Day 5. 31^st May, 2007.

Another gentle start to the day, but we did manage to leave the hotel before 10 am. We caught JR Yamanote line to Shimbashi – the train was very crowded, just short of downright unpleasant, changed to the Ginza subway line and travelled to Asakusa. There we had a look at the houseboats on the river and then walked through the Nakamise shopping arcade to the Asakusa Kannon Temple. We explored, extensively, the adjoining small streets and then had lunch in a Pepper Lunch restaurant. Very nice food and very reasonably priced. Y500 for a main course of cubes of steak, bean sprouts, runner beans and a couple of slices of carrot, and a plate of rice. Other than the rice the food arrived on a very hot cast iron plate and one turned the cubes of meat to cook to taste. To order the meal we had to get tickets from a vending machine, thus paying beforehand for the meal without the need of any person handling money. Neat.

We strolled around Asakusa for a while longer and bought 4 bananas for Y98. Very tasty, too.

Then back on the subway to Ginza. We dipped briefly into the small Harrods section of the Mitzukoshi department store, then walked along the main drag until we found the Ginza Five arcade that I used to walk through when I had some free time when staying at the Imperial Hotel. Rosemary’s knees were complaining about the stairs that we’d had to climb so we slowly made the trek back to the Ginza subway station, took the subway one stop to Shimbashi, changed to JR and soon back to Shinagawa. This time we did not go wrong at all. Took more time and care and found our way around and out of the station OK. I did make one enquiry, but just to be sure, to be sure.

Rosemary had a snooze, I connected to the internet and nipped out to the local shops, then dinner, followed by blogging and photo stuff while Rosemary explored more of the shops in the hotel. And so to bed.