There are so many things that just make sense in Japan. For a city with a population its size things are so orderly and clean. Plus the city is so accessible both in terms of public transportation and how disability friendly it is too. I think all other countries could take notes. Especially coming from Mumbai, it is still crazy how respectful everyone is on the train. People queue to enter and it's so quiet on the train. They really have it figured out here.
Today we woke up early to set out to the Imperial Palace which we had missed in prior days since it has limited hours. It was rather cold and rainy so we braved the cold to reach the palace only to be told its closed for an event. I tried multiple times now and I guess this was my sign that it wasn't meant to be.
For breakfast we stopped at the Rail Cafe at the Tokyo train station. Suyi was really hungry and ordered a whole meal with chicken, rice, and egg while I had a simple Japanese omelet and matcha latte. To my surprise the omelet was cold but it tasted good with soy sauce. The matcha latte was my first matcha I had so far so it definitely hit the craving.
Teamlabs was next up on our plan for today. Teamlabs is an interactive modern art museum. They start with an introduction about how the museum is all about movement in time and space and connection with your surroundings. Thus, you remove your shoes so you can be fully aware of the ground below you and the sensations that accompany it. The first exhibit was an uphill water walkway which I assume was to make sure our feet were clean. That led to one of the prettiest exhibits of a massive display of LED lights hung from the ceiling. The lights created an optical illusion of the room being endless and kept changing color and twinkling against the mirrors on all sides of the room. The room was so epic the way the lights changed around you into different shapes and colors. It felt like we had walked into an alternate reality. We sat down on the mirrored floor just admiring the lights twinkling on all sides of us.
Our eyes dazzled with the LED lights, we moved to another exhibit, this one a water one. They had me remove my tights for this one since the water came knee high. The water was warm and was a murky white color so they could project lights over it. The projection was of koi, the Japanese fish, and flowers that started whole and then dissolved. The idea behind this exhibit was that as we move, so does everything else around us. The world is constantly evolving and changing with us. At some point the water had pastel patterns projected all over it and I felt like I was in Candyland!
The next room was a room filled with giant white balloons that were lit up. As people moved in the space, the spheres changed color. It was to show that time and space are an ever fluid construct that is connected to one another. Suyi and I let our inner child run wild as we squeezed ourselves in between the balloons running from each other.
The following room was a giant dome we laid down under. Above us, constellations of flowers bloomed and decayed. The flowers bloomed and then the petals were carried away with the wind in the circle of life. Lying under the flower display truly transported me to a different universe. One which I was watching all the elements go by but was left behind. The petals changed shape and size at times, sometimes speeding up and slowing down. It never stopped though. It was constantly in motion.
The last and also my favorite room was the Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers. This room was timed as it was the most beautiful! Thousands of orchids hung from the ceiling slowly lowering and raising all generated in real time by a program. The flowers reflect the seasonality of life. Flowers grow, blossom, and eventually die off to continue the cycle of birth and death. It shows that life is constantly growing, moving, and changing just like the seasons change. Nothing in the world is stagnant. As a part of the universe we too are growing and evolving.
Team labs was such a cool experience! It was very immersive and made me pause and reflect upon the world around me. It awakened all of my senses, especially how things felt as opposed to how they looked.
We headed to Sunshine City which was essentially a giant mall housing Pokemon City and anime world. We were both eager for food but most of the Japanese restaurants were closed since it was by now about 3 pm. So the effort to only eat Japanese was aborted and we ended up at. Chinese restaurant which felt damn close to a Japanese restaurant. The dumplings in the window had been what really drew me in so I had a shrimp Wonton soup. The portion was of course enormous and left me unable to finish the noodles.
Suyi started his afternoon by wandering the video game store. This store was so large and had characters from every game imaginable. By now I had started to recognize a few. There was a point in the store that there were thousands of gachapon machines. You just placed a few hundred yen in return for a mystery ball. Suyis eyes lit up when he saw them and I knew he was going to be there for a long time. I decided since he wanted to play that I would wander the lower floors looking at all the other cutesy stores.
Just before we left Sunshine City we stopped at the Sanrio which is a Hello Kitty themed cafe. I have a thing for character cafes and themed food as they are just the cutest! Hello Kitty has a froggy friend who is adorable so I ordered the frog ice cream and gathered all the stuffed froggies in the restaurant to eat with me. Suyi got a crepe with Cinnamoroll on it. I enjoyed my matcha ice cream as we rested our feet which we had been on all day.
In the evening we headed to Shibuya to witness the world's busiest crossing - the Shibuya Scramble. I wanted to get a bird’s eye view of it first before walking through it. You can pay a lot to go up to an observatory but you can also view it for free from the train station bridge between Mark’s connector bridge. It was indeed true and every 90 seconds we watched as the pedestrians crowded the street crossing all directions - right, left, and diagonal. It was truly such a maze! The Japanese are very good at following rules so when the light changed immediately the crosswalk was clear. We got to experience the chaos of it all and it's just crazy to me how many people there are at all times.
I had planned on going to this very adorable bear hotpot place which I was so excited about! This restaurant serves the soup base in a bear shape that is then melted down with heat. The photos looked absolutely adorable. I could not get enough! Unfortunately by the time we arrived, the restaurant had said they had no room and were reservation only. Next time! Instead I let Suyi pick the place and he chose a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. The restaurant is set up like a long bar table. Each of the bar stools was next to someone so you were seated in rows next to strangers. It was a fun experience unlike anything I had done before. The restaurant was buzzing with life! There were nearly 100 slots at the tables and the restaurant had a queue and was continuously moving. It was alive with energy! The food came out fast as well. You ordered what you liked on the iPad and a few minutes later a small plate with two pieces of sushi is delivered on a conveyor belt. Such a cute concept! We ordered round after round of sushi! I even tried abalone which I had never had before. The abalone meat was okay but I loved the presentation with the shell. I definitely kept that shell. All the fish was very fresh and very good! We didn't break the bank either!
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