On Friday we took the kids on the train into Tokyo. We figured out how to buy our tickets at the train station and got on the right train. We got off a couple of stops later so that we could get on the express train. It was only 9 stops to Shinjuku instead of 29 stops on the local train. The train system in Japan is unbeatable. The trains are clean and air conditioned and they are always on time. Once you know what to look for to figure out whether your train is a local train (stops at every stop) or an express (skips lots of stops) then you are golden. We made it to Shinjuku without any problems. The plan was to change trains to go to the subway station by my old house. I had a brain fart at Shinjuku and couldn't remember what line to take. I finally had to ask someone and before long we got on the Yamanote line to go to Harajuku first before going to my old house. We got off and took the kids down this very popular shopping street where we found a cool Nike store where you could actually design your own shoes. We stopped in the Softbank store to admire the new iPhones before finally making it to Kiddyland. We all stopped in the family bathroom first. It was funny to see a regular toilet along side a urinal along side a toddler seat. We stuck Abby in it just for fun. After spending much too long admiring all of the cool things in the bathroom and the cool buttons on the toilet that did all kinds of wierd things like spray water and warm the toilet, we went on to explore all 6 levels of this toy store. The kids had a blast and each of them got to pick out one small toy to buy.
VISITING MY OLD APARTMENTS
Our next destination was to get on the subway at Meiji-jingumae right up the street from Kiddyland so that we could ride one stop to my old stop at Yoyogi-koen. It was sureal to be riding the subway I used to ride all the time as a kid. We got off at Yoyogi-koen and made the 12 minute walk to my old apartment. We stopped at the 7-eleven at the bottom of the hill and then made the hike up the hill to see both of my old apartments. My first apartment had been completely removed and a new bigger one was in its place. I lived there from ages 9-16. My next apartment which was only down the road and around the corner was still there and looked exactly the same. Even though I only spent 3 years there I have more memories of living there. Maybe it was because I was older. We all stopped to sit on the corner of the street and rest in the shade so I could take some pictures and tell the kids about where I grew up. I think a part of them was excited but realistically they were just hot and tired.
WALKING THROUGH SHIBUYA
From my old apartment we made the 10 minute walk down to Shibuya. Shibuya is one of the busiest and most popular sections to visit in the Tokyo area. There is a ton of shopping and lots of different restaurants to eat at. The intersection by Shibuya station is the craziest intersection I have ever encountered with over 8 different cross walks all converging together. When the pedestrian light turns green it is just a mad rush to cross the road in any direction and along any of the many crosswalks. It is chaos but that is what makes Shibuya so unique.
After 10 minutes of walking we made it to the first big store called Tokyu Department Store. We walked inside to cool off and everything seemed to be just like it was when I lived there. What I didn't expect to see outside this department store was a Starbucks, Subway, and an H&M store. Those stores did not exist in Tokyo when I was living there. Of course McDonalds has been around for quite some time and after finding ourselves rather exhausted and hungry we opted to get the kids dinner in the multi level McDonalds down one of the small streets. We ordered and paid on the first floor and then took the elevator up to the second floor to eat. I remember eating at this same McDonalds so long ago but this time posed to be so different than as a teenager as I quickly realized how hard it was to find a place to sit with four kids and a stroller. The eating area was small upstairs but the decor was modern and fun. We did manage to eventually find a place to seat our family of six.
After making sure the kids were fed we headed towards Shibuya train station. Even though there was so much more to see in Shibuya we knew the kids were running out of steam so we decided to call it a day and head back to Zama on the train. We crossed Shibuya crossing with thousands of other people. I even made the kids hold hands across the entire intersection. On the other side near the train station still stood Hachiko (the dog statue). This was and still is a popular place for people to meet. I could see the crowds start to congregate there as it was now evening on a Friday night.
Now that we were pros on the train (wink wink) we seemed to make it back to Shinjuku just in time to catch an express back to Sobudai-mae. The girls both fell asleep on the train ride home. When we finally got back to Sobudai-mae station right outside of the base at Zama we stopped at a little restaurant in the train station so Mike and I could eat dinner. We had ramen, curry rice, and gyoza. We bought a ticket for what we wanted to eat and then gave it to the cook. There are many little restaurants here that have ticket machines for purchasing your food. It's kind of a neat little process. The food tasted so delicious and it made our walk back to the hotel all the better. It was a long day for the kids but they did well. It meant so much to me to be able to visit where I grew up. Growing up near Shibuya was a riot and I'm glad the kids got to see it.
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