One of the things that has surprised me as I moved around Tokyo today is how much the neighborhoods can vary. In one neighborhood there can be so many different places to eat that it's difficult to choose, and then if I go a little farther out of the area there is absolutely nothing but expensive hotels and office buildings. It took me 30 minutes to decide on a place to eat last night because there were so many restaurants. Today, as I rode the subway from Shinjuku to Koto, I saw the stark contrast from buildings plastered in advertisements to expensive high-rises set against extensive landscaping and the beautiful ocean.
When we were planning this trip, Luis and I decided to try out a capsule hotel for experience. We found one that accepts females (I read before we searched for one that capsule hotels are originally made for business men who stayed out late after work), though I was a little disappointed to learn that this one only offers spa baths for men. I think that this one was originally built for only men as well, and they only added one floor for women recently and did not have space to make a spa area for women. At least the showers are nice.
Luckily, the reason I traveled to Koto today was to visit an onsen that also has attractions and restaurants inside. It really made up for not being able to use the baths at the capsule hotel. The outdoor bathing area was a new experience. It was nice to feel the breeze while sitting in warm water. After I tried out all of the baths I had some chocolate banana ice cream to cool myself down, and later I tried an odd version of takoyaki that was about four or five times the size of the normal ones. It had not only squid inside, but also corn, cabbage, hot dog pieces, a quail egg, and other ingredients that I can't remember. It was very odd and surprising with every bite, but still pretty tasty.
I spent the rest of the day traveling to a few suggested shopping areas to try and fulfill promises to myself and my friends about what I'd bring back. I couldn't find the trading card game that my friend wanted, but after a long search I did finally find the different flavored Kit Kats that my other friend wanted. I can't wait to try them with her when I get home!
After shopping and riding the trains and subways all day, my back and arms really hurt. I tried to find a nearby place to eat so I could hurry back to my hotel. I stopped to look at the pictures at one place that served mostly desserts and drinks made out of fresh fruit. I almost passes because I thought fruits can't be dinner, but then I remembered how filling fruit was when my best friend and I used to make huge platters of it as kids. I decided a dinner of fruit would be just find for that reason, and actually I had been craving fruit for most of my trip. To my surprise when I sat down and looked at the menu, they had a dish with 3 slices of steak that was surrounded by a variety of fresh fruit. Everything was perfectly ripe: grapefruit, orange, honeydew, watermelon, peach, strawberry, and grape. I had a watermelon juice to go with it, and I was so happy with my decision. The fruit was much better than what you can generally buy at grocery stores at home. I also had been craving steak as well, so it was a really nice dinner.
Maybe I'm not otherwise good at choosing restaurants however, because the two best places I've eaten at in Japan were the two places Jen's friend took us to in Fukuoka. They were both the type of ramen restaurant where you choose what you want on a machine and then hand the ticket to the server, but we had ramen at the first place and gyoza and fried rice at the second. The ramen and gyoza were the best that I've ever had. It took me by surprise that the best places I've eaten so far were also the cheapest. I hope I come across more places like that for the rest of my trip!
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