Tokyo Skytree and bus tour

Today we decided to visit the Tokyo SkyTree and do a hop on Bus tour to get a sense of the city. The sky tree is the tallest communication tower in the world and an amazing construction. It is quite beautiful and moves from a triangle to a circle in shape. As a huge attraction the crowds were enormous  but also so well organised that we didn't wait long to get up to the viewing platform.  Unfortunately the day was heavy with cloud so viewing into the distance was limited yet it still gave us a great view of Tokyo and greater Tokyo. Actually we were amazed. There are several canals and the river as well as the harbour. Seeing on ground level helps to give sense to the extensive train system.

 After  lunch in a restaurant featuring fresh farmers produce we decided to take the hop on bus to get a ground level sense of the place at ground level. It proved to be good value as we covered from one end of the city to the other and saw some amazing architecture along the way.  

 Everyone is a really tired and bit tense after being in such close quarters and on the go for so long. When we got off the bus we were hungry and needed a pick me up. The others are still not ready for Japanese food yet so we spied a Tapas restaurant and ventured down to it. It was quite atmospheric but the English was a problem as usual. We managed to get some tasty dishes and there was the usual indecision about are we eating dinner or snacking.  I am over the dithering. Kim was initially just having snacks but then it was decided that it was too late to snack.  Those of us who keep irregular hours versus those who keep regular set times, those who snack and those who don't, it all just got to me but we ate there and then didn't get the meal we anticipated. I had ordered a platter of pork and chips but only the pork came. I insisted we get the chips.  When the bill arrived there was consternation about the cost and I found myself reminding people that if you eat other than local it is going to cost you a fortune. 

We decided to go to Shibuya to see the famous crossing - the scramble. It was fascinating observing how the crossing pavements swelled until the are about overflowing then the lights go green and all four corners plus the diagonal cross at once. We participated by crossing over all corners. Then we went home!