Sunday 9th
October 2016
I
woke up in the morning with the sound of Craig speaking to my auntie about our
time so far. It was only a short conversation, which I joined into as well
until it was time to head down for breakfast from Tomoko. Once more, a lovely
display lay ahead of steamed dumplings encased in a wicker basket along with
fruit. We had a fantastic conversation with Tomoko about our plans today
especially the trail for the 8 tier ice cream at a place called Nakano. With
the necessary information we needed, we grabbed our essentials and made our way
out realising heavy rain was upon us once more; not to worry though as we had
our trusty umbrellas with us. We headed straight to Nishi Kunitachi station at
an attempt for our expedition of station stamps as it would be a temporary
hobby for us both during our time in Japan
Unfortunately,
the train was already full so we had to squash ourselves in and stand for the
rest of the trip. Stopping at several stations along the way resulted in us
arriving at Nakano Station. It was still pouring with rain but lucky for us the
area we needed was sheltered from the station to the shopping area. Once we
left the station we walked straight towards a very pretty shopping area which
was quite narrow along with orange coloured decorations around the glass
ceiling; it was definitely inviting and drew us into the bowels of the shops
even for a couple of men who don’t like shopping. Along the way, we came across
a few gift shops, home ware shops, amusement arcades and restaurants bewildered
by the items they had for sale. What was unique; and something I just noticed
about the restaurants, was that they had a fantastic window display of what
they were providing to eat; the food on the plates looked so real but it was
surprising to know everything was plastic.
We
eventually reached another area called Nakano Broadway, which was the location
of the Nakano 8 tier ice cream. Craig informed me that it would be at the
basement level so that was where we headed for the search of the elusive ice
cream parlour. It seemed to be hidden well in the area and could we hell find
it; we searched every single place in the basement and we did come across a
small parlour. However it was not the right place; also we came across an
elaborate sign stating ‘NO ICE CREAM BEYOND THIS POINT’. With no luck, we
decided to head for the higher floors again with no luck; it seemed as though
one would have to be deemed worthy of this unique ice cream but we wouldn’t
give up. Fortunately, Craig with his Jedi internet powers figured out the exact
area, which was dead centre at the basement floor. So we headed down and we
couldn’t believe it when we caught sight of it; how it was right behind us at
the smaller ice cream parlour and elaborate sign. We were laughing our heads
off at how stupid we were and made it official that we were 2 idiot Geordies.
We
then caught sight of the plastic display of the magnificent 8 tier ice cream
with a price tag of 490 Yen. We immediately paid and watched on as the woman
prepared one for us each. How it balanced on a normal cone was beyond me and
then we became mesmerised by this marvelous spectacle. We couldn’t waste any
time though as it would have melted and so we began to eat it as quickly as
possible; brain freeze kicked in straight away so then it became an endurance
task. People passing by were amazed at the sight of us eating that ice cream
too. What was also funny over time was that I was that focused on getting the
ice cream down quick I forgot the majority of the flavours that was in it. Time
went on and so we had accomplished Nakano’s ice cream; one of the few greatest
triumphs I’ve ever achieved in my life. We waddled away from the parlour like a
couple of penguins heading for the train station.
We
had soon squeezed into the packed train on our way to Tokyo due to the fact we
had missed the most major attraction; the imperial palace. We were squashed in
for the next 20 minutes and then just before the doors opened, we prepared for
the swift exit at one of the busiest stations in the world; on your marks, get
set, GO! We left the train flowing through the countless waves of people
surrounding us at all sides. We somehow managed to find the correct exit along
with a nice sight of a station stamp stall for our stamp collection (as geeky
as it sounds). We left the station straight for the palace area and what was
great was the palace grounds was only a 15 minute walk away.
At
first we seemed to be caged in by the skyscrapers all around us but then the
land opened out drastically with the area covered in trees and large areas of
tarmac and gravel. We then caught sight of the large walls above the moat
surrounding the palace area. It also had a beautiful sight of white temples
spread around the area with green rooftops too. We then took a long slow walk
to the western side of the palace area witnessing a most precious Japanese
scene of a bridge leading to a temple hiding up between the packed in groups of
trees. What else was a lovely sight was the skyscraper panorama behind us with
the beautiful greenery in front of it. I had never witnessed anything like this
before which I found incredibly special.
Obviously
we weren’t allowed into the palace as we weren’t invited by the emperor so we
turned back around and noticed that the eastern gardens were open to the
public. As the palace was surrounded by water we had to walk around counter
clockwise along a very busy pathway having to share it with runners of all ages
who clearly had priority. It was quite a walk around until we came upon an old
low bridge leading to the eastern gate. Once we paid the small fee, we entered
through the humungous wooden gates which looked as though it was harder than
steel and then immediately we walked into a small network of pathways which
were all pretty much leading to the same destination of small temples, rest
houses and gardens.
We
took a slow walk in each section admiring every detail enjoying the slight peace
too despite the fearless black ravens calling out. There was so much to see and
do and we had all the time in the world, which meant we also had time to sit
and relax on a bench for a while with nothing but precious greenery all around
us. As we sat for a long while, we noticed a higher vantage point of the area
so we headed straight for it. We eventually made it to the top to a lovely view
of yet more skyscrapers which was a surprise given the fact we were in Tokyo
We
eventually exited through the eastern gate once more and continued counter
clockwise. We made our way around still in one piece surprisingly due to the
countless joggers and cyclists racing from behind us and then we noticed
something intriguing. Waiting at the nearby traffic lights were a small group
of people sat in go karts dressed up as Spiderman and Mario characters which
looked really fun to do especially in Tokyo. We eventually pulled away from the
palace area on our way towards the green dome. We had bypassed a monstrous
building known as Tokyo’s science museum, which seemed like a good place to
visit. However, we continued on through a peaceful park area until finally we
arrived to the sight of the green dome.
Upon
arrival we realised it was a type of theatre but a huge shock came to us when
we caught sight of thousands of Japanese teenagers lining up to get into the
building. They were on their way to see some popular band called ‘Blue Enchant’.
We had never heard of them so we headed to the nearby rest house for a well
deserved bite to eat. We eventually sat down with our food and relaxed for a
long while with yet more ‘blue enchant’ fans and yet again, we stood out from
the crowd as we felt as though we were being watched; maybe we were blue
enchant and all these people came to watch us eat our food. It was time to
leave for the long walk back to the train station but this time we had to weave
through the oncoming runners who looked as though they had been jogging since
first light but somehow they kept going.
It
took quite a while to leave behind the peaceful sight of the imperial palace
where we then walked into a chaotic train station head first. As we were making
our way to our platform, we came across a most beautiful window display of
golden baked goods all shapes and sizes just waiting to be emptied by Craig and
I. We were spoiled for choice on what to get but we came out with a good few
things to try. We loved every single bite and wanted more; however, Tomoko
would make us food tonight so we couldn’t plus I had a feeling tonight would be
a kind of big finale with it being our last day with her.
Onto
the busy Chuo line we went heading straight for Tachikawa a good 45 minutes
away. One quick trip from Tachikawa brought us to our final station of the day
and then we headed to our favourite local shop. We had finally returned to
Tomoko’s at night where we would pack our rucksacks ready for the journey west
the next day. I managed to get mine done quite quick with the help of Tomoko’s
cat ‘Jasmine’ and then all of a sudden Tomoko shouted up for us to come down
for food. I was right about the food being grand as she had made us an
exquisite bowlful of soup and noodles with different varieties of vegetables
and tofu.
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