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Monday was a quiet day and did a little touring and more relaxing. I think I had a 4 hour nap. On Tuesday, I bought a hop on hop off bus ticket for Yen1700. There were 3 routes. The English commentary was pretty useless. There are Japanese guides on board who hardly stop providing Japanese commentary but the English version is pre-recorded and you hear music instead of commentary for 80% of the time. The only good thing about it is you get a sense of where to go in Tokyo and I got to see Odaiba which is not covered by the Metro system. It is very modern and is on reclaimed land. The Fuji TV headquarters building there is one of the most interesting buildings I have seen yet. It looks like film reel and has a titanium ball observation deck.
On Wednesday, I went to a few sites on my own using the Metro system and just walking. The Tsikiji fish market is the largest in the world but was closed. The surrounding area reputedly has the best sushi in the world. I didn't bother to taste it. The Sensoji Temple area is full of tourists and has a market where tourists can do their souvenir shopping. I walked from Ueno to Akihabara. Akihabara is also known as Electric City. It is full of gaming, camera and electronics stores. The buildings are covered in anime pictures and gaming company logos. Apparently people come to Tokyo from around the world just for this area.
On Thursday, I went touring with Claudia, a German lady I met on the hop on hop off. We started off at the Daimura store in Tokyo Station which has some extremely expensive items on the 10th floor. Then we went to the Meiji Jingu shrine where the emperor and empress are buried. Also went to Shibuya which has what is supposed to be the busiest intersection in the world. I have seen it on Amazing Race previously. It was not very busy today so I was disappointed. This is a holiday week here which may be the reason. We then went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which has the highest free lookout points over the city from the 45th floor of its 2 towers. Went to both towers. It also has free audio commentary in English if you want. It has great views over the entire city and on a clear day you can see Mount Fuji in the distance. Could not see it as the air has been hazy since I have been here. It could be pollution or the heat (mid 30's) combined with high humidity.
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