We were off to the Nintendo store and another Pokémon Centre on our first full day in Japan. The train system in Japan is a bit different than back in Australia. It’s a mix of government and private railways. They all have their own tracks, but they sometimes share stations. The closest station to us is Seibu-Shinjuku Station which is owned by Seibu Railway. It’s the end of the line. For us to get anywhere we need to catch a train backwards one stop to Takadanobaba Station and change to a government train (JR East) on the Yamanote Line. We then go back past the station we started at and away we go.

Now we could always walk 15 mins to another station with more connections but it’s not as fun as trains and our legs are sore.

We got on our first train to Takadanobaba Station. It was pretty dead. Gus got another random purple drink and we waited for and missed a few trains (You really need to be quick. They don’t wait long). We weren’t in a rush, so we just waited for a train to come to the platform we were sitting at. We finally got to Takadanobaba Station and changed to the JR East platform. The trains were late, and it was packed (Hendo-san warned us not to travel during peak times). People were just cramming themselves on the trains when they arrived. Gus and I hid next to a staircase and steel beam where we weren’t in anyone’s way and just watched. After about 30 mins it died down and we jumped on even though it was still pretty full. We went to Shibuya Station. This is the station that has the Hachiko dog statue and the Shibuya Scramble Crossing. There were too many people for us to we watched from a distance and then used the back roads to get to the shopping centre where the Nintendo and Pokémon shops were. On the way there a French family stopped us and asked if we knew the direction to the Pokémon Centre as their phones internet wasn’t working. He then said he asked us as Gus was wearing a Pokémon shirt and thought we were headed in the same direction. It was nice to be able to help someone particularly when we were trying to work the place out our selves.

We got to the shopping centre at 10:10. The it opened at 11am (Google lied to us!) so we went across the road to the Apple Store. I tried on some expensive watches and bands that aren’t in Canberra yet. I just had a sticky beak and got another watch charger for Gus and a new band for him as the old XL one of mine was a tad too big. I practiced some Japanese with the Apple Store peeps to see if I got a nod that I made sense. I felt safe practicing with my people 👨‍💻.

At 11 there was a mad rush to the shops. I always take my time though. I’m don’t want to fight someone over a Mario plushie. When we got to the 5th floor it was busy but not crazy. No need to rush. We stocked up some goodies in both shops (Pokémon cards are about $2 a pack here) and had a look for a jacket for me to cover my arm (Japanese Nannas kept on pointing at my tattoo and gossiping to their nanna mates). I couldn’t tell the difference between men’s and women’s shops and maybe there wasn’t one. I just didn’t want to be that silly Australian who buys a fancy blouse that looks like a jacket! I found one at an outdoor store. It had men on the tag so I knew I was in luck.

We made our way back to the train station and went to the ticket office to swap our Rail Pass order for tickets. The rail pass gives us unlimited use on the government trains for 14 days (including the bullet trains 🚅). I booked our first bullet train for 12:00 on Monday 06/11 to Nagoya. Should be fun.

We got back on the train and went to Harajuku. There were lots of people and crazy shops. We ended up having some Maccas for lunch as they had machines and I didn’t need to try and speak Japanese. I had a Fillet O Shrimp and Gus just had some chips and a melon Fanta. The crazy thing is that they had plastic straws! Also, there were tattoos everywhere! I decided then I was just going to be comfortable. It’s too hot for layers.

We then walked to our hedgehog cafe. We sat for an hour, gave pats to, and fed some little spiky hedgehogs. One just had a snooze the whole time and one was a bit grumpy. There was also a meerkat wandering around with a little safari vest on. We gave him a scratch as well. It was really quite and relaxing.

We then made our way back to our hotel and it was rush hour again… It wasn’t as bad this time but we did wait until things died down.

We just had dinner at the hotel. It was fancier than I had expected. Two sweaty Belconnen dudes getting served lightly toasted bread and olive oil, saffron risotto and some oven baked pork tenderloin that was served on a sizzling plate and sliced table side. I think we’ll just go to a random noodle joint tomorrow.