To we travel back to Tokyo for our final couple of days.
We treat ourselves to a lie in and wake up at 9, missing breakfast at the hotel, we walk to a nearby cafe and have breakfast.
Afterward we walk back to the hotel, pack and checkout leaving the bags at reception while we go and explore Dotombori.
I had wanted to visit Dotombori last night to see it with all the neon lit up, but we were too tied after dinner so we decided to save it for this morning.
Dotombori is essentially the Leicester Square of Osaka and has lots of shops, arcades and eateries.
On arriving we can’t help but see the large snow crab advertising the restaurant below!
Moving down the street we come across an arcade which looks fun so we go and try our luck on the grabber games, some very close runs but ultimately unsuccessful!
Bella spots some candied strawberries and her and Diana get some to try.
I’ve been looking for octopus balls since they were listed as a local delicacy by the guide book. I was expecting a firm ball like a Thai fish cake, but they were actually made from a very light and fluffy batter. Very tasty!
After a quick selfie in front of the ferris wheel, we’ve roasted in the sun long enough and we head back to the hotel.
After collecting our luggage we make our way to the Shinkansen station and buy tickets for Tokyo. Now that we know what we’re doing, it’s a very smooth process.
We’ve booked onto the next train and thought we had some time to buy snacks, but the train arrived early, probably due to this being the first station on the line, so we boarded without food.
On the way to Tokyo I look out of the window and watch the scenery go by. We have a good view of the ocean, and I was hoping to catch a glimpse Mount Fuji, but it’s too cloudy again.
On arriving in Tokyo we’re hungry on account of missing lunch so we exit the metro station for our hotel and wander the local streets to find somewhere to eat, they are all in Japanese and Diana picks one that looks nice. We squeeze our luggage beside the cash desk and take a seat.
We had failed to see that they allow smoking which was a bit of a shock since it’s been banned back home for so long you forget people used to do that!
Everything is ordered from an iPad on the table, but it’s only in Japanese which makes it a bit tricky to get started. Diana asks the waitress to help us make an order of a few small plates, so we know how it works.
The kids order their favourite fried chicken. I order omelette with fish roe, which is apparently a local favourite and Diana orders some Gouza. Everything is delivered along with two huge mugs of beer and we tuck in.
Now that we have the hang of the ordering system we order more food and drinks and have a really enjoyable time.
There’s fortune-telling vending machines on each table and we each give it a try, receiving a rolled up fortune scroll in exchange for 100 yen.
After lunch we walk the 5 minutes to our hotel and check in. Diana has booked a special Art hotel for our final two nights, which has the rooms painted by local artists.
It’s also on the top part of a skyscraper with the reception being on the 25th floor. Amazing views!
We pick a room on the 34th floor with a very typically Japanese cartoon painting which covers the walls and ceiling, stunning!
We’d booked tickets for the viewing platform of the Tokyo Tower, timing it just for sun set, so we walked the 25 mins from the hotel in the evening humidity.
We took the lifts to the first platform at 150m and then had to queue for our time slot to go to the higher platform at 250m. With the queue complete we entered a waiting area for a short film on the history of the tower before taking two lifts to the top.
We timed it just right so that the sun was setting just as we arrived and the views of the city were perfect.
We completed a circuit of the platform, taking photos along the way and then it was time to go in order to make our dinner reservation at the hotel.
We took the lifts down to the first platform and then took the stairs the rest of the way. 620 steps, which was good fun and we descended quickly, overtaking a few people on the way.
After a fast march back to the hotel so that we weren’t late for dinner, we were seated with a view from the 25th floor.
We’d ordered the house set menu which included a glass of fizz with the voucher we received at check in.
We had a nice meal enjoying the view before showers and bed.
