Nothing pre-planned on the agenda today so we slept in and were not ambitious in what we put together for the day. We decided to start with what we call “coffee shop time” which is, in fact, us spending time in a coffee shop. We do this in our hometown on a semi-regular basis – bring the laptop and reading and knitting and headphones and videos, and chill in a coffee shop for a couple of hours. Sometimes it’s a brewery. This is that DINKWAD life, people.
We weren’t terribly sure what the culture was in Japan around loitering in a coffee shop so we kept it easy and walked a few blocks to a Starbucks. I know, why are we spending time in an American chain but honestly checking out American chains in other countries can be fun since they typically have different offerings and you can check out locals (if you’re in the right neighborhood). And sure enough, this Starbucks was chock full with locals doing their own loitering. It felt like home except the bicycles outside weren’t locked up.
After awhile we dropped our extra belongings back at the hotel and walked the 1.2 miles to the Uniqlo flagship store in Ginza. Originally I had planned to do this when Scott is going to be away at an amusement park all day (coming up on Tuesday). But right before we left Seattle I needed to head to a local Uniqlo to pick up another pair of my favorite shorts to wear under a skirt, and Scott came with me. While we were there Scott became enamored with some items he saw and I convinced him to wait until this trip to see if they were cheaper in Japan. So, alas, Scott joined me on this pilgrimage to one of my favorite clothing stores.
As we got into Ginza we were delighted to see that they close down the big thoroughfare to traffic on Sundays. Loads of people were out just wandering along the large avenue enjoying the scene. It was still hot out but a bit less humid so we were able to enjoy it.
We also wanted to grab lunch but I was wondering if we would be able to find a decent budget option considering the stores in this neighborhood. This is Gucci territory. I can’t remember if I found it on my phone or we just stumbled across it. It was called Blue Lily and it was a steakhouse and Chinese food restaurant that advertised a “dim sum lunch”. It was kind of oddly tucked down into a basement so we were a bit tentative as we approached. But dang it was so pretty down there. Kind of this old school Chicago steakhouse vibe like Sinatra might be sitting in a corner booth.
It wasn’t dim sum like we are used to with carts of tiny plates being wheeled around and you praying that the thing you’ve pointed to isn’t still alive or some unspeakable animal body part (sorry, I’m not a dim sum fan if you couldn’t tell). We just ordered from menus and the food was very tasty and very filling. We had the biggest gyoza I’ve ever seen. Scott had a super tasty beer from Tokyo Sumidagawa Brewing. All in this environment that felt above our pay grade. Total bill for this splurge? $32. Japan is SO AFFORDABLE.
It was time to head over to my own kind of temple. The Uniqlo flagship store is 12 stories. Seriously. The levels aren’t terribly big, but still… 12 stories. We were in there for a bit going through everything. I think maybe a couple of hours? Scott found quick dry items for himself, and I got t-shirts, cardigans, another pair of their joggers, and socks. Nice haul! I was able to confirm my suspicion that Uniqlo sizes differently in Fatmerica. And I might be one of those people that has to buy another suitcase to get their Japan purchases home. Ugh.
We were wandering around Ginza for a little bit and ran into the couple from Vegas that we met on our free walking tour yesterday. How random is that? They were so friendly and awesome to chat with. And also super gracious because they invited us to join them for a theme bar night tomorrow (stay tuned)… yay new travel friends!
We meandered back towards our hotel and checked to see if we could get reservations for that restaurant we tried to go to our first night in town based on a recommendation from Cakes With Faces. It’s a chain yakitori restaurant called Torikizoku with a location just a couple of blocks from our hotel, and we were in luck! This place was pretty fun – just ordering drinks and small plates intermittently from an iPad in our tiny booth. We had 4 drinks (including Scott’s gigantic beer), several skewers, some other small plates and the grand total? $28. WHAT?
A slow coffee date, walking unfamiliar streets taking in new sights and sounds, a leisurely lunch, meandering a neighborhood or two, and an entertaining dinner. We love these kinds of travel days.
Kjar-ied Away 
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