rebates for every single receipt that amounts to ￥10,000 or more. Lugging the goods we have just paid for, Lily & me proceed to the tax rebate counter. We didn't have to lump our purchases together in a single receipt because our separate purchases amount to more than ￥10,000 each. Besides that Porter bag, I also bought an iPhone 4 cover & a phone accessory for a customer of mine.

Me outside Tokyu Hands

When we are done with our shopping at Tokyu Hands, we went outside to camwhore before heading over to the Sanrio shop. Upon reaching the shop, Clarissa & Angela say that they are not very interested in Sanrio and so they split to go shopping elsewhere while me, Lily & Jace go check out the shop. During the previous night, I bought a Melody soft toy here for my Lioness. I can't wait to show it to her.

Outside 無敵家 Ramen

My Ramen - An upgraded Déjà Vu

Everyone is supposed to gather at '無敵家' Ramen which is the most famous Ramen eatery in the area just a short walking distance away from our hotel. '無敵家' within the context of the Ramen industry means 'the best Ramen store without rivals.' The Ramen I'm having here is indeed a far cry from the Ramen I've had during the day we touched down in Tokyo.

Lending a shoulder to Ken in the Ramen eatery

After our Ramen lunch, we did some more last-minute shopping before going back to our hotel where a coach will take us to Narita airport for our flight home. While waiting in the hotel lobby, I took off my coat and went outside to enjoy the cold again in just jeans & t-shirt. Better drink in every last drop of the cold since I hate humidity so much.

Nakau and the area around it

Once we have loaded ourselves in the coach, it brings us around the vicinity on the way to the airport and looking out my window, Nakau suddenly pops into view and so I whipped out my phone quickly and took a picture of it which includes the area around it since it's a distance away. Memories about last night come flooding back and I start to picture myself walking through the area as I did yesterday evening. I think I'll become drunk soon if I continue to indulge further in my memories.

Outside Prince Hotel

I'm pleasantly surprised when the coach reaches Prince Hotel and just like Nakau, I took a snapshot of it. I feel like I'm going through a final recap of the places in Tokyo which have an impact on me and which have taken permanent residence in my memory as I head towards the airport to go home. I feel like bawling and there is this lump in my throat. I swallowed it hard.

At Narita Airport

Later, we reached Narita airport. Hopping down from the coach, I whipped out my phone and took a final snapshot outside Narita Airport where the cold still envelopes me. As we started moving towards the entrance of the airport, I took one long & deep breath of the cold air. The door then shuts behind me, leaving me with my memories to take home with.

Inside the plane, this air stewardess flirted with me and really paid attention to my needs. When we reached Changi Airport and alighted from the plane, I saw her with a guy and they seemed to be arguing.

Anyway, I went outside the airport cursing the humidity and Jace came out later to join me and we chatted awhile before going home after I helped her to load up her luggage into the boot of her cab.

My new Porter sling bag

Here are the bits I haven't mentioned about this Tokyo trip:

1) After the iterinaries of the day were completed, nights were spent roaming the streets either with my female colleagues or all by myself. My male colleagues slept early.

2) I drank lots of Sapporo beer. I'm also grateful to my Lioness for packing for me packets of my favourite 3-in-1 coffee to bring over with me.

3) There was this particular night when Jace & me got lost as we were roaming about the streets. Needless to say, the both of us enjoyed the experience. Jace is an inquisitive thrill-seeker as much as I am. Telling her it was better to be lost around the vicinity near the hotel rather than venturing into even more unfamiliar new areas in an attempt to locate the hotel, we soon found the Ramen shop after lots of wandering around. From there, we knew our way back.

So both of us treated ourselves to the Ramen there before the rest of our colleagues had the chance to >:) We even asked somebody to take a picture for us in the street. The sky can come tumbling down and me & my colleague-sister will still find ways to enjoy ourselves.

In conclusion, this Tokyo trip was a bitter-sweet experience for me but despite the painful ordeal of missing someone really terribly, I had a really impactful and eye-opening trip. This trip has made me aware about certain things regarding myself and that is an invaluable thing.

Sayonara, Tokyo. Till I come haunting your streets again..


- De Lion Speaks