Tokyo: Thursday, 11/7
After yesterday, I knew I’d reached a point where I had to see a doctor, so after some pastries we set out for the Sanno Hospital. Andrew and the girls went back to Nikoniko Park while I settled in to wait. There were multiple steps to register and pay, not all of which I understood, but by brandishing my passport and credit card and using some miming, I was able to eventually get myself seen by a doctor. He diagnosed bronchitis and prescribed a slew of medicines, advising me to “be careful” of the antibiotic since I’m allergic to so many other ones. The pharmacy was right there at the hospital, so getting the medicines was just another step in the process (of which there were many).
When I was finally released, I met Andrew and the kids at the Aoyama Itchome subway station, and we headed to Akihabara for a tempura lunch. We’d wanted to go to Akihabara because I’d found a Time Out article that listed the biggest gachapon places in Tokyo, and one of them was in that neighborhood. And it was huge, with just tons of gachapon machines. The girls chose a bunch (and I chose a few too). We walked around the neighborhood for a bit, past lots of “maid cafes” and other perplexing Tokyo standbys.
We then took the subway to Asakusa and visited the enormous Senso-ji temple. This is such an amazing place, a real site of pilgrimage for actual worshipers. We wandered around and just took it all in, breaking for vending-machine drinks. Then we walked some of the bustling streets around the temple and stopped for some ice cream. We finished the day with a boat ride down the Sumida River, then took a taxi back to our hotel. (A taxi was our way of “taking it easy.”)
Dinner was a highlight: delicious ramen at Ittenbari Ramen in Akasaka (our home neighborhood). It was a tiny place, no tourists, definitely no kids. We ordered from laminated menus while we waited in line, and our food was delivered once we were seated. The girls had gyoza and fried rice, both specialties of the restaurant, according to the friendly locals behind us in line; Andrew and I had ramen. The hot soup was exactly what my cough-wracked body required.
When I was finally released, I met Andrew and the kids at the Aoyama Itchome subway station, and we headed to Akihabara for a tempura lunch. We’d wanted to go to Akihabara because I’d found a Time Out article that listed the biggest gachapon places in Tokyo, and one of them was in that neighborhood. And it was huge, with just tons of gachapon machines. The girls chose a bunch (and I chose a few too). We walked around the neighborhood for a bit, past lots of “maid cafes” and other perplexing Tokyo standbys.
We then took the subway to Asakusa and visited the enormous Senso-ji temple. This is such an amazing place, a real site of pilgrimage for actual worshipers. We wandered around and just took it all in, breaking for vending-machine drinks. Then we walked some of the bustling streets around the temple and stopped for some ice cream. We finished the day with a boat ride down the Sumida River, then took a taxi back to our hotel. (A taxi was our way of “taking it easy.”)
Dinner was a highlight: delicious ramen at Ittenbari Ramen in Akasaka (our home neighborhood). It was a tiny place, no tourists, definitely no kids. We ordered from laminated menus while we waited in line, and our food was delivered once we were seated. The girls had gyoza and fried rice, both specialties of the restaurant, according to the friendly locals behind us in line; Andrew and I had ramen. The hot soup was exactly what my cough-wracked body required.
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